Re: arsclist Turntable Base

[Karl Miller <lyaa071@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, 16 Aug 2001, Mark Shakarjian wrote:

> Hi,
>   I wanted to throw out a question to the masses to see what opinions
> are. I'm putting together a turntable as my archival setup. I'm using a
> Technics SP-15 and an SME 3012. I'm trying to decide what material to
> make the base from. I've been tossing around marble, granite and
> particle board. Any comments?

Nothing scientific to offer, just some personal observations...

I have two SP-15s. One is mounted on particle board, the other is mounted
on the manufacturer supplied base which I adapted for a longer arm. The
manufacturer's base has spring loaded supports and appears to be a two
part construction. The top appears to be a laminated particle board with
the bottom being a heavy rubber like material. The base is quite heavy
while the tension on the springs seems just right as it doesn't budge
during start up. The other base was supplied by another vendor, possibly
OWL. I believe it is wood, perhaps laminated particle board, not as heavy,
but with larger dimensions which made the mounting of the arm
easier. Both configurations have worked well for me over the 20 years I
have been using them.

When you mentioned marble as a base, I was reminded of the first
configuration I had for 16 inch discs...the turntable had an iron base. At
first I placed it on some concrete blocks. The motor was about the size of
a large coffee can. The rumble was incredible. Placing it on wood seemed
to reduce the rumble.

Karl