Isolating my turntable from the rack and from the room
I love the build quality, how solid they feel, and how well they work with my turntable. Most of all, I like that the product line is so clearly defined and the weight ratings are both clearly distinguished and communicated as the differentiating factor between models. This was absolutely critical to my set up. The only place for my modified StarTech 25U equipment rack is in an alcove at the back corner of my dedicated home theater. For sound isolation from the primary bedroom below, in addition to other measures, I floated the floor, but I floated 2 different sections, one for the equipment rack area and one for the rest of the theater. I modified the rack with custom HQ Caster retractable leveling casters. I securely mounted a 1.5" butcher block to the top of the rack with a thin layer of dresser lining rubber in between. On top of the butcher block sit 4 of the IsoAcoustic Orea Indigo isolation pucks. On top of the pucks sits a 14-lbs 5/8" thick slab of granite and on top of that sits my turntable, which weighs 30 lbs for a total load of 54 lbs. IsoAcoustics gives clear performance measurement charts on their website. The Orea Indigo' perform their best from 8 lbs to 16 lbs per puck, so 32 lbs to 64 lbs for 4 pucks, so was great for my 54 lbs load. Also, in my case was good that my load was closer to the max of that range then the lower part. Too much springiness in my chain (floated floor, casters, rack, butcher block, isolation pucks, granite slab, turntable feet (which are built as springy isolation barrier themselves) would have created a situation i which the turntable would be overly affected by resonance, footfalls, and bass energy. I worked hard to get the right combination of spring/rubber absorption, overall mass, and constrained layer damping, and these worked perfectly. The end result for isolation from the room and from the rack from sound and vibrations is excellent
