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Damping the analogue "setup"

Friends,
I am fighting this issue for the last 1 year or so with my TT setup. I am a beginner in analogue playback but I use some decent equipments to play music. My setup is:
Nouvelle Platine Verdier
Naim ARO Tonearm
Lyra Skala cartridge
RCM Sensor Prelude phonostage

All the equipments are placed on wooden rack (made of Ebony) with spikes. The problem is, the overall sound can vary vastly from lean-strident to round-warm very quickly based on what kind of spike base I use underneath the rack. A typical metal (aluminium, steel, brass) spike base makes the sound lean and fast to an extent where it really bites. Whereas using a softer metal (cast iron) or rubbery/woody substance below the rack makes for a slow and boring sound.

It is not just the turntable that reacts so severely but also the phonostage. Placing the phonostage on a softer or a more damped isolation footer immediately reduces the grit in the sound. I do not hear such drastic reactions from my preamp or power amp. My guess is, the complete analog front end needs some level of damping. How do you go about it ? How do you choose the platform that will support the turntable setup firmly so that the sound doesnt lose its energy but still damp it adequately ?

For the moment (thankfully) my ARO is an un-damped unipivot designed to work without any damping fluid.
pani
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
The short sweet answer is.......get the turntable off the floor and onto a wall-mounted shelf.
The structure-borne feedback in the suspended floor will continue to haunt you if you dally with stands, spikes, feet etc.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Well, for one thing, ebony resonates like a bastard, so you are kind of fighting the rack, as it were.
csontos
1,311 posts
 
If you mount it on a wall, you want it to be a 'bearing' wall.
saki70
907 posts
 
Try the rubber between your stand and the floor . Put a sheet of cork under your TT and phono stage . Go back to the original factory feet for your TT and try again . Then , try the different footers under the TT if needed . Easy and cheap to try , the cork sheets should only be a few bucks for a pkg.

Good luck .
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,418 posts
 
Yes, cork works very well. If u buy a roll of it (very inexpensive) you may need to double it into 2 layers.

If you want to try some excellent isolation feet, try Herbie's Big Tall Tenderfeet. I have them under all my components including TT.

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm
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