Time to pick-up this thread again as I have made a notable improvement to my nude TT-101.
Damping and draining vibrations is one area that all audiophiles are aware of and many try to address in any number of ways.
I have previously worked on the vibration problems of the TT-101 in two ways: I put rubber bands around the sides of the tin-can base (an obvious problem area) as well as putting a support (I tried both a brass cone and squash balls) in the center of the bottom of the can and brass cones as feet to a granite slab base. (See earlier entries). But, I knew that I hadnt done near enough to optimize this TT. By the way, all of these new improvements will work on turntables that are plinth-mounted as well.
For previous turntables I followed the advice of a poster on another site who recommended using copious amounts of clay to fill-in cavities and cover surfaces and I found it worked but I knew that clay was the wrong material for the tin-can base of the TT-101, so I went looking for a different solution.
I decided on 3M Sound Deadening Pads: http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=66666UuZjcFSLXTtOXMEMXMtEVuQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666--
One pad costs $7 and was more than large enough to do the entire TT. They are designed to sound proof cars so are available where car parts are sold I got mine online.
I covered more than 60% of the inside of the tin-can including much of the bottom as well as the sides necessarily covering a lot of the air-holes. I left enough of the holes open for air circulation (I had monitored the can for heat and after many hours of operation it was still at room temp so I knew it was not a big problem to cover some of the holes). I did leave the top edge of the can uncovered the area where it mounts to the TT - so that a solid metal-to-metal contact remained and allowed vibrations to drain from the TT. I put a rubber-band back on the outside of that area of the can to damp it.
I also covered 90% of the surface area of the cavity below the platter to me this is just a resonating chamber left there for manufacturing reasons and in need of damping see photo: http://s1106.photobucket.com/albums/h373/Garya1/Nude%20Turntable%20and%20DIY%20Arm%20Pod/?action=view¤t=TT-101damping003.jpg
I also covered the bottom surface of the TT where it used to sit on the plinth why not.
The entire job took me about two hours. The material is very easy to work with and mistakes are easily rectified. I used dinner plates of various sizes as templates and a bowl to hold the TT upside down. A circular mat knife was perfect to cut the material a scissors did well also.
My first spin after putting it all back together was Brahms first piano concerto (Rubinstein and Mehta on London) an album that I know well and love. I was floored by the improvement in image solidity and full-volume orchestra clarity. Of course I asked my wife to come in and give me the true story without my bias. After listening to the Brahms as well as Christopher Parkening (a rather long listening session for her) she gave me congratulations and confirmed a significant improvement overall.
So, $7 in material and 2 hours of time, I guarantee you will be floored as I was. What are you waiting for.
Gary
