NEW! FLUANCE Isolation Base - A TURNTABLE FORTRESS!

[@bgroovin1343]

I bought a $35 acacia wood 1.5" thick cutting board off Amazon and use those combo cork/rubber feet for isolation. Works great and my Technics fits without overhang. No skipping, no tapping sound transmission. Completely dinosaur proof 🦖 I also have my cabinet sitting on rubber washing machine pucks. I can jump up and down on my wood floor with no skipping or noise issues.

[@cpta03]

Thanks for the review! I got an email from Fluance introducing their isolation base. I have an Technics SL-1200 Mk2 and I didn’t like how your Technics feet barely fit. Thanks for saving me some time measuring to see if mine would fit. No, I wouldn’t make any measurements and I would have been unhappy with the look of the Technics and the Fluance base. Thanks again, Bob, for saving me some $’s and aggravation!

[@jim010109]

Good review. You're getting better and better. You seem more comfortable and it shows. 👍

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Thanks! Appreciate your support of what I do!

[@Simon_Hawkshaw]

An isolation plinth. Something I never knew I needed. Thank you so much for this review and product introduction. Enjoy your good vibrations, Sir.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Enjoy your audio excitations!!! See ya, Simon!

[@chrisjames483]

Dude I bought one and will buy another. I was using the Ikea butcher block, but that thing looks like Shite with my turntable. Quality is good and the integrated level is nice. Price is fair IMO.

[@philbert9117]

Very cool! I just updated my Fluance RT-85 with an Ortofon Bronze and MAN does it sound amazing! The Ortofon Blue was no slouch. But the Bronze definitely takes the table to the next level.

[@robertrobitaille320]

Update to the bronze ortofon last year. Wow just love it what a difference from the blue.

[@greysuit17]

What are you liking over the blue? I’m interested in getting a custom U-Turn with the blue.

[@robertrobitaille320]

@@greysuit17 More definition in the music, sound stage, warm, voices.

[@philbert9117]

​@@greysuit17 The Blue is a fantastic cart, particularly at its price point. So the Bronze vs the Blue: I'm personally hearing a much better defined upper-end from the Bonze (ie, better highs:) Also, record surface noise seems to be somewhat reduced. The only negative I've (personally) found with the Bronze is that the low-end isn't quite as full compared to the Blue. But the highs are so good that I don't mind. Of course your mileage may vary. As I'm sure you know, phono, phono pre-amp, main pre-amp, amp, and speakers can all make a difference. Good luck with your U-Turn. Those are solid tables!

[@greysuit17]

@@philbert9117 thanks man excited to get things set up soon

[@SteveClarke-iu4ps]

Hi Bob. Back in the day (20 years +?) Mission in the UK had an isolation base called the Isoplat. I'm using one of them under my vintage Pioneer PL71 direct drive TT + four sorbothane isolation feet under the turntable frame - springs in the feet are a little bit tired now. I've also used a kitchen granite cutting board with sorbothane feet and that's worked a treat too and cheap to put together. Love the vid's Bob and keep 'em coming. Best wishes Steve Hersham UK.

[@gln121970]

Yes. Level the table on the platform after you level the platform. I have real bouncy floors. I tried lots of isolation pathways. When I bought my cd player I had to move my amp to the top of my console. This meant the table on a shelf I built above it. No more skips from footfalls. Cost me fifty bucks for some heavy duty brackets and I used a piece of butcher board countertop I had left over from my kitchen Reno.

[@jimfarrell4635]

I have a Pro-ject Ground-it platform underneath my Clearaudio table, but use a £15 heavy IKEA chopping board with sorbothane adhesive feet under my MoFi table and, to be honest, it works just as well and looks nicer. Best thing for levelling is to level your entire house using massive hydraulic feet.

[@apollomemories7399]

We're looking at floating our house on air bags just like in Venice.

[@jimfarrell4635]

​@@apollomemories7399 An excellent idea until it floats away and heads for the Atlantic. You really haven't thought this through, Apollo. Plus how many audiophile power cords are waterproof? You would have to settle for a cheap gardening reel extension which would seriously impact on your midrange.

[@apollomemories7399]

@@jimfarrell4635 So, pray tell Sparky, whadya gonna do when you have earth tremors? These hydraulic feet will do you no good at all. And yet, you think I didn't think it through? Don't make me laugh.

[@jimfarrell4635]

​@@apollomemories7399​ Ha! Well played. But I live in Scotland, one of the most seismically stable areas on earth. Earth tremors only occur in one town, Comrie in Perth shire, which is miles away from me. So me, my turntable and my giant hydraulic feet will be just fine.

[@jimfarrell4635]

Or... I could commission IKEA to make a 40m​ x 40m chopping board and buy 2m diameter sorbothane feet to put under it, and, borrowing from Apollo's deeply flawed genius, add airbags as well, just in case of flooding.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

My best friend is the compact disc!! 👍

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

You're in good company. That means I would have a couple of thousand best friends!

[@sourceonepainting]

Hello Bob. I went to a granite couter top company and asked if I could buy granite scraps. They said yes. For $60.00, I bought a 1 inch thick piece. They cut it for me and rounded the edges. Then I went to Home Depot and bought some stick on cushion pads for the bottom. All in about $70.00. I have had that under a few different turntables. It did a great job with near no bass feedback through my turntables. Once again, super fun video. I enjoy the way you and your producer put them together.

[@michaeldina1103]

What kind of cushion pads?

[@sourceonepainting]

I used cheap self sticking pads. They come in all different sizes and diameters. My I bought were about an eighth inch thick

[@gmzanatta]

How long ago was that? I don't think you can claim it costs $60 anymore haha

[@kawasakiaddiction6296]

​@@gmzanattathe hahaha is on you if you cannot find cheap Granite.

[@petekutheis3822]

My EAT C Sharp seems to have great built in vibration control. I have used wood blocks and rubber discs under other components before and didn't perceive a difference. Biggest influences on decent sound in my room have been 1) GIK room treatments, 2) declutter the room and pull speakers out, 3) biamp and 4) Denafrips Venus II-12th DAC>Mytek Brooklyn DAC> Node 2i. What I need to clean up is the hiss at higher volume from the EAT Petit Glo phono pre. I hear Mola Mola makes a great outboard phono pre---'course we are talking way >handful of Ks.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Man... I think you've got this game figured out! How far into the room are your speakers?

[@petekutheis3822]

@@UnitedStatesofAnalog My room is just 10X12. They are pulled out perhaps 3 feet and toed in slightly. Near near field in that I sit in around a 5 and a half foot equilateral triangle.

[@dtracy03ss]

I'll be looking into that for my Fender MoFi , this is the Ticket! I've got Salamander 90 Inch center for my System that thing weighed 400 pounds and we had to Traverse Stairs with that mother!!! Definitely Super Nice but the TT could always use this to make it even more Quiet!

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Made my MoFi sound better for sure! I listened more last night, and there was real improvement!

[@rickfell]

If you're having vibe issues get a wall mountt type stand for turntables.They are really good.Mount on load bearing wall if possible.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

I've seen those! In the 70's I had a hippie friend who used to hang his Thorens from a macrame hanging plant basket. Hey, whatever works, right?

[@larryhoffman7471]

Rega make a good one.

[@007soedal]

Nice review. A tip to the viewers that have a turntable with dustcover: Close the lid when you are playing, and place something a bit heavy and damped on top of the lid. This really makes a big difference. I found it out myself in my youth. I put a phone catalog on top of the lid when playing my records on the Rotel turntable.

[@pnichols6500]

The isolation feet they use on the MoFi Ultradeck work very well on my stand, they supposedly had these specially engineered and they sell these and on sale for $75 for a set of 4. My guess is those and a piece of wood or cutting board would be cheaper and better? Or do you think putting your deck on the Fluance board is a better setup?

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Interesting thought!

[@tubefreeeasy]

Spring type iso feet are cheaper and superior. Just remove a few springs to compensate for weight. For some users, they’ve used only 1 spring per foot. Personally, I don’t have a turntable but have used these springs under my speakers. It has, by far, had the greatest effect on sound over spikes and sorbothane.

[@drazenbabich]

Hey brother… Just couldn’t find any isolation platform that would fit my Technics SL1200 size wise, so I built my own. 2 exactly sized 19mm MDF boards glued together to get the right thickness (38mm), sanded, polished, spray painted and mounted on specially designed isolation feet which use 3 ball bearing decouplers structure (cheap as chips) perfect fit, function and finish. The whole thing including piano black spray paint cost me around $30 USD and it’s better than the Fluance one. Many use thick wooden or bamboo chopping boards etc but they just don’t look “right” under a turntable if you know what I mean.

[@staggerlee6794]

Isoslice make turntable isolation platforms that will fit technics SL 1200s. They are very nice, however they are 150 bucks each - I like your idea much better. Do you ship to the UK? 😆

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Let's keep the cutting boards in the kitchen! Wait, can I say that?

[@stephannordmann5346]

Slate plate 400 million years old stone 5 cm high in every size available 🎉❤ Nature material, totally dead material, no vibration and much better as every other material 💪👍 Don't get ripped off by snake oil hifi 🎉

[@drazenbabich]

@@UnitedStatesofAnalog 'Course you can! 🙂

[@drazenbabich]

@@staggerlee6794 Sorry mate, I live in New Zealand so the shipping and build effort when combined with parts would likely get to similar level of Isoslice's one.

[@barbaricyawper14]

I just got a Fluance IB40 but haven't installed it yet. My biggest question is whether or not the bubble level is installed flush with the isolation base. If it's at an angle, even slightly, the leveling would be off. Using a second level would be advisable, just to double check the accuracy of your leveling job.

[@robertkessler6641]

Great video. Very timely as I’m shopping around for just such a solution. (Does anyone recognize the music from the Mac Power Users podcast?)

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Yeah. Pretty sure it's a safe for KZbin GarageBand track. I'm cheap!

[@jedi-mic]

Yes you would need to use another Level it doesn't have to be a bubble level, but for the platter not the turntable. It's not a good idea to have your feet fully wound in or fully wound out. It's probably some cardboard glued on with a couple of MDF boards. Try corrugated cardboard underneath the feet work really well ,just folded it over or have a long piece and fold the ends try and use large corrugated cardboard 6 mim thick. If u want to make it a bit more durable you could paint it on both sides with PVA glue give it 12 hours to dry, if you got wobbly floors used packs of jelly in a bag from the supermarket that works very well. Another approaches to get some foam you can use washing up pads open cell foam keep the green scar on, glue the scouring part to a piece of hardboard or MDF doesn't need to be thick, leave gaps in between is the best not touching each other concentrate under the tt feet one on each side and two in the middle in the longest part 3-in gap between the two in the middle. Work better than any manufactured board you can buy if got really bad wobbly floors just concentrate depends on the weight of the turntable average weight should be fine with a sponges under the feet and two in the middle the trifle jelly is good for wobbly floors as well you could combine them both

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Wow... thanks! This is like a scientific paper! This will give a lot of people ideas for diy! Thanks!!!

[@jedi-mic]

@@UnitedStatesofAnalog oh that's funny I don't know about scientific process but thanks anyway! it's only gluing sponge to a piece of board or cardboard, I don't know how scientific that is😆 I've done a lot of experiments over the years and just my findings. Give it a go see what you think!!

[@timbstone]

I have a serious hum loop if I put an edge on the decibel level, hard wood floor and very little room to put my Fluance RT85 anywhere but next to my right yamaha ns-777 tower speaker, Do you think this will suppress the hum?

[@dizzle1119]

Gonna be honest. I haven't seen a lick of improvement from using isolation platforms. ...but that didn't stop me from buying one that's 3" thick w/ $200 feet on it....just because it looks fancy. ....and I genuinely believe that's why most of us buy most of this stuff...but nobody is going to get on video & talk about that because it makes us all seem dumb as hell. This is a hobby at the end of the day....and ALL hobbies are like this. Some guys wear $25 sneakers, but sneakerheads spend thousands. Some guys read $5 comic books off the rack & other guys spend thousands on comic books that're sealed up in a plastic slab. ....and some folks listen to music on their factory car stereo on their way to & from work while guys like us spend $535 on a custom 3" thick isolation platform. It be what it is...

[@dansharkey5218]

Your right you need to level the level 😮

[@johnfisher3929]

I have experienced several, maybe even many, exciting events in my life, but nothing I have experienced heretofore has prepared me for the orgasmic bliss of the Fluance isolation table. And I mean that from the bottom of my harp.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Yes, John, these are exciting times indeed for us aspiring audiophiles! Imagine my sheer delight when this showed up on my doorstep. I awkwardly hugged my UPS driver! It's great to be an American! Rock on!

[@MaxellAdGuy]

they use same foot that people complained about on their turntable, and then priced same as my iso feet. Keep trying fluance, lol.

[@TheFrugalAudiophile]

I am usually sitting pretty still when listening to my turntable, so I don’t really have issues with vibrations. However, if I do walk a little extra hard in and out of the room, it does pick it up a little bit. I am wondering if this isolation base wouldbe of help in my situation or not.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Couldn't hurt. I think Fluance has a good return policy.

[@matsnaslund5762]

Ikea-plinth with SD-feet, best for me anyhow, had huge vibration problems. To test, lower the stylus on to the record but don't turn on the turntable, crank the volume and tap on the furniture used, test with and without extra plinth, huge difference for me.

[@bigaldallas]

what are sd-feet

[@TimPageC]

Fun fact: they couldn’t get it to work how they wanted it on Jurassic Park either. They ended up installing a guitar string underneath. Turns out you want harmonic noise (as opposed to random noise) to make those cool ripples. I bet feedback from speakers with a rhythmic bass would have a similar effect in your example.

[@DrWrapperband]

As an expert in acoustics and I used to lecture on machine vibration isolation - this project isn't a vibration isolator. Like with your car engine isolators the resonance frequency needs to be very low in order to isolate the system (above the resonance frequency). So, no this can't work as an isolator - it's just (probably) damping the vibrations, at best .....

[@bgroovin1343]

Would you ever consider making your tshirts in other colors? I have way too many black concert shirts.

[@MD-cy6pe]

i love my isoacoustics zazen I.

[@9mmmike642]

I had to put my Fluance RT85 on an IKEA cutting board with Sorbothane discs under it. I had crazy bass feedback without it. The SoundBurger looked a little silly on the base.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Silly? Thats why I filmed it!!!!

[@9mmmike642]

@@UnitedStatesofAnalog Your videos keep getting better. Keep it up. I love your humor!

[@gotham61]

What's the deal with the loud music that drowns out most what you're saying during the final two minutes of the video?

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

My editor messed up, I guess!

[@daleboylen6427]

I agree Bob. Randy aka "Cheapaudioman" who "really knows his stuff" had the all time very best turntable platform a while back. Randy had his turntable placed on what looked to be a dresser. Placed about a foot away on the same plane, Randy who "Really knows his stuff" had a speaker sitting there. If you're looking to isolate any and all vibrations from your tone arm, I can think of NO BETTER method than placing speakers right next to the turntable. You? I'd argue that is even a bad idea, but a HORRID idea if it wasn't for the fact that "Cheapaudioman really knows his stuff" I'd try it with my Linn LP12 but my 105 lb each speakers won't fit on the table stand. Bummer.

[@tacumentary]

Cheaper yet and probably better solution is a thick heavy real wood cutting board with rubber 3M stick on feet. Gets the job done!

[@danedes9297]

A bit of overkill on my part. Two inch bamboo cutting board on top of that an Avid Hifi isolation platform, then mounted to the wall.

[@PhillioDoede]

I'm sure it knocks a few dBA of distortion but pretty hard thing to test. Big enough vibrations to make the TT skip would be pretty much the same since thats way more than a 10lb piece of MDF with silicone feet can deal with. Speaking of MDF this thing is way to expensive for painted MDF with silicone feet, should be $50 - $75 tops.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

You forgot the 25 cent bubble level in your calculations! Thanks for the watch!

[@9mmmike642]

Do your t-shirts run true to size?

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

I thought no so yes! I'm a medium and I get medium. They are a soft blend. But not too light! Perfect!

[@NeilBlanchard]

Here's a good use case - under a turntable that doesn't have leveling feet.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Yes! It would be very helpful!

[@Vintageelectronics2296]

How many feet are on this plank

[@alekhidell3644]

Three, like their turntables.

[@KeithWalker-rs1cn]

I have found that the only way you can test Isolation bases, speaker wires, and so on, is to use them and forget them for about 6 months. When you take them out of your system if you don't hear a difference, they don't work for you.

[@georgebliss964]

Oh don't be silly!🥱

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

It's my greatest assets!

[@thomaslytle5519]

Why the presidential speech music drowning out your talking at 9:32 and 10:13? Is that a joke? Lol. I kept the bubble level that came with my RT-85. I’ve tried a butcher block with feet. It didn’t work, in fact, it made vibration even worse! I’d love to see if this works. Might give it a try. If they ever get it back in stock.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Must have been a mistake... I wasn't trying to be funny.

[@thomaslytle5519]

Oh ok. Guess I’m the first one to mention it 😂

[@utp216]

I think they should have made it a little bigger.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

I agree... but the price would go up!

[@pnichols6500]

Page 60 of the Music Direct catalog, VPI Turntable level $10. They beat you to it!

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

But I was gonna charge $50!!!

[@mikecampbell5856]

Ahhh, still has that new isolation base smell. LOL

[@jacksonbrawn6638]

Do NOT screw up the adjustable feet on your turn table! (sorry, couldnt resist... LOL)

[@kawasakiaddiction6296]

If it was worth the investment, it would be the plinth itself. Just buy Granite.

[@simonwood1461]

Oh God, is there no end to this vinyl BS.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Apparently, not!

[@robertrobitaille320]

$165 plus 15 percent taxes in Canada Québec.

[@Feliciano12v]

Fancy cutting board.

[@scrunts666]

A chunk of wood with spikes on the bottom.

[@UnitedStatesofAnalog]

Right!?

[@scrunts666]

@@UnitedStatesofAnalog I know that mine are :D

[@ozzyvaldez1265]

Bamboo chopping board with rubber pads total cost £10

[@davepounds8924]

An 125 dollar isolation base??Just another product that’s overpriced and you really don’t need A nice block of wood would do the same thing

[@j.tarner9093]

The option l use that worked right away for minor vibration is a foam speaker riser platform from Pyle (ick!) Not nearly as “purty” about half the price. Of course I’m only justifying that to myself ‘cause they sold out the first day! 😂