JimmyNeutron
Super Member
I got a Yamaha PX-3 last month and it was in terrible condition - missing feet, dust cover, hinges, headshell, and cart. Very dirty, grimy, and filled with dust balls. I cleaned it up ( it came to be a mint condition PX-3, just unbelievable ) and I ordered a new cover and hinges, Sumiko headshell, and Denon DL-160 cart. The feet, however, were just unobtainium. So starts my search for the "perfect" turntable feet. A little bit of research was needed, and this research took me 180 degrees from current "law". Turntable feet should isolate the table from waves induced by walking, vibration, etc.
Lesson 1: steel is NOT a good isolator of vibrations.
Why then do most all turntables have a steel spring as a foot? It does'nt matter how many twists there are to steel it will still transmit vibration. Actually, the tighter the twist the higher the frequency the spring will pass, and at a faster velocity. So for my new turntable feet springs were out!
Lesson 2: Not all rubber is our freind.
Many people use a rubber ball like a tennis ball, a handball, and even ( EEEK! ) a super bouncy rubber ball cut in half. But think about it for a moment. What do ALL rubber balls have in common? They ALL transmit and AMPLIFY whatever force is applied to them! That's the whole point of most ANY ball. Hit it and it will bounce higher and farther. So a rubber ball cut in half and used as a turntable foot will only amplify and pass thru whatever vibration it recieves.
Lesson 3: "He ain't heavy, he's my sand-filled iso feet"
For a turntable to absorb vibration we need to think outside the box. We will not be using any springs or balls. We will, however, be using a dense rubber. Plumbing rubber is very dense. It has to be. It has to retain itself under tremendous pressure from water. So at Home Depot I found a perfect foot cap. It comes with a aluminum screw retainer, so we'll remove that retainer completely. This will be the bottom base. Next I found some rubber caps - the kind that slip onto the bottom of a walking cane for absorption - yeah...now we're almost there. This rubber cap will be the top of the foot, and it fits snuggly into the bottom rubber cap ( after we cut 1/2" from the top cap ). These only came in white at my local Home Depot, maybe you can find them in black. I painted them a flat textured black with some Krylon paint. I drilled a small hole in the center of the top cap and pushed thru a 5-8 mm screw ( this is what the PX-3 foot screws onto on the base ). We now have 2 pieces of dense rubber with low vibration properties that will fit snuggly together and form a foot which will screw onto the turntable. But hold on, we ain't done yet. Even though these 2 pieces of rubber will not transmit much vibration to the turntable base, there is still an air pocket inside the foot. Air DOES transmit vibrations, and since we want to stop all vibrations from reaching the turntable base we need to deal with this as well. The foot will be completely filled with sand. Sand is extremely dense when packed, will dissipate vibrations, and will add weight to the foot.
Once the feet are packed with sand and fitted snuggly, and screwed onto the PX-3 I have to say that they look very, very nice - and stock! Lastly I applied some felt padding to the bottom of the feet. The feet are still adjustable because of the threaded screw. The test was next. I played a few records and walked around the room, even lightly knocked on the table that the PX-3 is playing on. Dead quiet - no transmission of vibrations made it theu the feet and into the turntable.
For under $25.00 we have made a near dead isolation sand-filled foot with remarkable vibration absorbing qualities. Check it out for yourself.
Jimmy
The walking cane rubber feet.
The rubber plumbing cap. Just remove the screw down strap.
Black plastic textured paint for top cap.
Felt padding for feet.
Walking cane cap ( top of foot ) painted black and cut down 1/2 ", and in second photo with the screw fitted thru.
Cap filled with sand and then fitted onto bottom cap. It seals tightly.
For comparison against original PX-3 foot.
Mounted on the PX-3 and playing sweet music.
Lesson 1: steel is NOT a good isolator of vibrations.
Why then do most all turntables have a steel spring as a foot? It does'nt matter how many twists there are to steel it will still transmit vibration. Actually, the tighter the twist the higher the frequency the spring will pass, and at a faster velocity. So for my new turntable feet springs were out!
Lesson 2: Not all rubber is our freind.
Many people use a rubber ball like a tennis ball, a handball, and even ( EEEK! ) a super bouncy rubber ball cut in half. But think about it for a moment. What do ALL rubber balls have in common? They ALL transmit and AMPLIFY whatever force is applied to them! That's the whole point of most ANY ball. Hit it and it will bounce higher and farther. So a rubber ball cut in half and used as a turntable foot will only amplify and pass thru whatever vibration it recieves.
Lesson 3: "He ain't heavy, he's my sand-filled iso feet"
For a turntable to absorb vibration we need to think outside the box. We will not be using any springs or balls. We will, however, be using a dense rubber. Plumbing rubber is very dense. It has to be. It has to retain itself under tremendous pressure from water. So at Home Depot I found a perfect foot cap. It comes with a aluminum screw retainer, so we'll remove that retainer completely. This will be the bottom base. Next I found some rubber caps - the kind that slip onto the bottom of a walking cane for absorption - yeah...now we're almost there. This rubber cap will be the top of the foot, and it fits snuggly into the bottom rubber cap ( after we cut 1/2" from the top cap ). These only came in white at my local Home Depot, maybe you can find them in black. I painted them a flat textured black with some Krylon paint. I drilled a small hole in the center of the top cap and pushed thru a 5-8 mm screw ( this is what the PX-3 foot screws onto on the base ). We now have 2 pieces of dense rubber with low vibration properties that will fit snuggly together and form a foot which will screw onto the turntable. But hold on, we ain't done yet. Even though these 2 pieces of rubber will not transmit much vibration to the turntable base, there is still an air pocket inside the foot. Air DOES transmit vibrations, and since we want to stop all vibrations from reaching the turntable base we need to deal with this as well. The foot will be completely filled with sand. Sand is extremely dense when packed, will dissipate vibrations, and will add weight to the foot.
Once the feet are packed with sand and fitted snuggly, and screwed onto the PX-3 I have to say that they look very, very nice - and stock! Lastly I applied some felt padding to the bottom of the feet. The feet are still adjustable because of the threaded screw. The test was next. I played a few records and walked around the room, even lightly knocked on the table that the PX-3 is playing on. Dead quiet - no transmission of vibrations made it theu the feet and into the turntable.
For under $25.00 we have made a near dead isolation sand-filled foot with remarkable vibration absorbing qualities. Check it out for yourself.
Jimmy
The walking cane rubber feet.
The rubber plumbing cap. Just remove the screw down strap.
Black plastic textured paint for top cap.
Felt padding for feet.
Walking cane cap ( top of foot ) painted black and cut down 1/2 ", and in second photo with the screw fitted thru.
Cap filled with sand and then fitted onto bottom cap. It seals tightly.
For comparison against original PX-3 foot.
Mounted on the PX-3 and playing sweet music.