A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dear Geoch - thank you so much for your thoughts. You are absolutely correct - I can eliminate that wood layer totally and mount the ET directly to the armpod with the one bolt. The mounting post rides on air with 3 of its own couplers. The plate I am using is dried oak and it is firmly held on with 2 - 1" inch machine screws. I used the plate to allow for ease of changing arms but I will be making other pods for those arms so it is not required. Now the important part - how much will it change the sound by removing it.
I will think more about the second part. The adjustable AT616 footers are at their lowest point right now and they adjust much higher to accommodate a higher pod. My problem is at the pod side – I will need a taller one.
So for the interim I think I will replace the AT616’s with the lower mapleshade spikes I was using previously – this will give me the room to experiment with the pod and that layer.

Henry – My VPI 12 arm mounts directly on top – with phono cables out the side. It is very easy to drill a hole into the armpod to accommodate the bottom cables especially if aluminum. But it still won’t look as good as yours. Our imagination is the only limit here. Many ways to skin.

Dear Halcro, I am truly glad to hear this;we are cool now.
But your arm pod remind me somehow about Picasso. 'Look',
he said to a friend, 'how easy drawing is'. He then draw with a single stroke a pigeon. 'Anyone should be able to do this'. He added. Now an arm pod is of course a'different
animal' but do you really think that we can make the same as yours? If so I don't believe that I am able to understand anything about Australians. Except of course that they must be onbelievable optimistic kind of the human kind.

Regards,

Regards,

Dear Chris, It will change for sure, but you need an intermediate level of different material in order to break up the resonances. If I was in your position, I would start with a 7mm Brass top plate for armboard, and Steel for the discs under the spikes. By this way you have the Goldmund's list & sequence of metals. I'm not supporting their option, but you may want to try something that is so much praised by them.
Kind Regards

Dear Nandric,
Thank you, that's very flattering but I can only 'design' the armpod.....I can't make it.
For that I need a good foundry to make the mould and cast the bronze after which I need a good machine shop to make the aluminium top plates and to drill and tap all the holes so that a good automotive paint shop can finish the job with 2 pack polyurethane.
Here in Australia we are lucky that there are many places which will readily do small quantities or 'one-off' jobs like this.
I'm sure in Holland you could also find places?.......look how Thuchan was able to have his new speakers made so professionally?
Of course.......price may be a factor and that's why Chris and Lew are looking at commercially available billets of brass and stainless steel which may be available in the States.
Solid billets of the sizes I designed are simply not readily available in Australia.
There are many people who can 'draw' like Picasso...........there are very few who have the IDEA of what to draw?
That's the difference between a 'craftsman' and an 'artist' :-)

Regards my friend

Dear Geoch - thank u for your recommendations. I use the discs under the spikes. I have however been experimenting with different materials under them. The most recent pics in the site link show the discs along with the removal of the armboard top plate.

Will consider the 7 mm brass top plate but have a question.

I like the design of the ET post mount which has one bolt holding it with 3 leveling threaded spikes surrounding it. It can be seen in the link here.

http://www.canuckaudiomart.com/view_userimages.php?user_id=5181&image_id=41907

How do you or others here that have looked into isolation between metallic materials feel, on whether the top brass plate you recommend is attached firmly against the armboard below (easy to do) or if it should ride on air like the ET post mount. More difficult but still easily doable. I would just need to find a place that sells the threaded spike couplers to use with it.

Then the top two levels of the armboard would be riding on air.

Henry - it appears your arm pod top plates are screwed directly to the armpod ? Did you consider this ? What if that top plate was riding on air like the pic in my link ? Would it increase resonances or provide more isolation?

Any thoughts on this ?

Cheers Chris