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Turntable placement

Hi,

The reason for my post is that I want to share what I discovered about turntable placement that has made a huge difference in the quality of the music I'm able to get out of my system.
My listening room is relatively narrow and long. For years I had my TT and other electronics up against the back wall between my speakers. My speakers were about 3 feet in front of my rack.
A few months ago I upgraded my tonearm wand to the new VPI 3d arm. I thought it sounded great on most recordings but started to notice that if I crank up the volume it would start generating a low hum which would get progressively louder. I quickly understood that this was a feedback loop between my speakers and the higher sensitivity of the 3d arm to external sources of vibration.
Anyway, it occurred to me that we spend so much money on top of the line racks and isolation footers and platforms but most pictures I see of peoples systems has the turntable sitting between the speakers which I assume has an effect on vibrations hitting the tonearm, especially unipivot arms.
It was obvious to me that I needed to get some distance between my TT and my speakers. I was using 8 feet of Clear Day double shotgun cables which I really enjoy and decided to call Paul from Clear Day. Anyone who's ever dealt with Paul can attest to the fact that he's just a great guy and a real pleasure to deal with. Anyway, I discussed my issue with him and asked him about getting a long run (18 feet) of the double shotguns. Instead of selling me the new cables, he suggested I first go and purchase some cheap wire at Home Depot and make sure the new placement of my TT eliminate the issue. I have no affiliation with Clear Day or Paul other than having purchased his cables but I have to say that it’s rare these days for a vendor to really put their customer's interest ahead of their own.
I followed Paul's suggestion and I was totally blown away by the improvement in clarity I obtained by moving my TT away from my speakers even with the long run of cheap wire.
I placed my order for the longer cable run (Paul also took my existing 8 foot cables as a trade in towards the new cables) and I can honestly say that moving my rack away from my speakers was one of the best system changes I've ever made.
andarilu
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
The best way to site your turntable is to play some bass heavy music on
CD through your system, now put your head where you want to site the
turntable. Move it to another possible place that you can site the turntable.
You should clearly hear areas of bass reinforcement and cancellation ; you
can confirm this if you have an SLM. Site the turntable in the quietest area.

Of course the best place is in another room but this is impractical for some.
pryso
1,501 posts
 
Great advice Viridian. I did that very thing several years ago which resulted in moving my TT from the right-hand corner of a 60" shelf within a wall alcove, toward the left corner which then placed the arm arc/cartridge more toward the mid-point of the shelf and away from corner nodes. I thought it sounded OK in the original position but the change resulted in a more precise sound when the corner bass nodes affecting the cartridge were reduced.

Many years ago I did have a friend who placed his turntable in another room. Not exactly convenient but it did sound very good.
buconero117
2,311 posts
 
Yet today, most continue to place the TT between the speakers. Why? It looks nice being you can gaze on it when listening. Call it 'eye candy'. The acoustic energy that flies around the room when the speakers are playing hits all parts of the TT, rack, components etc. Yes, another room would be ideal for all components. Better yet, design a closet in the room that is acoustically shielded. Works wonders. I know, but no one will see the 'stuff'. Hey its about better listening. Your significant other will 'love' you more.
effischer
477 posts
 
For years, I had my table about 12' to one side of the listening area on a piece of stone and that worked very well with my unsuspended Rega Planar 2. It picked up just about everything. After making the change to my Sota, I didn't notice any difference resulting from placement other than its far greater mass requiring much heavier stand construction. My most recent installation has the table again between and behind the speakers inside a very large stone and Formica faced plywood structure. I can't detect any resonance there, either. Not sure how much of this is the isolating design of the rig or just the sheer mass of what it is installed in. One day, I'll get a picture posted but in the meantime, I feel that more mass in the stand is better when you can't isolate by distance.
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Of course the best place is in another room INSIDE A VACUUM CHAMBER, but this is impractical for some.
Fixed it for you!
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