Turntable and Rack vibration control


Hi,
I moved from a Nouvelle Platine Verdier to a Loricraft Garrard 301. The big change with this move was that the Verdier comes with a terrific implementation of pneumatic suspension feet which kept the TT almost floating and hence great isolation from vibration. The result was always a noise/grain free playback and super clean backgrounds. With the Garrard, the plinth is typical custom made stacked birch ply with standard steel cones as footers. When placed directly on the rack the background is noisy, the images muddle up and overall music is not well sorted.

I do not expect the Garrard to be as quiet as the Verdier but I know it should not be this noisy either. In fact the Verdier also sounded noisy when I placed it directly on cones bypassing the pneumatic suspension feet. 

I use a Hutter Racktime rack which is not like an overbuilt audiophile rack. It is more like an open frame rack with lightweight supports. It is a bit like a Rega TT, not very damped or controlled. The rack has pointy steel feet which rests on brass spike plates (mine is an wooden floor). I guess this implementation is not sophisticated enough to keep away vibrations and let the TT play quietly. 

I am looking at two levels of solutions:
1. Replace the existing steel feet and brass plate with a quality vibration control footer below the rack
2. Replace the stock steel cone below the TT plinth with a better footer/platform.

I have tried Sorbothane, Squash balls kind of tweaks, while they reduce noise they slow down the music too.
I have also tried Stillpoints and Finite Elemente footers under the rack. They make the sound thin and metallic IMO. Platforms like Minus-K are too expensive so I have not considered them yet.

I am looking suggestions here, probably footers and vibration control devices that are more musically oriented yet well engineered like Shun Mook, Harmonix, SSC or something like an HRS platform ?
pani
Pani,
I the same problem with mine. I also have an EMT 927 and Dual 1229. 
Since I had an old Dual 1229 parts unit I removed the chassis springs and mounted them to the 301 in the same fashion as Dual has done with the 1229. (At the four corners of the chassis and counter sunk into the plinth. The result? Silence. 

I have hard wood floors and can jump up and down and not cause the 301 to mistrack.  (Same with the Dual)

It also reduced the motor noise which all 301's suffer from
a little. (Yes my 301 motor has been rebuilt and the rubber grommet mounts are new)

You might try it? I'm sure any 3/4 inch spring set should work. 

N. 
As I dig deeper into this subject, at least for the Garrard it is all about vibration control or isolation. Mechanical vibration and electrical vibration both needs to be handled to the maximum and that too with our own intelligence. For example, putting a stillpoints footer under of 301 plinth does nothing to reduce noise floor, it just changes the tonality. Adding something like the Townshend seismic sink or even a tight sorbothane cone brings about a lot of silence. 

Connecting the garrard directly to my power distributor again makes for a rather noisy playback. Connecting it to my Monarchy AC regenerator reduces grain and noise but at the same time the signature of the AC regen and the power cord that connects the AC regen to the main distributor is also audible through the TT so it has to be well chosen. Anything cheap or flimsy just comes through in the sound glaringly. So, an elegant solution to all these isolation issues is a must for this deck and that seems to be non-trivial and expensive too.
I made these.  They seem to work well, look good, and are inexpensive.  You can get free samples of marble from your local home depot so you have have a wide variety of coloring to choose from to match just about any design.

http://www.conradjohnsonowners.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=137

[I hope it's ok to link to another forum site as I can't seem to post pictures here.  If not, please remove my post].
I've sold my footers and record enhancers to many idler type TT owners with plinths like yours. They will completely resolve your issue !
https://www.anvilturntables.com/