Siberia,
I love solid wood, but is a poor choice for a plinth. Wood moves / shrinks no matter how you seal it. Proper cartridge alignment will be all but impossible over time depending on temperature and humidity. The larger the piece of wood the bigger the problem. If you want the wood look on top, try using layers of aluminum, plexiglass or other materials fastened / glued to the bottom of the wood. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.
I love solid wood, but is a poor choice for a plinth. Wood moves / shrinks no matter how you seal it. Proper cartridge alignment will be all but impossible over time depending on temperature and humidity. The larger the piece of wood the bigger the problem. If you want the wood look on top, try using layers of aluminum, plexiglass or other materials fastened / glued to the bottom of the wood. Just my 2 cents. Good luck.
Hottattoo,
Good points.
Although this is not any hardwood.
Panzerholz is high strengh, dense (87 lbs/cu.ft.), metal like, bullet proof material, which has good acoustical properties.
That being said, I agree, sandwiching it between aluminum or steel would be of benefit.
Maybe in the future.
Right now, I'm gonna finish it as it is and check alignement from time to time.
Good points.
Although this is not any hardwood.
Panzerholz is high strengh, dense (87 lbs/cu.ft.), metal like, bullet proof material, which has good acoustical properties.
That being said, I agree, sandwiching it between aluminum or steel would be of benefit.
Maybe in the future.
Right now, I'm gonna finish it as it is and check alignement from time to time.
It would be very interesting how you like the sound - i have heard very conflicting views on panzerholz.
Is the plinth going to be as large as the piece in the pic? Not a good idea to have a plinth larger than the absolute minimum. The larger the surface area the more sensitive your setup becomes to acoustic waves and dynamics suffer.
Is the plinth going to be as large as the piece in the pic? Not a good idea to have a plinth larger than the absolute minimum. The larger the surface area the more sensitive your setup becomes to acoustic waves and dynamics suffer.
I've chosen this material because of stifness, mass and damping it provides,
so needed for Lenco idler drive mounting and mechanical resonance control.
I see your point on "the larger the plinth the more it's prone to airborne, acoustical vibrations.
But as with all design decisions, one must compromise.
And what might be sensible for the lightweight, suspended chassis plinths is not necessarily crucial for heavyweighters.
It's not argument of course, but looking at many idler drive replinths,
one could observe the majority is in the camp of big size matters.
Lenco is not excluded in this case.
I used this "plinth" for more than two years,
On and off. Not daily.
Just because I had so many preoccupations
besides audio DIY.
Can't compare to other materials, plinths,
as I haven't tried them.
In comparison to my previous heavily modded Rega P3,
this TT wins with both eyes closed, both legs tied and hands down.
So the time came to cover it in wood oil,
and give it the decent leveling feet.
Nevertheless, I would love to experiment, try different plinths,
materials, tonearm boards etc
If only I could measure mechanical vibrations objectively.
As for subjective only tryouts, I don't have time,
I want to enjoy the music for the little time I've got from other duties.
so needed for Lenco idler drive mounting and mechanical resonance control.
I see your point on "the larger the plinth the more it's prone to airborne, acoustical vibrations.
But as with all design decisions, one must compromise.
And what might be sensible for the lightweight, suspended chassis plinths is not necessarily crucial for heavyweighters.
It's not argument of course, but looking at many idler drive replinths,
one could observe the majority is in the camp of big size matters.
Lenco is not excluded in this case.
I used this "plinth" for more than two years,
On and off. Not daily.
Just because I had so many preoccupations
besides audio DIY.
Can't compare to other materials, plinths,
as I haven't tried them.
In comparison to my previous heavily modded Rega P3,
this TT wins with both eyes closed, both legs tied and hands down.
So the time came to cover it in wood oil,
and give it the decent leveling feet.
Nevertheless, I would love to experiment, try different plinths,
materials, tonearm boards etc
If only I could measure mechanical vibrations objectively.
As for subjective only tryouts, I don't have time,
I want to enjoy the music for the little time I've got from other duties.
If you have a second arm and test cartridge, place it (diamond) on different areas and angles of the plinth while it's running and have a listen ( maybe head phones )
The area of the plinth looks quite large and more prone to vibrations as mentioned
Regards
David
The area of the plinth looks quite large and more prone to vibrations as mentioned
Regards
David
That panzerholz is beautiful.
Using three feet will make leveling easy for most TTs, but that arrangement can be unstable. If I were building one like yours I would use four feet and place them inboard a bit from the corners.
Using three feet will make leveling easy for most TTs, but that arrangement can be unstable. If I were building one like yours I would use four feet and place them inboard a bit from the corners.
A plane is defined by 3 points, but your table can set on said plane and not be level, it just wont be tippy. I prefer a wall shelf with adjustability of the shelf table sits on at all 4 corners for leveling.
Russellc
Russellc
Siberia, I like your attitude in post #6: Git 'er done!
Especially with the way some of these threads keep going forever, you could end up wasting time just reading and responding to this thread, justifying your materials and such.
I wonder how much Panzerholz expands with temperature, or from a few weeks at 20 percent relative humidity to a few weeks at 80 percent (perhaps a reasonable indoors winter-to-spring-rains change in seasonal climates). A measurement of this and the calculation of tracking error generated would be good for dozens of posts.
Since the platter (which is presumably heavier than the tonearm) is on the left and the tonearm on the right, it follows that the center of gravity of the unit will be left of center, and about midway front-to-back. The best way to most nearly equalize the weight on each of three feet (which seems like a desirable thing to do) is place one foot each at the left front and left rear corner, and the third on the right side, about midway between the front and rear.
Having four feet (on any equipment, not just turntables) appears to be more from tradition than anything else. The advantage of three feet over four is it will never "rock back and forth" diagonally between two feet if it sits on a warped surface.
Especially with the way some of these threads keep going forever, you could end up wasting time just reading and responding to this thread, justifying your materials and such.
I wonder how much Panzerholz expands with temperature, or from a few weeks at 20 percent relative humidity to a few weeks at 80 percent (perhaps a reasonable indoors winter-to-spring-rains change in seasonal climates). A measurement of this and the calculation of tracking error generated would be good for dozens of posts.
How so? I would presume the center of gravity would be well within the triangle made by three feet placed in any reasonable configuration.
Since the platter (which is presumably heavier than the tonearm) is on the left and the tonearm on the right, it follows that the center of gravity of the unit will be left of center, and about midway front-to-back. The best way to most nearly equalize the weight on each of three feet (which seems like a desirable thing to do) is place one foot each at the left front and left rear corner, and the third on the right side, about midway between the front and rear.
Having four feet (on any equipment, not just turntables) appears to be more from tradition than anything else. The advantage of three feet over four is it will never "rock back and forth" diagonally between two feet if it sits on a warped surface.
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A triangle, by definition, forms a plane and if I built a TT into a triangular base, I'd be quite comfortable with it's stability, but the OP's base is a large rectangle and, if it were mine, I'd prefer four feet set at some point in from the corners that balanced the weight of the platter and motor with the surrounding panzerholz.
It may be that the panzerholz is sufficiently heavy and the CG is sufficiently low that three feet would do just fine, but still it wouldn't be my choice.
I like the OP's project and I wish him well with it.
It may be that the panzerholz is sufficiently heavy and the CG is sufficiently low that three feet would do just fine, but still it wouldn't be my choice.
I like the OP's project and I wish him well with it.
I prefer 3 feet for all of benb's reasons. Intuitively I would put one foot below the tonearm base (am I insane?).
If you want to equalize static forces, you could use one foot under the plinth to find the center of gravity: the point where the TT balances. Then mark any circle with that point as center and place the three legs equidistant around that circle, in any orientation you like.
But I was thinking of dynamic forces when suggesting a leg under the tone arm. Maybe there are none when the record is playing.
If you want to equalize static forces, you could use one foot under the plinth to find the center of gravity: the point where the TT balances. Then mark any circle with that point as center and place the three legs equidistant around that circle, in any orientation you like.
But I was thinking of dynamic forces when suggesting a leg under the tone arm. Maybe there are none when the record is playing.
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