Practicality of footers to isolate turntables.

HI Peter,

I hear the Vibraplane is way better than the sandboxes some of us use. That is a good point about centering the mass on a spring-based system. I suppose there are more trade-offs between the Minus K and Vibraplane that you may have found while deciding which way to go. While I appreciate the quality of the pump supplied with the ELpF, I also like the idea of being untethered.

Check out Silent Running Audio (SRA). Their Ohio bases and platforms are custom made specifically for your component or turntable. Same $ or less than a Minus K.

Or you could try a wall shelf. They work amazingly well. The knee-jerk reaction is often that you cannot fit a wall shelf into your decor, but you'd be surprised.

Hello Dan,

I have the passive Vibraplane which requires a few strokes from a bicycle pump every week to maintain it's height and level. It is untethered as you say, but I'm actually considering getting a couple of active Vibraplanes with a compressor for my amps which always remain properly inflated and level. As the Vibraplane slowly loses air, the passive model needs to be readjusted for level every few days. I think once the Minus K is set up, it no longer needs adjustment. I don't know of the sonic differences.

I once tried Mapleshade heavy brass footers and a 4" Maple block below my unsuspended table and found it made the table sound more lean and took away richness/body/weight.

I think this is very system and listening bias dependent and each solution may have its strengths and weakness for the individual listener. I started by buying an inexpensive Townshend Seismic Sink and directly comparing it to the Mapleshade solution on my SME 10 turntable. I preferred the air isolation to the mass coupling/energy draining approach of the footers/maple board. Encouraged by those results, I splurged on a used Vibraplane. Much better than the Seismic Sink. Then I loaded the Vibraplane with a steel plate weighing 136 lbs and than was even better.

Experimentation is the key in mind. It's the only way to know what works best for you in your particular system.

I also am using the Edansound Bearpaws (big brass spikes) and found them a very worthwhile addition.