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Turntable - On the Wall or to the Floor?

I'm in the process of buying a new analog front end. It was recently recommended to me that I make every effort to put my turntable on a stand that's tied into my "real" wood suspended floor rather than put it on a wall.

I have a 1920 farm house and the floors are loose, wavy, and I can't find a level spot. I once tried my Billy Baggs stand with my old turntable setup and this was scary.

My walls are 2x6 and plaster. I was going to use a Target shelf that's secured to the studs. Doesn't this method also tie the TT to the floor since the studs and floor joists are tied? Any suggestions?
kennythekey
kennythekey OP
558 posts
 
Good suggestions and thanks. The wall is the easiest solution for me.

This thread was originally started because I was told by a manufacturer of wood platforms not to put it on concrete or a bearing wall because the sound is inferior compared to wood..so try to make the floor work!
dfhaleycko
173 posts
 
You can try shelf materials that will allow you to tailor your sound a bit.

My TT is on a Target shelf, but I replaced the stock shelf with thick glass, and the TT is on a Ginkgo Cloud 11 platform. Before the Ginkgo, I'd used the original MDF shelf, and thought it sucked a lot of the life out of the sound (my TT has no suspension). Then I tried some Corian left over from kitchen remodeling. That was very "soft" sounding to me, but pleasing. Glass gave me a lot of energy (too much), and probably some ringing in the treble. Also, I was getting some resonance with the 4-subwoofer system I use. The Ginkgo worked wonders, and I'm very happy these days.

Just suggesting you might want to play around with different materials as well as shelving to optimize your playback.

YMMV, but HTH

Frank
kennythekey OP
558 posts
 
Thanks Frank, I was going to replace the stock shelf for the Target with a maple shelf. That's what started this thread, after I called the manufacturer who told me to try to use the floor.

Your point is taken, and it's probably best to pick a material that is neutral to your particular system.

The manufacturer of the TT that I'm considering, likes a platform called the Sandbox. I'm not sure if the weight of that plus the TT wouldn't be over-the-top for the Target. I'll check out the Ginkgo.
blkadr
731 posts
 
Just one more thought on wall mounting: if your floors are extremely bouncy, try to mount the shelf near a room corner.
kennythekey OP
558 posts
 
The walls are very solid (1920), and the wall studs have really aged over the years...like drilling into hardwood. Then there's the plaster. I have a curio cabinet with light glass shelves on the other side of the wall. There are some tiny glass figurines on the shelf. When I open the cabinet door you can hear them rattle. However, not until I jump to about 6" off the floor can I hear anything...and I'm no lightweight.

My new concern is that the TT plus dampening slab will be heavier than the Target shelf can handle which is 88 lbs.
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