Isolating turntable in a console

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fingersoccer

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Joined 2010
#1
I'm working on plans for a console-type stereo cabinet with built in speakers. How would I isolate the speaker vibrations from the rest of the cabinet, or at least from the turntable? At low listening levels, I think it wouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'm worried about the needle flopping around when the volume is up.

I suspect some sort of suspension could be used to hold the turntable, but I'm not sure how to execute this is tidy, non-janky way. How do they do it?
 
#4
I've heard that a concrete paving slab sitting on 4 tennis balls works in nightclubs that have to isolate turntables from very loud sound systems. Perhaps an MDF box full of sand, or laminating a bunch of layers of MDF together would achieve similar mass but look nicer. A partially-inflated bicycle inner tube might work as a spring instead of tennis balls. Or maybe there's some suitably springy closed-cell foam product. I suppose one could even resort to actual springs, or suitably large rubber bands. (Another DJ improvised suspension is said to be rubber bands wrapped over rolls of gaffer tape, one under each SL-1200 foot.)
 
#7
Putting speakers and a turntable in the same enclosure is asking for trouble. There's a reason those old consoles look better than they sound. I like the idea of separate feet for the turntable. You can also try a huge amount of mass loading (50Lbs+). I've gotten good results 16"x16" lawn paving bricks, which come in a wide variety of styles, and you can sandwich some soundboard between them.

The other consideration is that any enclosed box will be susceptible to resonant vibration, so I would leave the back open to combat this, or cover it with cloth if you have pets to keep out.
 
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