What are good turntable acoustic damping materials

Suspension tables may not respond favorably to additional dampening. IMO, based on listening tests my LP12 didn't like a non-felt mat or the use of a clamp. Dampening the motor housing may provide some benefit but I have yet to try it but plan to. Geez, I'm probably going to take a hit on this, but those tables that over-use lead don't get my toe tapping in spite of some benefits such as a blacker background. There is an eBay seller that has a number of dampening devices for a Linn that seem interesting. I'd love to read an Audiogon review of his products. I'm also anxious to read what Bright Star Audio has to say. I've got an open mind on this topic.

Faradayblue, tread very carefully in "improving" the TD160 Super, as it incorporated many of the tweaks - damping materials and so forth - that were being used at the time. Over-damping will kill the dynamics of the 'table, lead sheet being especially dangerous in this regard. You should set up the 'table first and live with it for a while before attempting any mods, as only in this way will you know whether something is an actual improvement or not. Have you upgraded the tonearm (what is it, by the way?) or cartridge (ditto) yet? These are safer improvements until you get a handle on the 'table's strengths, so you can make wise decisions when you are ready to tackle the issue of changing the design somewhat. Here's a good source of info on mods popular at the time, complete with articles and so forth: http://www.theanalogdept.com/thorens_td_160_dept_.htm. An excellent website with reams of material.

The tonearm that came with the tt is manufactured by Mission Electronics. I know very little about this arm, please see my other thread on this subject. I'll leave it on for now. It also came with quite a heavy rubber after market mat, a "Unitronics Strobo-Mat". Regarding cartridges and cables, I'll initially swap the Benz Micro Silver and the Cardas Golden Cross from my TD 166 Mk II. I'll take your advise and listen to the table as is, for now.

Faradayblue, I know of only two Mission tonearms: one was slim and was the 774, the other was massive - much more "chunky" than a Rega for instance - and was called the Mechanic. The slim one was considered good, and with MMs such as the Grados for instance, are sonically superior to the Regas, MMs in general (and in my own experience/experiments) preferring lower-mass arms, regardless of what the manufacturers say (these same manufacturers feel compelled to write that their designs prefer medium or high-mass tonearms because apart from the Morch that's prety well all there is these days!). As far as MCs go, then the Regas probably have it, though this isn't certain. If it is the large, chunky piece of business, then this is the legendary Mechanic which I would give my eyeteeth to have, a superb tonearm which you should keep, assuming the bearings have not been damaged. At best, have it re-wired by the folk at Incognito.

Hi Faradayblue,

Any condition that a turntable exhibits that alters the signal the cartridge is retrieving from the record is a detriment and takes us further away from reproducing the sound of the music as it has been captured by the recording team. Unwanted vibration and resonance surely causes a change to the signal and should therefore be eliminated as much as possible.

Felt will damp some ringing and resonances present in the structure of the Thorens but it will not be as effective as more absorptive materials (that are typically more massive). The objective is to convert the mechanical vibration to another form of energy that will not affect the musical signal. Converting the mechanical vibration to thermal energy (heat) is very effective if the transfer is done as efficiently and quickly as possible.

I do agree with Lugnut that you must be careful not to alter the original tuning of the suspension system in a turntable that suspends the plinth with a compliant spring or supports the plinth with a compliant spring. Adding mass to the plinth will change the resonance frequency of the suspension system which the turntable’s designer has optimized (hopefully correctly). If you do add more mass to the plinth, you can change the springs which comprise the suspension system to compensate.

If the outside frame of the turntable is vibrating or resonating, steps should be taken to eliminate that vibration as much as possible.

Best,

Barry