Damping Platter With Liquid Latex

[cats squirrel]

the problem with a felt mat is that it isolates the vinyl disc, so the disc is more prone to aerial vibrations, causing it to resonate. Only if the vinyl disc is in substantial contact with the mat/platter will it become semi-coupled, and then the disc, mat and platter act as one.


If the problem is a vibrating deck, then that is the thing you should address, IMHO.

[dlaloum]

Hi CS,

Great posting there - I call it the divide between the musicians and the archivists....

Either you are trying to reproduce the original sonic event as recorded, or you are using the turntable and system as a musical instrument... with the recording being only one of the inputs for your desired art form.

I side heavily on the side of "High Fidelity" - reproducing the sound as originally recorded - no bells and whistles!!

In the meantime I am waiting to hear about your catodamp5 formulation with bated breath.... (undamped unfortunately as I do not have the forumula !)

At some point I need to do some more work on damping by JVC (there's room for another kg of plasticine in there!), and see whether I can also improve the Revox...

In both cases a formulation for a liquid damping compound like latex would be a great boon with the platters - easy to balance!

Thanks and bye for now

David

p.s. I'll pop back up on your website when I start seriously looking at plinth and/or shelf construction again - for now I've got other fish to fry

[vincitsemper]

Hello,

We all seem to be very quick in looking to damp every bit of the deck we can possibly sick something to.

Am I the only one here that worries about the possible unbalance caused by damping the platter with anything but rubber rings?

Lenco and Thorens,amongst many, went to great lenghts in order to balace platters. The evidence are the many holes drilled on the underside.

So when the platters are modified with damping material,is the platter then checked for balance? Perhaphs Lenco decks would not suffer much,although I doubt it as engineers took much trouble to balance them,but how much is a suspended chassis deck going to suffer? Whilst I do agree that damping is beneficial,I also feel that messing with the platter may not be an exact science much like stacking 2 or more platters. Recipe for unbalancing disaster in my view.

By the way ld,I have conversed privately with Cats on many occasions and he has yet to try selling me any of his experimental products,infact he has furnished me complete drawings of his projects completely out of a wish to be helpful.

Love VE but lately there seems to be a tendency to find argumentative members who perhaps just love the drama.

Keep up the good work Cat,many here love your input and positive attitude.

Regards,

Victor.

[mattlynch]

Love VE but lately there seems to be a tendency to find argumentative members who perhaps just love the drama.

Keep up the good work Cat,many here love your input and positive attitude.

Regards,

Victor.

agreed,

[vincitsemper]

Hello,

Thankfully Matt agrees also. I myself have been drawn into arguments that are at best suited to 12 year olds and at worse completely retarded,usually by the same member that appears to either argue for belt drives or for DDs or against whatever is discussed on the day.

Seems some people have nothing better to do or lead an extremely boring life.

So does anyone else here think that adding damping material to the platter could critically unbalance it? Please don't throw your toys out of the pram if you don't agree.

Regards,

Victor.

[missan]

I have been thinking that not knowing that the thickness is absolutely the same over the whole platter is a potential problem.

That is why I went with the Dynamat, makes it easier to control the weight imbalance. I have just cut the mat exactly at the rim.
missan

[cats squirrel]

Victor, Ciao amico mio

although the Lenco 75/8 decks have balanced platters evidenced by drill holes, my G99 does not (it is slightly smaller, but the '99 takes the larger '75/8 platter).

By looking at the four Lenco 75 platters I have, quite a quantity of metal looks to have been removed.

Why do you suppose Lenco took this decision, not to balance the '99 platter?

G'day David,

Haydn is sending me some Belgrave mod. clay from your part of the globe, to test. Maybe you can use this instead of 'Newplast', (which is also better than plasticine at damping) if it shows promise.

[mattlynch]

hi,,
i think it is absolutely critical when a suspended chassis TT is being worked on, as i mentioned in my first response in this thread i have only tried pouring in a damping medium with my old debut II , with the thorens i used dynamat so i could control the weight balance ,this is also why i suggested sorbothane sheet,
as was mentioned earlier on by another member ,if pouring it would have to be a loose mixture to allow it to self level, perhaps with the transit screws fastened and platter inverted while spinning may just work , its just a suggestion though and i cant guarantee it would work,
all the best,
matt

[dlaloum]

I look forward to hearing the results...

There are stacks of different brands of modelling clay.

I stuck with plasticine as a known quantity and one that had actually been formally studied as a damping compound...

But the local kindy suppliers have at least 2 or 3 other brands... and if something is better for this specific job - I'm aboard!

Although the other thing to keep in mind is that some of the modelling clays are oily and can leave a residue - depending on the surfaces they will be contacting, this might be a bad thing in terms of possible reactions.

I had been thinking of using modelling clay inside the platters, but was concerned with balance - the idea of a liquid compound that then solidifies is very attractive.

Bye for now

David

[vincitsemper]

Hello,

Ciao Cat,good to see that you have not been driven away by threats of been reported to the powers to be,talk about Big Brother having servants everywhere!

Strange about the G99's platter not having balancing holes,will have to check mine later.

It has been said that if pouring latex then balancing must be easy? I beg to differ,how consistent is the make up of Latex? One would either agree with the balancing system employed by many makers,the wee holes on the underside of the platter,or completely disagree with it's benefits,in which case slap whatever one thinks is more likely to damp under the platter.

As mentioned before by someone else,a suspended system like for instance as employed by Thorens and Linn may suffer adversely from platter damping. I am reluctant to believe that proper platter balance can be achieved when adding damping materials to it.

I mean,how precise is this technique? Can anyone really be sure that the pouring of Latex or sticking pads under the platter can be done so precisely?

Probably the best system is still the humble rubber ring placed outside the platter,at least it's machine made to more or less exacting standards.

Regards,

Victor.

[cats squirrel]

no worries, Victor, if I have 'done wrong', then we must put it right. You, and others know that I am not about making a quick buck (slow ones, yep! ) and would rather help someone with a problem I can help with for nowt but good Karma. What goes around, comes around.

I can empathize with Luckdog, as trying to get things across which are not obvious, or contrary to ones beliefs, is not easy, don't I know it! I do support ld in his quest to get things correct, its just the way of going about it which is a bit of a struggle.

Anyways

If platter damping is that critical, why don't we see it from manufacturers? Have any of your tts in your extensive collection any (as stock)?

[vincitsemper]

Hello,

No Cat,never come across a deck with factory made damped platter,apart of course from glass , MDF or acrylic platters.

Take the Garrards 401/301 platters,unless fitted with the now famous rubber ring they act like a bell.Never quite sure that a platter needed damping and as I said before I doubt whether any DIY damping could be done precisely enough not to interfere with balancing.

Over on LH plenty members advocate platter stacking but,so far,no one has written about what checks were made regarding balancing after stacking. May as well turn your own platter and hope for the best.

Cat,I may need your help with an Ortofon SMG212 and my new purchase,a grease bearing 301. Will send you a PM.

Hope all's well my friend.

Regards,

Victor.

[avole]

Hello,

Thankfully Matt agrees also. I myself have been drawn into arguments that are at best suited to 12 year olds and at worse completely retarded,usually by the same member that appears to either argue for belt drives or for DDs or against whatever is discussed on the day

But, semper vincit, that's because you are a coward with no sense of humour, so what do you expect? You even hide your snide comments on threads so no-one can see. What a man!

One can but pity you.

[mattlynch]

301 must get another one,