04 November, 2020

Wood Marble Slate Plinths for Thorens TD-124

Click pics to enlarge.  L: Slate Plinth (green tape for protection); bottom, Marble Plinth.

Plinths for Thorens TD-124: Wood vs Marble vs Slate

Our friend Mark has a friend who is a wholesaler in home flooring and stones. One of the employees is also an audiophile. Recently, they decided to make some stone plinths for Thorens TD-124. Andy first tested them. Now, it's my turn; then Kevin will be next.

First I took out my Thorens from my wood plinth. The first one I tried was the Marble (bottom pic), which was heavy.As my lower body could not get close to the rack, with an extended arm, in putting it into place, I sprained my back again (an old affliction). For more than a week I could not stand up or sit down quickly, and coughing was hell. Fortunately, it passed.

The sound was a shock. I used my usual test LPs. Persuasive Percussion was lively, dynamic and exciting as hell. Image was deep and wide. Super-fast transients. But then the classical playbacks were highly problematic. Massed strings were just too lean and the waltzes should not feel hurried! This is a take-no-prisoner plinth.

That did not last long. Despite the sprain, I soldiered on. Next I slotted in the Slate plinth (top pic). Well, better, much better. The leanness was mostly gone and there was a more focused, even crystalline sound. Sometimes the sheen was attractive, but I felt it to be a coloration. Also, the decay was foreshortened. This is not the first time I encountered a slate plinth. My good friend Robin the Scot (you can google for pics) has one for his Garrard, not one-piece, but sort of constrained layers, with multiple thin slabs separated by damping material (I think it was sorbothane) and I was never sure it contributed that much (as I had too a Garrard with a generic wood plinth). I could perhaps work with this plinth.

Next I returned to my wood plinth. Compared to the above, outlines were less precisely etched, but the massed strings were sweeter and the flow simply better and more coherent. I have to confess I miss a little the added details of the stone plinths, but I shall stay with wood.

I then compared notes with Andy. He found the marble fatiguing but took to the slate. It'd be interesting to see his reaction in the long run. We discussed the use of rubber grommets between the turntable and the plinth. It is known some people prefer to do without them. I did not have time to try. Then it was Kevin's turn. He took to the marble more than we did but also preferred the slate.

One note on aesthetics. The Slate was cut like the European plinths, just a little larger than the turntable. I love the looks. My armboard (made by Kevin) is utilitarian but certainly not a visual match. The original 12" armboard is much more elegant but more troublesome to shape. The marble plinth is cut like US plinths, unnecessarily big and clumsy.



2 comments:

  1. Once again I am convinced of my understanding of the question.
    From a sound point of view, you need to look at the turntable as a "mechanical jitter" generator.
    Let's take two extreme situations: 1 - make a table out of rubber and kill vibrations altogether - the sound will become boring. 2 - make the table as hard as possible (glass, stone) - the sound will become sonorous ...
    Morality (secret) - we are dealing with the movement of a whole combination of vibrations on a conventional scale of influence on the result.
    Success depends on the particular combination and its location on the scale.
    Secret number two - the best results will be when the "combination of vibrations and its location on the scale" of your turntable matches these characteristics of the equipment on which the record was recorded.

    Remember (who lived at the time) a compact cassette. A friend could buy a cassette (or record something himself) and it sounded great on his tape recorder! , he gave you to listen to it and on your tape recorder the sound is bad (((... but you can adjust the magnetic head with a screwdriver - and everything will be fine (for a specific cassette) ...
    Then the Nakamichi decks appeared - they tuned themselves.

    this applies to all audio equipment ... especially loudspeakers. Therefore, it is good to be able to adjust, well, or a neutral kit for all occasions (of course, this option introduces restrictions on all records).

    By the way, here is (link) stone table and I like the sound:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IppVSEFs2So

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  2. cucumber is 90% water. Man is 60% water. Conclusion - a man is half a cucumber!
    Jokes aside . The Japanese (and others) conducted an experiment - they poured water into the jar, said kind words to it, turned on classical music and froze it with nitrogen ... We looked through a microscope - all the crystals were beautiful and regular in shape (the best results were when the water listened to prayers) .. ...
    The second can of water was scolded with nasty words, they turned on rock music, metal, chants of sports fans ... after freezing they looked through a microscope - complete chaos - they poured this water on the plants and they grew poorly, died ...

    There were also experiments with music on dairy farms (somewhere it became a standard) - cows gained weight, gave more milk and got sick less ... (if the right music sounded and the atmosphere was kind).

    http://www.urantia-gaia.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/Cristaux-Emoto.jpg

    do you want to improve your health? live happier, become better ... Record the sound and turn it on for yourself and your children before going to bed in headphones (this is a prayer of a Russian holy man). If you bring your hand to the lamp, you will feel warmth ... the same here - you just need to feel his voice (it doesn't matter that you don't know a foreign language).

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1EoJRWQrZ0

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