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Plinth timber + tonearm choices


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Hey gang,

 

I'm in the slow process of restoring an old Thorens 160 mk2 I picked up super cheap. The original plinth looks like trash, so I'd like to put something nice on it. I was thinking a mix of Huon Pine and Tasmanian blackwood, but wanted to make sure these weren't a terrible option that will choke the sound or something first. Thoughts? 

 

I passed up on the old Denon tonearm I had access to last time after someone on here said it wasn't very good and I've now come across two other options - a Pro-ject arm off a Linn or an Ortofon TA-110. The Ortofon is a bit more, but they are both pretty cheap considering what they usually sell for. Will one of these be better suited than the other? 

 

Thanks!

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4 hours ago, _tedd said:

I'm in the slow process of restoring an old Thorens 160 mk2 I picked up super cheap. The original plinth looks like trash, so I'd like to put something nice on it. I was thinking a mix of Huon Pine and Tasmanian blackwood, but wanted to make sure these weren't a terrible option that will choke the sound or something first. Thoughts? 

 

Depends what type of plinth.  If it's just to make a sprung turntable look good, anything that looks good  I suppose, will do.  If you want a massive plinth to absorb sound and vibrations, I prefer a layered approach.  Some of those layers can be cheap wood, even MDF.  Sometimes you can find nice piece of ply with a great looking feature side, and just use that as the top layer.

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1 minute ago, audiofeline said:

Regarding the layered massive plinth, I have read that hardwood ply is the best, and mdf isn't great.  Some feel that mainly hardwood ply with a layer or two of different wood ply is best. 

You need a range of layers of different thicknesses and densities. Many ways to skin a cat as they say.

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14 minutes ago, audiofeline said:

Regarding the layered massive plinth, I have read that hardwood ply is the best, and mdf isn't great.  Some feel that mainly hardwood ply with a layer or two of different wood ply is best. 

 

MDF (ie. sawdust and glue) is certainly bad - hardwood ply is certainly good.  However, which is better out of hardwood ply vs. layers of different (solid - say 18mm thick) hardwood ... I suggest has not been determined.  Certainly the late lamented Duc built plinths out of solid hardwood - as well as ply.

 

You need to build both and report back!  :)

 

Andy

 

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I'm not sure that a massive plinth is necessary for a suspended table. The platter and tonearm is isolated from the plinth by the springs, so I would suggest you use whatever is convenient and looks good. Others may have a more dogmatic approach ? Regarding the tonearm, I can only assume that the Ortofon would be the better arm, but you need to consider the weight of it and whether that aspect suits a suspended table. If it's too heavy you will struggle to get the platter level and the suspension spring nearest the tonearm may be over compressed, resulting in sub-optimal isolation.

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9 minutes ago, Dave O))) said:

I'm not sure that a massive plinth is necessary for a suspended table. The platter and tonearm is isolated from the plinth by the springs, so I would suggest you use whatever is convenient and looks good. Others may have a more dogmatic approach ? Regarding the tonearm, I can only assume that the Ortofon would be the better arm, but you need to consider the weight of it and whether that aspect suits a suspended table. If it's too heavy you will struggle to get the platter level and the suspension spring nearest the tonearm may be over compressed, resulting in sub-optimal isolation.

 

^^^ what he said!  :thumb:

 

(I didn't realise the OP was considering a 'massive' plinth with a sprung TT.  However, I have heard the beneficial result from using a plinth - for a sprung TT - made from 25mm thick hardwood planks instead of 18mm planks.)

 

Andy

 

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1 hour ago, andyr said:

(I didn't realise the OP was considering a 'massive' plinth with a sprung TT.  However, I have heard the beneficial result from using a plinth - for a sprung TT - made from 25mm thick hardwood planks instead of 18mm planks.)

Yeah, I acknowledged that in my first reply.  I was not saying I thought it needed a massive plinth, as I said, it depended on what the OP wanted.

 

1 hour ago, andyr said:

MDF (ie. sawdust and glue) is certainly bad - hardwood ply is certainly good. 

Life is full on uncertainties.  :)    It is more about understanding the properties of the materials available and what use you want to make of them.  

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1 hour ago, Dave O))) said:

I'm not sure that a massive plinth is necessary for a suspended table.

Neither am I.   Forcompletely suspended tables, I have removed the springs and bolted them to a heavy plinth with excellent results - my Garrard 4HF for example.  For a suspended sub-chassis, maybe constricting the main chassis will help, maybe not.   I have the subchassis  and platter from an AR XA/B table that I started to experiment with. One of those rainy day projects that I have half finished.

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1 hour ago, andyr said:

MDF (ie. sawdust and glue) is certainly bad - hardwood ply is certainly good. 

MDF if used appropriately is not the evil sound killer that many audio crazy people think it is.  Its a wonderful product, and like sorbothane, its use in hifi is largely misunderstood.  It has excellent resonance cancelling abilities and when correctly partnered with other materials to form composite structures is a very cheap and versatile product.  Hardwood ply is also an excellent product, but again it has its limitations like MDF, and is very expensive. 

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1 minute ago, mloutfie said:

I found sandwiched MDF and ply to have good results. With ply at the top of the plinth.

 

Yes, so have I.  Layer the ply and MDF and use different thicknesses of both the ply layers and the MDF layers.  Pick the piece of ply with interesting grain and features for the top layer and you have a superb plinth that won't break the bank.

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4 hours ago, aussievintage said:

...Pick the piece of ply with interesting grain and features for the top layer and you have a superb plinth that won't break the bank. 

Some grain filler (eg. TimberMate) will help give a smooth finish to the ply and add character to the wood. 

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Thanks for the replies! Regarding the arm; the Ortofon is getting close to half a kilogram, double the Project, is that too much for a TD160? I didn't even consider tonearm weight on the floating chassis! 

 

For the plinth, I was pretty set on using hardwoods if there wasn't going to be any real downside to it. I guess looks are a factor too! I hadn't envisioned anything massive, more the size of what Linn do but using Tasmanian timbers. 

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