Turntable Vibration Isolation and Cable Runs

[Chuck]

I've got a Thorens TD160 MkII with an older Grado cartridge When I walk around the room, it has this bad tendency to skip. I've been thinking that upgrading to a better tracking cartridge and using some sort of vibration isolation system might help. Any cartridge or vibration isolation system suggestions?

I could possibly move the turntable across the room and place it in a built-in cabinet, but then I'd have about a 35' cable run from the turntable to the rest of my equipment. Any know issues with long turntable cable runs and any solutions for fixing them?

Thanks,
Chuck

[Gary Freed]

Hi Chuck,

I had a Thorens for many years that was also easily affected by vibration.
Keep the cable runs short. I suspended my TT shelf from the ceiling.

[Snowdor]

Chuck,

I agree with Gary on keeping the cables as short as possible. Plus, I put a turntable in a cabinet one time and it was like putting it inside a "drum".:(

The wall mount is a good idea. I had to go under the floor into the basement to put some more nails into the underlayment. It tightened it up enough to stop most of the skips. Lastly, I bought a separate stand on spikes and arranged it so it was pretty solid.

Good luck, I know how annoying the skips can be.

[Gary Freed]

Hi Snowdor,

Welcome aboard. Glad to have you here!

[proufo]

Originally posted by Chuck
I've got a Thorens TD160 MkII with an older Grado cartridge When I walk around the room, it has this bad tendency to skip. I've been thinking that upgrading to a better tracking cartridge and using some sort of vibration isolation system might help. Any cartridge or vibration isolation system suggestions?

I could possibly move the turntable across the room and place it in a built-in cabinet, but then I'd have about a 35' cable run from the turntable to the rest of my equipment. Any know issues with long turntable cable runs and any solutions for fixing them?

Thanks,
Chuck
You can put your preamp close to the TT and use long cables between it and the power amp. That way the speaker leads are shorter.

[Gary]

Wall mounts are a great idea! But the wall must NOT be an internal wall (with no brick behind it). Instead, select a wall that is next to a brick or external wall.

Know what I mean?

Cones are a good idea to help kill vibration. If that's too much $$$ for an experiment, try the superball trick.

[Chuck]

Gary -- Hanging it from the ceiling, now that's a great idea and I'm sure it would work (but vetoed by my wife)

Proufo -- A 35' balanced cable run from the preamp to the power amp is a little too much $$$$.

Snowdor /Gary -- I've thought about wall mounts but unfortunately (or fortunately) the outside "walls" are glass

Gary -- The superball trick, get two and cut them in half?

Thanks,
Chuck

[Gary]

Get 4 superballs (from the .25 cent gumball machine outside Wallmart, your supermarket, wherever), put them on top of .25 cent washers and balance the TT on the superballs. You have washers, superballs, turntable.

I've never tried cutting them in half.

Or try to built a second shelf made of pexiglass on top of the first shelf. Suspended by superballs, of course.

Get the solid superballs, not the ones with crystals or stars in them. Don't get the ones with a really smooth surface either. The solid ones with a "rough" (non smooth) surface are the ones to use. OK, you may have to drop a few more quarters in the machine!

If in doubt, try bouncing them from the same height (like 5 inches above a table) and see which bounces longer. You'll see!

Let us know how it goes!

[Gary Freed]

HeY Gary

Thats the best DYI I've heard of for vibration isolation yet!

I'm going to try this one out too. What diameter Super Balls do you
recommend?

[Gary]

The only ones that I can get! :D

The gumball type machines only dispense 1" round balls. I saw some black Superballs once but they were waaay too big. And $4.99 each. As my equipment weighs less than a ton, I use the little guys.

The one inchers should hold up a lot of weight.... :thumbsup:

[Gary Freed]

Hi Gary,

I gotcha. For some reason I invisioned the baseball size Super Balls.
they're the ones we used to play with as kids. Man those things were
dangerous. Yikes!

I'll look for the tiny ones.

[Chuck]

I was able to find some medium sized superballs that glow in the dark at my local Rite-Aid. They cost me all of $3.00 each. I cut them in half and placed them flat-side up under the turntable. I still can't dance but I certainly can walk in the room without causing the turntable to skip. Problem solved!

While searching the Web for possible solutions, I found AUDIOQUEST SORBOGEL BIG FEET at $59.99 for a set of four. I'll keep my superballs!

[Chuck]

Here's a picture...

[Gary]

Great news, Chuck! I'm glad you posted the results - 1/2 superballs DO work! Thanks!

It's too bad that house builders do not build to audiophile standards, huh? :(

You know, of course, there are many much more expensive solutions than the Big Feet, right? And I'll bet superballs give 'em a run for their money, too. :D

Peace!

:nauga:

[RetroSmith]

Yea, i'll bet the rubber type is the same!!