[watercourse]

Hi Steve,
I have used the tall Tenderfeet in the past, and have moved more recently to the turntable Isoball setup in conjunction with grungebuster dots isolating the shelf from the rack. I appreciate the different sound that the Isoballs produce with my Rega P5, but it isn't quite as good for vibration isolation as the Tenderfeet. Neither have been able to completely absorb the floor-borne vibrations, but the Tenderfeet did a pretty good job (about 90%).
I have recently changed my cartridge to one that has better low frequency performance, and unfortunately, this has also accentuated the rumble that I get from the nearby light rail trains. Do you have any suggestions for industrial-strength vibration isolation? Unfortunately, I can't mount the table on the wall, as there isn't room to do this without contorting to play a record, which will likely take the fun out of it.
I am willing to consider such devices as Ginkgo Clouds or a DIY box, but this will also likely raise the turntable to a height that will make it difficult to play records, however, this is probably more doable than the wall mount option.
Any thoughts appreciated! Big fan of your products!
Wilson

[Herbie]

Hi, Wilson. There's only so much you can do with turntable isolation at the table itself and still maintain sonic integrity. You might look at better isolating the rack or stand that the turntable is sitting on, or moving the turntable to a more stable location.

On a suspended floor, sometimes moving the rack a few inches or a foot this way or that can alleviate a lot of resonant vibration. Different spots on the floor, for example over a joist or to avoid a joist, will act less like a trampoline than other spots.

If all else fails, try setting the turntable on a firm goose-down pillow.

Steve
Herbie's Audio Lab

[woodsyi]

Ceiling Suspension?

[watercourse]

Thanks for the thoughts Steve. I have a modular steel rack that is sand or lead fillable, but I haven't tried that. I have the entire rack sitting on a set of your Giant Fat Gliders, which really helped, and as I mentioned, Grungebuster dots beneath the MDF shelves and the rack frame. I also have Fat Dots underneath the turntable shelf, and recently successfully minimized vibrations with two Hal-O's on my tonearm - all of which were able to cut 80% of vibrations.
Any further thoughts on the rack itself? I'm restricted somewhat as to where I can put it, but I can try moving it around, although it is in the most level spot right now.

Hmmm, do you have examples of ceiling suspension? Sounds interesting as well, if we're only dealing with the TT it might be doable technically, but I'm having a hard time picturing the setup: rods, nuts, and a platform? Or is there something more aesthetically-pleasing to a better half that my feeble imagination can't conjure up?

[woodsyi]

I have never seen one but there are some accounts of them on-line.  Floor and wall being bad for you just made me think of suspending a shelf from the ceiling. 

I was thinking of using steel cable or heavy weight fishing line if you want to go invisible. 

[watercourse]

OK, I'll search around, thanks for the input. I'm thinking fishing line might be aesthetically cool-looking, but might be less stable than I'd like (unless it really don't mean if it ain't got that swing...) Hmmm, I'll think more about this one.
Anyone ever try those maglev feet with a turntable?

[dknywinnie]

Has anyone else ever suspended a TT from the ceiling?

http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=vinyl&m=381594

[watercourse]

Cool, I'll see what this guy has to say. Thanks!

[watercourse]

OK, reporting back guys. This is from Artemus over at Audio Asylum:

"I used steel cable. Put an eye hook in the ceiling.  Run cable through the eye hook and clamp the cable together making a  loop. Do the same with your platform. I would avoid MDF since it tends  to suck the life out of the music. Plus, using a regular screw type hook  into MDF is not structurally sound. I used a piece of furniture grade  plywood, ie oak or birch veneered. You also need to use a turnbuckle in  each run of cable running from TT platform to ceiling. This allows for  easy leveling.

If you want something with a more finished look  than raw cable, you can use the plastic covered clothesline. Make sure  you hit a ceiling joist with your eye hooks. I used one for each corner.  CJ's are usually 16 inches on center. I would use a 2" long eye hook in  the ceiling. 1 1/2 inch  will work if you screw it all the way in. This assumes a 1/2 in thick  ceiling material."

Sounds pretty trick, eh? With my lightweight table, I might be able to get away with fishing line, or some thin gauge cabling, which could actually look pretty nice. Thanks dknywinnie, I owe you one.

PS Doesn't mean that my Herbie's products won't go to good use elsewhere!

[richidoo]

A wall mounted shelf would be just as quiet as the ceiling and easier to install. If people are walking upstairs then the ceiling is no better than your floor. If you go with ceiling, use vinyl coated cables or slide rubber tubing over them to damp cable resonance. Splay the mounting points outward so the shelf will not swing. I think a wall shelf with Herbies footers under the TT would be dead quiet.  http://www.audioadvisor.com/products.asp?dept=123

The simplest way to quiet the floor is to brace it from below with a column down to concrete slab or to the earth if on a crawlspace (Courtesy mfsoa ) Or if the floor below the TT is not the ground floor you can still brace it with splayed diagonal columns down to the floor/wall corner of the floor below. yWAFmv. 

[watercourse]

Richidoo - Great ideas on the vinyl coating and the splaying. No one is upstairs, so no worries on that. However, I'm in a rental, so no mods to the structure can occur; in any event, I am above a garage and I'd need a 20' column which would end up in the middle of the parking space, which my landlord would not understand. Hey wait a minute, since he is a retired firefighter, maybe I can put a brass pole up and see if he flinches. 
Yes, wall mounting would be the easiest to install, but would be the hardest to place in my case, hence the mental exploration of ceiling mounting.
Thanks all,
Wilson