Dear perfectpathtech, You wrote, "No disrespect but MDF is Medium density fiberboard, most speaker manufactures use it". I welcome your dissent, but your statement proves what? It proves that MDF is cheap. Lots of turntable plinths are made of MDF, too. MDF plinths are usually found on the lowest end turntables, in terms of cost. Certainly MDF can be used as one layer in a CLD construction; Adona uses it that way very successfully. But two layers of MDF separated by foam would not have any CLD property, because the foam is mushy in between two layers that have identical properties. The foam would impede energy transfer between the two layers of MDF, at least in my opinion.
Help! Tweaking My Lovan Rack for new Big A**ed Transrotor Turntable!
Folks, some input would be mighty appreciated.
I’ve been using a hand-me-down (though very nice!) Micro Seiki dd-40 turntable for a number of years and finally got the upgrade itch (it helps the upgrade itch when your cartridge is going on 30 years old, and sounding like it!).
I went down the rabbit hole and picked up a Transrotor Fat Bob S turntable, with an Acoustic Solid 12" arm and a Benz Micro Ebony cartridge. All with only about 30 hours of use at a great price. Yay!
Though I have considered getting rid of my old Lovan Classic rack for a new custom jobby, I’m pretty much spent out and I think I’ll have to make do for now, working with the Lovan.
The Fat Bob turntable is 55 lbs of solid aluminum and built like Thor’s hammer.
I figure this will finally get me to fill my Lovan stands for a bit more rigidity - probably with rice. The stand is the old 3 legged triangular shaped bass, which means the thin MDF shelves can feel like they sit sort of precariously on top. But the stand itself feels quite solid.
I want to incorporate a wood platform base, as many do, because I really love the look of a nice wood slab.
At first I thought maybe I’d have 3 spikes drilled in to the bottom corners of the wood base to directly couple it to the rest of the Lovan frame, vs resting it on the top mdf shelf. But I’m not sure that’s really necessary. And I’d like to incorporate some isolation as well, I think. So I’m thinking of just laying it on the top shelf, with something in between.
My first thought is to place a Symposium Segue shelf between the top of the Lovan shelf and the wood base.
Other than that...I’m flummoxed as to all the other choices...roller blocks? Symposium Fat Padz? Vibrapods? Herbie’s Tendersoft footers? Voo-Doo Isopods? What should I put between the wood platform base and my Lovan shelf?
Any comments of suggestions on the direction I’m going?
Thanks!
(BTW, I’m an resolutely NOT a DIY/Handy-man type, so I’m not trying to go to heroic efforts, wishing this to be as painless as possible).
I’ve been using a hand-me-down (though very nice!) Micro Seiki dd-40 turntable for a number of years and finally got the upgrade itch (it helps the upgrade itch when your cartridge is going on 30 years old, and sounding like it!).
I went down the rabbit hole and picked up a Transrotor Fat Bob S turntable, with an Acoustic Solid 12" arm and a Benz Micro Ebony cartridge. All with only about 30 hours of use at a great price. Yay!
Though I have considered getting rid of my old Lovan Classic rack for a new custom jobby, I’m pretty much spent out and I think I’ll have to make do for now, working with the Lovan.
The Fat Bob turntable is 55 lbs of solid aluminum and built like Thor’s hammer.
I figure this will finally get me to fill my Lovan stands for a bit more rigidity - probably with rice. The stand is the old 3 legged triangular shaped bass, which means the thin MDF shelves can feel like they sit sort of precariously on top. But the stand itself feels quite solid.
I want to incorporate a wood platform base, as many do, because I really love the look of a nice wood slab.
At first I thought maybe I’d have 3 spikes drilled in to the bottom corners of the wood base to directly couple it to the rest of the Lovan frame, vs resting it on the top mdf shelf. But I’m not sure that’s really necessary. And I’d like to incorporate some isolation as well, I think. So I’m thinking of just laying it on the top shelf, with something in between.
My first thought is to place a Symposium Segue shelf between the top of the Lovan shelf and the wood base.
Other than that...I’m flummoxed as to all the other choices...roller blocks? Symposium Fat Padz? Vibrapods? Herbie’s Tendersoft footers? Voo-Doo Isopods? What should I put between the wood platform base and my Lovan shelf?
Any comments of suggestions on the direction I’m going?
Thanks!
(BTW, I’m an resolutely NOT a DIY/Handy-man type, so I’m not trying to go to heroic efforts, wishing this to be as painless as possible).
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- 106 posts total
Thanks for all of the input. There's a heck of a lot of opinions for me to consider (even worse when I research threads in audiogon and other forums). I'm still set on a nice big hunk-o-wood for the turntable to sit on, then likely the Townsend pods under that, and they would sit on...not sure. But I did put the raw 3/4" MDF sheet I'd picked up at Home Depot, on the top of the Lovan rack, then the thinner Lovan rack on top (also tried underneath). I have to say that just adding the thicker MDF gives me a whole lot more confidence, it feels so much more solid, than just leaving it with the stock, thin MDF top. I went to see a local wood guy who would do the wood block. He's done similar things for stereo gear. I'd first asked about maple or similar hard wood. He had maple, wall-nut, but he pointed me towards a beautiful couple pieces of Siberian Elm, which when stained would be my preference over the other woods. I've seen that Elm, depending on the type, can be in the "soft" or "hardwood" designation. I'm not sure where Siberian Elm lands, but he insisted this was a really hard wood, similar to maple. |
Quick research says that this tree was resistant to Dutch Elm disease, but it does not dry flat if I’m reading this blog correctly. That, and its stability in retaining flatness would be a big issue in its use for a turntable platform as I read it. The durability factor seems to be less of an issue indoors: https://wunderwoods.wordpress.com/2011/12/20/siberian-elm-and-american-elm-leaders-of-the-elm-revolu... The Janka scale rates hardness: http://www.globalspecies.org/ntaxa/838586 It doesn’t seem like a very hard wood, but I’m not sure that’s the sole factor, and you said that your wood guy claimed it was a hardwood. If you look at the ratings of the Janka scale generally, you can see what the particular rating above means in context of other woods. Again, like everything else in this hobby, the measurements or one specification, don’t necessarily tell you how it is going to sound. Add to that the layers of different material and I think it’s even more complex- I would think you’d want something very hard on the surface facing the table bottom, some sort of polymer or deadening material like green glue and other materials from acoustic supply houses, sometimes along with mass loaded vinyl and then, perhaps a different type of wood. Others with more knowledge of acoustic properties of wood, and their combination, may be able to direct you better. Good luck. |
I have used Lovan Classic 1 and 2, many years ago. The top shelves were very tipsy being a tripod design, which did not change with new tops of any kind. I am a woodworker and tried oak, walnut, plys of many kinds, bdr shelves and in the end all were still sitting on a ringing metal stand. Its like a body builder if you put muscle on a weak frame it helps but does not match muscle and a large frame. If you look at many of the stands sold on this site they are 3 inch maple shelves with weak frames or no frames at all. That is why they need to use such thick maple, due to a bad frame. Out of all the wood I have tried in my 40 years in this hobby, and I have tried more than listed, the only wood that sounded better musically was maple. Is it he hardness of maple that makes it sound better, I think not because oak, cherry, teak etc. are hard woods but sound bad. Why? Since money is tight and you are going to keep those frames,(your choice, I sold mine) I would go the route of many on this site and try a very thick slab of maple on a bad frame. |
- 106 posts total