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wall rack and different shelf materials under TT

Yesterday I swapped a 3/4"x16"x16" walnut cutting board (very nicely custom made and priced from ebay memeber hardwood-lumber-co, not affiliated) under my Pro-ject Xpression III table with an Ortofon MC-3 turbo, speedbox and tube phono box II. The natural unoiled walnut matches my rack better than maple, even though the maple can run more dense, but just a bit more. I used to have a 1/4"x15"x15" porcelain tile piece under my table and the first impressions follow:

- walnut: more relaxed and little warmer sound, bass a little more subdued like when you put a pillow in a bass drum in the drum kit.

- porcelain: more accurate, a little brighter and a touch more bass slam.

I am going to do further listening with both to see which one wins out. There are the factory isolation cones under my turntable and the wall rack is steel bolted to the house studs. I also just got some Electro-Harmonix golds that I am going to roll into the tube phono box II.

Will keep everyone posted...

BTW, I got a 3/4"x10"x16" maple and cherry cutting board for the kitchen and total was $57 including shipping.
sbrownnw
sbrownnw OP
706 posts
 
So, after some more listening this weekend, I think I am going to go back to the porcelain shelf. One thing I notice is that with the volume all the way down the tonearm seems to be doing more (more / louder pickup) with the porcelain shelf. Why is this / what is actually happening here?

I also plan a hybrid eval with some ebony wood disks between the turntable factory isolation cones / feet and the porcelain shelf.

Anyone need a 3/4x16x16 walnut board? If not, I'll use it for a nice cheese board.
sbrownnw OP
706 posts
 
Porcelain back, table leveled and tacking weight double-checked but this time tried some thin weaved leather coasters between the shelf and table. Nice and lively keeping the bass slam but reduced the brightness a little. Looking forward to trying the solid ebony disks next. Cheap tuning is fun, especially when I customized my cabinet rack with a pass through for the DIY wall turntable rack I made. :)
sbrownnw OP
706 posts
 
I think I found the right combo for my setup. 15x15x1/4" porcelain tile with small and thin ebony wood pucks between the feet and the porcelain. The pucks have a small hole in the center to fit the tips of the turntable feet. Sounds great!
mmakshak
589 posts
 
I got good results from the Mapleshade 2-inch maple board with their rubber/cork/rubber feet under my Ariston RD110. Although my Mana Reference table(under my LP12)was better, I think the Mapleshade(rather than the TT sitting on a cheap rack) is a good benchmark, although I've read here that it can make things sound too dull. I also believe Mapleshade's maple sounds better than my maple cutting boards(under amps). The maple cutting boards are probably kiln-dried, but definitely not of one piece(i.e.glued together). I haven't tried my Sistrum equipment stands on any turntable, but they increased and lowered the bass, and maybe increased depth, under my speakers. My 4-inch Mapleshade maple stand was better than my 3 or 3 1/2 inch maple board on amps and speakers(memory here). I think the $100 for the Mapleshade maple with their footers is money well-spent. BTW, I have many brass footers, and like Mapleshade's triple points on top of a 2-inch Mapleshade maple board, with their rubber/cork/rubber footers(or the cheaper alternative to them), on top of a decent, but cheap, Cambre' timber rack. This is very unstable, but gave a noticeable improvement under my Lingo I power supply for the Linn TT.
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