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.