Turntable Isolation Platform

[Fiftyfifty]

Have you thought of building a Sand Box? I recently tried it out with my tower speakers and noticed a big difference in the sound. They sound so much more cleaner and clearer with no Bass Boom at all. I am sure a similar sand box made out of Ply should help. Any carpenter would be able to it in a couple of hours. Should cost close to nothing if you have ply left from interior woodwork.

MaSh

Thanks. Do send me a picture or two of your sandbox. It may not be useful as a top for an equipment rack but maybe I can use one elsewhere in my system.

 

[MaSh]

Thanks. Do send me a picture or two of your sandbox. It may not be useful as a top for an equipment rack but maybe I can use one elsewhere in my system.

Sure, will send once back home in second week of Jan 2018.

MaSh

 

[Naturelover]

QUOTE="Fiftyfifty, post: 757312, member: 84703"]It may not be useful as a top for an equipment rack[/QUOTE]
It can very well be. Just Google "turntable sand box" and you shall be pleasantly surprised.

 

[sanjivnayak]

Have you thought of building a Sand Box? I recently tried it out with my tower speakers and noticed a big difference in the sound. They sound so much more cleaner and clearer with no Bass Boom at all. I am sure a similar sand box made out of Ply should help. Any carpenter would be able to it in a couple of hours. Should cost close to nothing if you have ply left from interior woodwork.

MaSh

Explain a bit.

 

[Fiftyfifty]

QUOTE="Fiftyfifty, post: 757312, member: 84703"]It may not be useful as a top for an equipment rack

It can very well be. Just Google "turntable sand box" and you shall be pleasantly surprised.[/QUOTE]
Thanks. Will do. But first, I will change my rack top from marble to maple . Like I said, the tt itself is solidly isolated. Spoke to Jochen too who is familiar with this tt and he felt it is best to leave it as it is. But I will look up sand box options for speaker and tt. Have you tried it?

 

[pksnathan]

Have you thought of building a Sand Box? I recently tried it out with my tower speakers and noticed a big difference in the sound. They sound so much more cleaner and clearer with no Bass Boom at all. I am sure a similar sand box made out of Ply should help. Any carpenter would be able to it in a couple of hours. Should cost close to nothing if you have ply left from interior woodwork.

MaSh

I presume that a Sand Box is a box made of plywood or similar material with river sand tightly packed inside the box and the box is made as per the dimension of the turntable.Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

[MaSh]

Explain a bit.

This link should give an idea. The Sandbox Audio Isolation System

I presume that a Sand Box is a box made of plywood or similar material with river sand tightly packed inside the box and the box is made as per the dimension of the turntable.Please correct me if I am wrong.

Yes thats right. However, I use it as a stand to raise the tower speakers to ear height and also to isolate them from the floor. Made a big difference to their sound. Although, I have not stuck to the specifications mentioned by you. Its a box with about 8kg cleaned sand in it and speakers stand on a piece of plywood for now. Will try to replace it with a piece of marble or granite.

MaSh

 

[Fiftyfifty]

The suggestion, coming from G401fan, Prem and others to replace the marble rack top has turned out to be one of the best investments I've made. I got a 3" x 65" x 20" Maplewood top made. It has worked wonders. I won't say that the sound is brighter or warmer, but the focus, soundstage and imaging have improved quite dramatically. And a very rich tone, not just from my TT, but from all my sources.

The CDP, TT and Power amp are placed directly on the Maple top. No isolating feet. Other components are on lower shelves, which are made of Beech wood.

Thanks again! The suggestions were invaluable.

 

[mpw]

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/sandblaster_e.html

 

[oracle1974]

Fusing is fine. The 3 inch thick maple should hopefully solve all your issues

Hi Prem,
any place that I can have these platforms made?
Is it as simple to buy a piece of maple wood and have a carpenter have it nicely cut and polished?
HiFi mart has a maple wood platform for sale but the size is bigger than what I want and also the finish is not to my liking.
Any recommendations would be appreciated.
thanks and regards

 

[prem]

Hi oracle1974,
You can buy maple wood from the local timber mart and glue then together. Do not use any nails or screws to join the pieces. You can use wood joints if necessary to strengthen it

Alternatively you can speak to Sound Foundations whose owner is a member of this forum and check if he will make one as per your specifications.

 

[oracle1974]

Thanks Prem for your inputs.
One comment that is often mentioned is to go for air dried maple rather than kiln-dried maple. I am not sure if the maple available with the local timber merchant will be meet this specific requirement.
have checked with sound foundation, they do not have the size that i require and the finish is not to my liking too.
It seems buying in online from the US seems to the other option as the landed price is marginally expected to be higher than what is locally sourced price.
http://shop.mapleshadestore.com/Finished-Platforms-with-Isoblock-Suspension/departments/47/

 

[Fiftyfifty]

What you get in the market is kiln dried, but I'm not sure there is any meaningful science in favour of air dried. Maple is sold in 8" to 10" width and thickness ranging from 1" to 4", so you will not need to glue more than 2 pieces. A local carpenter can easily do this and a polishwalla will do the rest. You will also need good quality isolation feet