Isolation platforms for your turntable

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spectral

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Hi all,

I currently use a 50-lb custom granite shelf for my Aries 3 and it has been fairly effective as an 'isolation' platform - I put it in quotes because the obvious question is, isolate from what exactly? In my case, I was simply adding more mass, and hoping that the extreme high density of the stone does something beneficial to the sound. The truth of the matter is that, compared to the stock Zoethecus shelf, the granite makes a significant and very audible improvement in reducing feedback.

So I've been reading up on the various commercial solutions and what they try to achieve, and no user that I can find (from reviewers to actual customers) seems to also perform simple tests when deciding on the effectiveness of their platforms. Simple tests to me would be tapping on the rack, footfalls, and tapping on the external motor (if any) with a dead-quiet test track, and in all those cases an effective isolation platform would have to reduce the feedback coming from the speakers (to various degrees) for me to be worth it. I don't dispute the value of the listening tests either.

In addition, some platforms, like the Symposium Ultra, make it quite clear that they do not aim to reduce low-frequency feedback, for which additional damping is required through some other means. In fact, they go as far as to claim their product is designed to conduct low-frequency energy. Things like this make evaluation of their design and goals very confusing.

So I think folks here use the sandbox approach (Bright Star, etc) and perhaps others, so can you tell me how effective this approach has been with my basic tests plus whatever listening comparisons you have done?

Galibier Designs' recommendations have caught my eye, which include the sandbox and the HRS isolation platforms. Various reviews put the HRS solution much higher than the sandbox approach and I am taking one of them home tomorrow (the S1). Does anyone have any experience with HRS?

Thanks

Peter
 
I use the Bright Star sand platform under my VPI and it noticibly improved background noise, image solidarity and soundstage. I can do jumping jacks in front of my rack and it's as quiet as a tomb. I can rap my knuckles as hard as I want on the side of the box while a record is playing and there is literally no effect. I consider it indispensible.
 

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