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Turntable vibration isolation for non-audiophiles

mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
edited January 2012 in Strut Central
A friend who was leaving out of town recently sold me his old Linn LP-12 for a ridiculously good price. Despite the fact that it's an early '80s model with no 45 switch (you have to use an adapter on the belt pulley!), it's a pretty sweet turntable. The only problem is that this sucker is really prone to even slight jolts, thus skipping the needle. I'm looking for recommendations on simple vibration isolation that works for other people but I'm trying the never-ending spider hole that usually comes with asking this question on audiophile boards and you get $1000 dollar solutions made from NASA-tested gel or some crazy shit like that.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

  Comments

  • FlomotionFlomotion 2,391 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    A friend who was leaving out of town recently sold me his old Linn LP-12 for a ridiculously good price. Despite the fact that it's an early '80s model with no 45 switch (you have to use an adapter on the belt pulley!), it's a pretty sweet turntable. The only problem is that this sucker is really prone to even slight jolts, thus skipping the needle. I'm looking for recommendations on simple vibration isolation that works for other people but I'm trying the never-ending spider hole that usually comes with asking this question on audiophile boards and you get $1000 dollar solutions made from NASA-tested gel or some crazy shit like that.

    Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

    Yep, been there. Great turntable but ridiculously sensitive. You just need to put it on a level, wall-mounted shelf otherwise it picks up every single vibration that goes through the floor. Pretty cheap and simple to do and will make a 1000% difference to your listening pleasure since you can actually enjoy the music without holding your breath and wincing every time someone walks across the room. Two brackets, a solid piece of wood/MDF, a spirit level and you're there. $30?
  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,906 Posts
    A old audiophile coworker friend of mine used to swear by hockey pucks under the feet of the turntable.
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    Flomotion is right, Linns need to be shelf mounted.

    There's a circuit board mod you can get that will give you a 45 switch.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    Flomotion is right, Linns need to be shelf mounted.

    There's a circuit board mod you can get that will give you a 45 switch.

    Shelf-mounted works for me, though I don't have a saw at home so finding a pre-made shelf that's at least 17 inches in depth might be a bit tricky.

    As for the board mod, yeah, I had looked into it but the cost is so prohibitively expensive, I'm totally fine with using the adapter.

    Thanks SS cloud!
  • HorseleechHorseleech 3,830 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    Horseleech said:
    Flomotion is right, Linns need to be shelf mounted.

    There's a circuit board mod you can get that will give you a 45 switch.

    Shelf-mounted works for me, though I don't have a saw at home so finding a pre-made shelf that's at least 17 inches in depth might be a bit tricky.

    As for the board mod, yeah, I had looked into it but the cost is so prohibitively expensive, I'm totally fine with using the adapter.

    Thanks SS cloud!

    At $159, these aren't exactly cheap, but they do the trick nicely:

    http://www.musicdirect.com/p-7643-target-vw1-wall-mount-turntable-shelf.aspx

    You might be able to find a used one on Audiogon.

    EDIT: Shit, I just noticed that these are currently unavailable.
  • jamesjames chicago 1,863 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    I don't have a saw at home
    Shameful. A saw is one of those things that, like unopened credit-card statements and a copy of Light Of Worlds, I simply assume that no record-dude home is without. Collecting oddly shaped things and not owning rudimentary woodworking tools? You's a mo/ark, I don't care who you are.

    b/w

    "Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft."
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    HI SOMEONE CALL FOR ME?
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Yeah, I saw that one too but considering that a DIY wall shelf would cost a fraction of that, it's hard to justify the cost just for convenience.

    This is looking real good to me right now: http://www.theanalogdept.com/diy_tt_shelf.htm

    But even reading this site is making my eyes glaze over. Technics 1200s really are the best when it comes to "the shit just works".
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    james said:
    mannybolone said:
    I don't have a saw at home
    Shameful. A saw is one of those things that, like unopened credit-card statements and a copy of Light Of Worlds, I simply assume that no record-dude home is without. Collecting oddly shaped things and not owning rudimentary woodworking tools? You's a mo/ark, I don't care who you are.

    b/w

    "Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft."

    For starters, I live in LA (but somehow, I doubt that changes the sentiment much).

    Luckily, being married to a former visual artist means that we do own both a hack saw and jigsaw but not a table saw or one of those sweet miter saws.

    But if you ever saw my handiwork from shop class back in junior high, you'd recognize that putting a sharp, cutting tool in my hand is not wise. I have trouble cutting paper in a straight line.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    4YearGraduate said:
    HI SOMEONE CALL FOR ME?

    Actually, yes - wrote you earlier to say Shanghai Gary is coming to town next week. Wanted to see if you wanted to link up with us. We grubbing.

    You still buried under a ton of PL stuff?
  • 4YearGraduate4YearGraduate 2,945 Posts
    mannybolone said:
    Technics 1200s really are the best when it comes to "the shit just works".

    that's the gospel right there. most things beyond it are snake oil. If these audiophools saw the archaic lathes the records were ACTUALLY cut on it might change their perspective. OR maybe not.

    I just saw your email. responding now
  • DJBombjackDJBombjack Miami 1,665 Posts
    In the clurb, we use tennis balls cut in half. OK, they're going under 1200s which are way more robust, but they're cheap and worth a try no?
  • SnagglepusSnagglepus 1,756 Posts
    I'm sure at Home Depot you can find a pre-cut shelf like this one:

    http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&productId=202336276&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&MERCH=REC-_-nosearch2-1-_-NA-_-202336276-_-N&locStoreNum=6234

    That might be a bit large, but they do offer free cutting as a service so you could ask them to trim it a bit. If you don't see that board, I'm sure you can find a 1"x18"x6' and have them cut it to the width you'd like. And they'll have tons of shelving brackets to choose from.

    I'd also pick up a cheap stud finder if you don't have one already.
  • LoopDreamsLoopDreams 1,195 Posts
    O, if you want that shelf now and don't want to call 1-800 IGOTASAW find yourself a straight edge (level?) and two clamps and you've got yourself a guide for your jigsaw.

    Those Linns are super crazy sensitive, saw one last week... I'd destroy records w/ one of those suckers, but they must sound sweet.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    I realized that it was a lot simpler to put the Linn on the small portable table that my fax machine was on. Definitely NOT audiophile approved but it's good enough for me if it means I don't have to hold my breath for 3 minutes while trying to digitize a song. At some point, I'll do it up more proper (interestingly, there seems to be a lot of love out there for a simple Ikea Lack table hack)
  • DJ_WubWubDJ_WubWub 874 Posts
    Sorbothane is cheap and works well for me just cut it to size and put under feet of turntable.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    Horseleech said:
    Flomotion is right, Linns need to be shelf mounted.

    There's a circuit board mod you can get that will give you a 45 switch.

    Even though this could cost as much, if not more, than what I bought the turntable for, it feels more attractive now that I realize what a royal pain it is to use the 45 pulley adapter. It's amazing that such an expensive piece of equipment never came with a better solution built-in to begin with. Did the folks at Linn hate the 7" single or something?
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