tt stand, ideas please

[fini]

Ahh, a mechanical room! Probably some electrician drilled too big a hole in a few joists!

fini

[Randy Bey]

The setup equipment is very necessary for a tt.

You can get a cartridge protractor for free downloaded from www.enjoythemusic.com which is actually pretty good.

A Shure VTF gauge is a must and can be had for about $30.

You also need assorted allen wrenches, tiny screwdrivers, and oh yes, grow a third arm from the middle of your chest.

[Strabo]

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On 9/25/2003 5:04:15 AM marksdad wrote:

...when my tt arrived i coud see automatically that the sellor had the tt set up wrong, now i want to begin tweaking, but acording to the aformentioned link i need a battery of set up equipment, are the scales and associated set up tools really necessary? help??????????

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You have three options.

Get the stuff to set it up to spec's the first time and still spend some time tweaking it in.

Take it somewhere to have it set up right the first time.

Or rough it in then tweak it over time by ear. This is the road I took and it's probably the most involved. It gives you the chance to hear all of the improvements as you make things right. But, yes, a protractor is a must have from the very beginning. In the end I ended up picking up a scale just to ease my conscience but you can get buy without one. A test disc is next on my wish list as I zero in on anti-skate and azimuth adjustments.

Any way you do it, I think you will be pleased in the end. I know I am.

[marksdad]

ok after reading all of the responses i have decided that a stand is out of the question, at least in my current home. and i have eliminated the hanging thingy, it seems to me that it would be hard to stop from swinging, so my only remaining option is the wall mount, does anyone know of any threads or sites that might help me with design?i have a general design in mind but i fear that the walls are not as isolated as they could be, and i could also need isolation there as well, also since my younger days consisted of taking an album out and playing, i need help on set up, i read all i need to do but it is explained really poorly, hell i am now just learning the parts and pieces in my turntable, still in need

[mobile homeless]

I recommend a used Target TT-1 wall stand. Mount to studs if possible (if not possible, mount a backing board to studs and then stand to this - board can be painted to match wall or stained etc). I am actually in the process of mounting a Target stand just like the above (with some shelf mods) for my Linn LP-12.

Here are some great links for people that have built their own. The "Needle Doctor" sells a wall mount stand as well in the 125 range built by Apollo but is not as sturdy as the original Target. The top shelf rides on cones and is adjustable to level table. You can experiment with different types of shelves here.

For some other mods of wall stands, go here:

Good info on making your own wall shelf

kh

[prodj101]

with my stand, I noticed I was getting a small amount of vibration on the lower shelves (see link for pictures, I built it myself) so I took 4 smallish peices of foam and put them under each leg of the stand. this seemed to get rid of the vibrations, and I can know crank music and get no vibrations on any level of the cabnit (not that I can detect with my hand anyway).

[marksdad]

it is harder finding anything (except for here) about tt's than it was finding my heritage system, no one in town carries anything associated with tt's, no scales, or protractors, even pre amps, everyone does not stock them? even when asked if i could bring in my tt to test to see if it works, i had to say that if it did i would buy an 1200 dollar sunfire amp that has an phono input. man o man, getting this thing going has been tough, and i am only just begining the battle.well it l;ooks good sitting high atop my audio rack, thanks for all your input guys

[marksdad]

1 more question for you tt'rs, i saw, have been seeing those tiny phono preamps, the $40 jobbies, made by???? are they even reasonable? they dont even list if they are for mm or mc cartridges?

[Randy Bey]

I had surprizingly good results with the Rat Shack "Little Rat" phono stage, about the size of an Altoids box. About $15 on eBay, regularly.

Runs on a 9V battery.

Buy two and "monoblock" them.

[jnorv]

The design of wall mounted racks is not rocket science. I built one for a friend out of 2x4s and plywood. Mounted on an outside wall it was absolutely stable. He was running a Linn with an air bearing ET arm. One of the few systems that I have listened to that could resolve the opening tracks of DSOTM. You could jump up and down on the floor next to it and not get mistracking.

Jim N

[mobile homeless]

While not rocket science, the stand here really changes the sound. And once again, Linn LP-12's seem to like LIGHT AND RIGID over heavy, high mass, racks. Take a look at the DIY links to those stands constucted for some ideas that go beyond a few 2x4 and some plywood.

The Linn LP-12 is a finicky beast and does not need the same thing as other tables. I have been messing with one for over 30 years and have lived with BAD Linn setup and amazing LINN setup.

It seems as if He has ditched the wall stand anyway; or has not mentioned going back to it since the recs. It is one of the easiest way to leave floor-born vibrations.

kh

[jnorv]

I suspect that most high end TT manufacturers build their TTs with the idea that they will be put on non resonate , immoble stands. As a mechanical engineer, I find it hard to believe that any TT would not be better off setting on 3000 pounds of concrete imbedded in the ground rather than on some highly engineered rack on some unknown floor. It is the same argument made about the flexure of the panels of large horns that somehow adds to the listening enjoyment, as if the designers somehow tuned their speakers for panel flex.

Jim N.

[artto]

If the TT on top of the equipment rack is visibly moving just from walking around the room then Id have to say you have some weak floors. The TT on top of the rack is essentially at the location were maximum movement is occurring when the floor flexes. No TT rack is going to cure this.

One way, partially around this is to (if you can) put the rack along an exterior load bearing wall. The floor wont be flexing as much along that area. Just be advised that low frequency standing waves (pressure build up) tends to occur in the room corners & boundaries. Placing it along the middle of the wall should help minimize this.

If youre in something like a single family home & you can access the floor joists, you might want to add unevenly spaced stringers (2x4 or 2x6), or 1x4 crossed stringers between the joists. This really helps stiffen up the floor & transfer loads. In my home I even doubled up on the joists themselves (pain in the arse unless you have adequate access below).

Ive found a combination of the mass/light structure method works well. Like Kelly said, Linn recommends a light rigid structure, while most other TT seem to need the mass. If you take a combination idea such as using Mallets suggested box filled with heavy stuff, and yet, use a light shelf on top of it that is NOT physically coupled to the box, I think youll get the best of both worlds.