TT isolation platform

[julesd68]

I need an isolation platform for my TT and have narrowed the choice down to two that can be the right size and fit my meagre budget -

First is an acrylic one made by Isokinetik -

http://www.cabezon.eu/product_info.php?products_id=182

Second, I can get a granite platform made to order for £60 delivered - would just need to add some isolation feet.

Which material do you think would do the job best?

[sq225917]

Diamond polished acrylic, that's a new one to me. It always flamed.

[chris@panteg]

What about a piece of slate ? I've got a spare bit left over from the woodburner project , thinking of trying it out under the deck or maybe the rack ?

Cheaper than granite too .

[Tarzan]

Audiofile Base under me Techie, works really well, and other equipment too.:)

[YNWaN]

Whatever the platform is made of, acrylic, granite or slate, it won't have much of an isolating effect on its own; a piece of 12mm thick MDF will perform in a very similar manner to the acrylic (for example).

Any real isolating properties will come from the compliance of the feet.
---------------
Yes, diamond cut most probably and flame polished - even better, laser cut, no need for post polishing.

[julesd68]

Audiofile Base under me Techie, works really well, and other equipment too.:)

Just sold a couple of these to fund other projects!

[julesd68]

Well in the end I opted for a custom made piece of granite ordered via ebay. This is great to get it exactly the size I wanted but not really happy as I didn't get the finish to the granite I thought I was paying for. :( Just haven't got the energy right now to make a big fuss with the supplier. Have just ordered four heavy duty Sorbothane feet as they will be taking quite a weight.

[jollyfix]

Hi Julian. what type of finish did you want, and what finish did you get?

[synsei]

Could you chuck me a link to the supplier please Julian?

[julesd68]

Hi Julian. what type of finish did you want, and what finish did you get?

Hi Dave,

I asked for all surfaces to be polished - top, bottom, and sides.
What I got was a factory polished, perfectly finished top, but sides and bottom were much rougher and duller looking as they weren't finished in the factory - they were done by hand. The sides really bug me as of course they are so visible. Bottom not so much of an issue of course, but I did pay extra for it to be polished and had no idea that this was the way the job was going to done. The seller kind of fobbed me off saying that I got a "good price" but that isn't the point at all - he should have been much clearer how he was going to do the job IMO. Rant over.

[julesd68]

Could you chuck me a link to the supplier please Julian?

Of course, will PM u ...

One plus thing about the job was that the platform was absolutely superbly packaged in a wooden case that I needed to unscrew the top off! Took me about 15 mins playing around to work this out.

Last week Asda sent me a granite chopping board in just a bag and guess what - arrived in a thousand pieces ...:doh:

[jollyfix]

use wet and dry sand paper , finish on a 3000g or 4000g for a very nice polish shine.

[YNWaN]

...not really happy as I didn't get the finish to the granite I thought I was paying for. :(

I don't know if this helps, but it's not very difficult to polish the edges of granite yourself (assuming its the edges that are the problem) - you will need a grinder though and a granite polishing kit (you can get them on-line).

The isolating properties of Sorbothane very much depend on how heavily it is compressed - you may find that six feet work better. You may also find that four racket balls (nor squash balls) work better still :).

[julesd68]

Many thanks for suggestions chaps - just feeling peed off that I have to spend any more money on it, as I was already on a tight budget ...

[jollyfix]

for a small job, you don't need a grinder, you can do by hand .granite 40mmm thick and turntable size 4 edges won't take long to do by hand. just work you way up on the grit size.

[julesd68]

Do you think I will be able to match the look of the top and sides like this?

Sorry to be so obsessive but these kind of things bother me!!

So how many grades of wet / dry sandpaper should I buy? Please just tell me exactly what to buy, as you might guess I'm not a DIY master :eyebrows:

[jollyfix]

yes you will be able to match the top, depends on how rough the side are. I would start with a 200g and work up,200, 400, 800, 1200 etc. The last time i polished at 1200 it was a perfect match on the shine, but that was trav not granite. I think you will end up on 3000g. I am in somerset right now until the new year, what part of London are you? If you can wait till the new year and you are not to far from south London i will come and polish it for you.

[julesd68]

Thanks Dave!

[jollyfix]

pm me your contact details

[julesd68]

ok Dave, on the way ...

[Rare Bird]

You won't get it polished both faces as it's already bought in polished on the one face, sides are easy for em to do but another face forget it, i doubt they would entertain you..

[julesd68]

Fair ennuffski ... Just didn't know the score before-hand.

If I can just get the sides looking good I will be a happy bunny. :)

[Rare Bird]

Ive got a beauty i might be flogging yet as i'm really not bothered about all this audio bullshittery anymore

[Rare Bird]

Thats about as good as you'll get, precision edging, something that a lot of people seem not to be bothered about

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/TTShelf.jpg

[chris@panteg]

Whatever the platform is made of, acrylic, granite or slate, it won't have much of an isolating effect on its own; a piece of 12mm thick MDF will perform in a very similar manner to the acrylic (for example).

Any real isolating properties will come from the compliance of the feet.
---------------
Yes, diamond cut most probably and flame polished - even better, laser cut, no need for post polishing.

What might work best under slate Mark , any ideas ?

[julesd68]

Thats about as good as you'll get, precision edging, something that a lot of people seem not to be bothered about

Yes, that's better than mine ...

[YNWaN]

Thats about as good as you'll get, precision edging, something that a lot of people seem not to be bothered about

Yep, it is - you won't get it better than that :).

[YNWaN]

What might work best under slate Mark , any ideas ?

Do you mean as an isolating element?

It very much depends on how much the whole thing weighs (slab plus TT). As I mentioned before, racket balls (which are like large squash balls) are very good if sufficient weight is used (you used to be able to get them from Decathalon). If a lot of weight is supported you can use valve springs from a Mini (or similar - has to be a lot of mass though). Also an inner tube that is just inflated enough to aupport the mass is good (but not terribly stable). Squash balls aren't really that good as they are too stiff and very heavily damped to act as springs.

[Rare Bird]

What might work best under slate Mark , any ideas ?

Chris:

I'm gonna be removing my TT wall shelf, siting the deck on granite, then on top of a wooden sideboard, i'll more than likley fit Spectra Dynamics Foculpods feet under the granite platform. The big un's take around 10 Kilo weight

[chris@panteg]

Do you mean as an isolating element?

It very much depends on how much the whole thing weighs (slab plus TT). As I mentioned before, racket balls (which are like large squash balls) are very good if sufficient weight is used (you used to be able to get them from Decathalon). If a lot of weight is supported you can use valve springs from a Mini (or similar - has to be a lot of mass though). Also an inner tube that is just inflated enough to aupport the mass is good (but not terribly stable). Squash balls aren't really that good as they are too stiff and very heavily damped to act as springs.

Thanks Mark , I'm thinking under a rack as I have suspended floors , weight maybe around 30 kg or more it's one of those old target racks with space for lps at the bottom , crazy I know but very convenient , it's not my main set up but the AV one !

[chris@panteg]

Chris:

I'm gonna be removing my TT wall shelf, siting the deck on granite, then on top of a wooden sideboard, i'll more than likley fit Spectra Dynamics Foculpods feet under the granite platform. The big un's take around 10 Kilo weight

Cheers Andre , got some foculpods , I hoping to use it under a rack , I dunno though ?

[Rare Bird]

I was thinking about summert like the Gingko isolation for the TT

http://www.gingkoaudio.com/products.html

[julesd68]

OK - a top tip for all you granite lovers!

"Astonish Granite Clean and Polish" does what it says on the tin, does it quickly and very well indeed. It's also only £3. The bits of my granite platform that weren't factory polished have come up very nicely; of course, not to the same standard but it looks decent enough now. Not sure I can be bothered to do a professional job on it now ...

[julesd68]

Good morning all!

I installed my new platform last night and despite my one or two frustrations with the project, I've got something that fits the deck and rack perfectly. I must say that it looks rather handsome IMO ...:D

The Sorbothane hemispheres I sourced from Peak hi-fi on ebay. They are 40mm each, and whilst not the biggest I have seen, have the highest shore hardness (70) , which means they will take up to a maximum of 52.8 kg's per set. I thought I might aswell play it safe ... I put some tiny adhesive backed felt pads under the spike shoes just to protect the granite surface.

Sorry the photography is not up to the usual standard - it is a miserable grey day in North London!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8486/8204695389_46cb8d7260_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/34449145@N05/8204695389/)

[Rare Bird]

Looks nice but i can see why your not happy with the edges..

[julesd68]

Well it's the first time I have ordered granite but never mind, it will do the job it needs to!

[Rare Bird]

I can give you the name of the company that did mine if you want

[julesd68]

Yes please Andre - for future reference that would be great but can't afford to ditch this one at the mo ...

[Rare Bird]

Here's a matching DAC platform i had done. The granite is called ''Zimbabwe Black Granite'', i think another name for it is ''Nero Assoluto Zimbabwe''

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/Edge.jpg

http://i1075.photobucket.com/albums/w425/ELPFAN1968/DACPlatform.jpg

I sold my matching Speaker platforms to someone on AOS because i changed speakers & could'nt use them anymore.. :(

Those platforms are edged & polished with a Comandulli..Top notch

ltIrgSiGHJY

[julesd68]

You're torturing me Andre!!

I actually have four other granite platforms on the rack but they are all much less substantial - very cheap granite chopping boards from Asda and the like - stick some isolation feet under them and they do the job I think ...