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Suspension vs. non-suspension turntables???

Greetings all...

I am soon going to start the search for a new turntable. My trusty Roksan Xerxes is entering it's 15th year of operation and I think it's about time to look for something new. Having said that, I am looking for opinions on suspended tables, and non-suspended tables in the hopes of learning something about the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Surely both types have their merits, and I am trying to get a grip on which type might be most right for me. I am not necessarily looking for specific turntable recommendations at this point; let's face it we all know the usual suspects - Basis, VPI, Clearaudio, SME, Oracle, Teres, etc. I just am looking to find out if there is an advantage to either type of table.

Thanks in advance...
esoxhntr
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Dan,
Good point about the floors, though I suppose a trampoline would challenge any table. I have a fairly springy wood floor. My old (cheap) suspended table on a tallish wood cabinet would skip if you just walked across the room. My Teres on a Salamander Synergy Triple 20 wouldn't skip if you dribbled a bowling ball next to it. Of course the Salamander + gear weighs nearly 400 pounds and it's supported on eight heavy-duty sorbothane hemispheres. I guess I have a suspended, non-suspended table. IOW, alot of it has to do with execution.

It sounds like we should trade tables for a month, just for fun. (You can keep the cows.)
esoxhntr OP
196 posts
 
Dan/Doug:

Cool - now we're getting somewhere!

My room setup is as follows; the room is 15x14, in a basement with a concrete floor, and concrete walls on three sides (front, back, and left side where the gear is postioned). The room is drywalled on all sides, and I'm starting to wonder how securely the studs are mounted into the concrete walls.

Right now, my turntable is mounted on a wall stand, screwed into studs, but there still seems to be a heck of a lot of vibration getting to the table. This is a problem from time to time when the SW800 subs in my system decide to provide me with the odd note in the nether regions, which has given my table a heart attack on rare occasions. I do realize that I'm going to have to drill through the studs into the concrete, or give up and buy a decent floor standing rack. Any more thoughts?
lugnut
1,190 posts
 
Your Xerxes must be a suspended table based on your wall mounting. Before spending any additional money on a turntable I'd suggest you locate your turntable on a light weight but rigid stand between and slighly behind your speakers. A good, tight, old end table would be just about perfect for this. Drill some holes in the bottom of the legs and install some threaded inserts. Make or buy some spikes for the inserts and level the stand. Not against a wall as frequencies are reinforced along walls and in corners. A reasonably capable suspension is tuned to below 8 Hz and shouldn't be affected by your subwoofer. If you get any feedback it may be more a function of the arm or cartridge than the suspension. My only suggestion would then be to spend enough money to do it right either way. I really don't think there is a best design unless you take into consideration new/used at various price points. My suspended table has been in my posession for well over 25 years AND I've had non-suspended tables selling for multiples of it's cost sitting right next to it for an A/B comparrison. I've still got the old table as there has been no compelling reason to buy anything else unless I hit the jackpot and go the cost-no-object route in which case I'd buy a Walker. Not to slam subwoofers but they do seem to be problematic and not with just turntables.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
The concrete floor suggests to me that a floor standing rack would work well. My guess is that the drywall is picking up the bass and feeding it into the wall rack.

A very cheap setup for isolating my rega is a sheet of soft polyurethane foam, about 2-3 inches thick, with a large paving slab (or marble sheet if visuals are important) sat on top of it, with the rega sitting on the top.

I have not noticed any bass feedback from my subwoofer, and my spirit level says the deck is very level (the mass of the deck is much less than the concrete slab so levelling was easy). My floor is a wooden suspended floor, and the subwoofer is only a couple of feet from the Rega.

Of course the weight of this setup means it has to be on a cabinet, rather than a shelf, but it costs so little to try (about $10-$20) that it might be worth playing with before getting a new deck.

That is, unless you really want a new deck. Buying a new deck is much more fun than buying paving slabs :-). Until the credit card statement arrives :-(
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
David,
It would have come out much sooner, but I can't see the T, E, R and S keys as easily anymore.

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The ink's worn off them!

Gotta run, we're drilling our armboard and mounting the new Triplanar tonight. Yummy!
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