Cheap DIY isolation platform tip!

[the record spot]

Here's one I made earlier....the hifi's currently sat on a dedicated four shelf support rack, record deck on top, not surprisingly, with each component below. It's a good solid table, wooden shelves, but I noticed that the record deck (it's a Rega P3) sounded a bit too warm and woolly when - in a previous flat - it sounded quite open but on a different base. Not sure if they're still doing them, but Tesco had some solid granite kitchen chopping boards for sale recently; I'd been thinking about getting a slab of MDF from a DIY store to put my own isolation platform together, but this was just as good (if not better), perfectly flat, more rigid - it's granite for pete's sake! - and at a penny off a tenner, VFM of the highest order. A set of four castor cups followed from the local Homebase (although any DIY outlet would stock this kind of thing). There's several types to choose from, but I went with some satin silver effect (ooh, nice, lol) non slip types, set of four. Yours for about £4.49, but there's others to choose from from about £2.50, so choose accordingly. I'd been looking for something spiked, but this would do as an alternative. Simply rest the marble platform on the cups, plonk record deck (or other component of your choice) thereon and away you go. I was pleasantly surprised by the improvement - tighter bass, more definition in places. Not completely night and day, but noticeable enough to warrant a thumbs up and a recommendation. Optional extras are glue to hold it all together, or leave as is to try out some different 'feet' over time. OK, it's very DIY, but at less than fifteen quid and roughly an hour of your time, it's a bit of a steal and has to be worth a try. Plus, it'll save you about £1,485 on a Townshend Seismic Sink...

 

[Thaiman]

Good post. I am totally agree with you. Many of these so call "sound tweaking components" are so over prices (cables, stands, main condtioners...etc) when you weight up the sound improvement per pounds many of them are not worth it imo.

 

[the record spot]

I might even have to retract that "night and day" comment and upgrade to "blindingly obvious"! Just been listening to some quite bass-heavy LPs (Yes' "The Yes Album" for one) and it's pretty amazing the difference; much tighter at the lower end, nothing like as bloomy as it once was....is the patents office still open?!

I'd been thinking about getting one of these wall mounted glass numbers you see advertised, till I saw the price....which brings us right back to Tesco granite chopping boards and DIY outlets!

 

[Thaiman]

Funny that you are mention chopping boards! that is what I have got underneath my MF A5. The treble lift a little but the soundstage got wider and that bass is lower than ever.

 

[Anonymous]

I've just comeback to What Hi-Fi after a 5 year absence. This Sept I started a degree course in Music Technology & Sound Design and was looking to monitor my project studio. Now, being a full-time student money is tight and instead of going down the professional active monitor approach I decided to recycle my Mordaunt Short MS10i pearls and use a second hand audiolab 8000C/P combo (UK made not the Chinese versions) to amplify it and some cable talk talk 3 spkr cable. I'd placed them on a 2.5m worktop that I knocked together as my studio desk. Of course, the bottom end to the speakers was boomy and rather flabby. I checked out ebay and spotted 400mm x 300mm x 32mm marble slabs at £55+10 p&p each (this was the cheapest in the range)!

I've just joined, so was unaware of this thread, but strangely came to the same conclusion about Tesco's Finest Granite chopping block @ £9.75 a throw (don't take this literally or you may injure yourself throwing this weighty beast). Strangely, they measure 400mm x 300mm x 15mm. So I bought 4, stacked two under each speaker and added some polypods which in total cost me around £55. I tried one per speaker which was pretty good, but two per speaker seemed to tighten up the sound so much more. I look forward to giving my Mission 753s the same treatment.

I noticed from WHF's Jan 2008 edition, page 111, the 'old place a brick on a CD trick' to give greater punch. Why not use a granite sandwich? One under a spiked CD player and one a-top (the granite slab has material underneath which might be a bit more friendly to the exterior finish of your beloved silver spinner)? On the subject of building materials, the rather more drastic approach taken by some in the 90's, was to mount your speakers on paving slabs! Since then we've gone laminate mad and not only would the missus go mad with her scuffed floor, but it may look unsightly to the female ocular orbs. Might work if you're a single lad.

On the cheap DIY theme, I also refer to the comments regarding interconnects in this thread, have WHF stopped applying the 10% rule, where spending 10% of your budget on cables was recommended following on from the rationale of the law of diminishing returns? I still adhere to it.

There's always a risk of duff cables, but you could try ebay for 2nd hand interconns (QED Qnex 1's, cambridge audio pacifics, audioquest turqouise/topaz/rubies are aplenty). Although, I find this somewhat amusing when I consider the cable being used by many musicians (nearer to bell wire than nordost) to produce the music in the first place. Not everyone uses say, Van Damme cabling and when you're on a budget the tendency is to forget cable quality and concentrate on the source. If you're source - be it mics, guitar amps or FX etc - is mediocre, your recording will be the same. Good cable will only serve to highlight further, how mediocre it sounds.

 

[Anonymous]

I suspect Tesco should re-brand said boards as isolation platforms! I bought a couple yesterday with four squash balls and now have one under my CDP and one under my amp (still retaining the half squash ball under each component foot). I'm still testing but I'm pretty sure it has cleaned up the sound-stage a little, focusing and widening it. I'm going to get another to go under my sub next. Then I'll think about my speakers stands...

Great fun...

 

[Anonymous]

I have my equipment on a Soundstyle rack which has spiked feet and that made a huge difference from the wooden sideboard I was using to begin with. My Linn Turntabel is sat on a Target wall mounted support which again is great and very necessary as I have wooden floors that flex whenever anyone walks across them and literally bounce if anyone suddenly has the urge to have a boogie.
I use half squash balls under the CD and DVD players but i'm not sure if they would make any difference to my MF A5 amp's sound plus it is very heavy. What do any of you think?

My speakers and subwoofer spikes are sat in machined chromed cones bought on Ebay for a pittance and these are sat on concrete slabs I cut to size and then spray painted them a matt black finish so they are more acceptable on the eye.

I can't bring myslef to try a brick on top of my MF Nu Vista CD3 CD player or Rosewood Mission 753 Freedom Speakers to see if the sound will improve, although I suppose I could wrap the bricks in a velvet material but i'm not so sure.

I like the idea of the Tesco slabs but would they make a difference from what i already have and would the Soundstyle glass shelves be able to take the weight?

 

[Anonymous]

Got 2 chopping boards under my speaker stands. Slab of slate off a pub pool table under my cd player and granite chopping board on top of my cd player. World of difference

 

[Anonymous]

You could always buy a couple of the Tesco granite boards for £20 to see. If they don't make any difference to you then you have plenty of options:

1) Leave them in because they add kit-rack kudos and might help to cool your system,
2) Use them in the kitchen or as a house-warming gift to a buddy,
3) Take them back if the packaging is OK and say that they blutten your knives,
4) Use them as an avant-garde cat litter-tray stand...

It has to be worth a shot...good luck...