good report on your expts so far
I have to say that you could buy one or two hifi racks 2nd hand on a popular auction site for about £100ish and that with the shelves would probably give a much more solid base and much better SQ if your TV caninet is a wobbly as it looks
I’ve been testing various methods of holding the balls in the dents and decided that little rubber washers are the best and they bounce back if one hits a button on the preamp too hard.
I also have another experiment where I have a rubber washer on the brass around dent and one glued to the glass, although that is harder to align and ensure it dosnt touch the rubber at rest.
Shining a light from above allows me to ensure I havn’t placed the glass at an angle pushing a ball to the rubber, this was pretty hard! I ended up using a fork as a lever to lift the glass, allow the ball to centre and drop the glass. Its workign really well so far!
I also position the glass and the audio component, then use a lever to lift the glass a little and allow the ball to self centre in the depression.
Thanks @JimDog, it’s been interesting experimenting.
It’s good advice to get a rack of course but sadly it’s not going to be an option in the foreseeable future. Previously I had an Attacama rack but that didn’t fit with ‘the look’ so it was sent packing. Compromises and all that… The current cabinet is actually much more solid than it looks (very heavy too) but it was sadly a noticeable downgrade for the audio components.
A question for you, in some of your pictures of your set up you have what looks something like pipe insulation supporting/isolating your cables? Is it an audio product or something else adapted to the purpose? I want to improve my cable routing and separation from the cabinet and was thinking about trying small pieces of pipe insulation for this.
Yes, mine is just standard pipe lagging bought in 1 metre lengths from local Screwfix.
I cut mine into 1 inch discs, but should probably also use some in longer lengths as others do.
I’m really interested in this and am wondering what it is we are isolating and why. If I have room to only fit one isolation shelf under a component, which will have the most effect.
Currently I have a sc base, then the 250-2 then the 252 above on a separate shelf. Above that I have the Rega tt sat on a marble plinth on a separate shelf, all one cab.
Speakers and the hifi cab are on a solid hard tiled floor, although the floor is a floating floor, concrete beams with concrete blocks slotted in.
Basically we are isolating medium to high frequency mechanical vibrations, not by absorption, but by reflection (and don’t believe anything you may see written about ‘mechanical diodes’ - unless the devices have moving parts such as in the dampers on the axles of a car!). The intent is to reduce the degree to which vibrations are transmitted through the rack / cabinet into the audio components either from the room or from one audio component to another.
Mid and higher frequency vibrations affect electronics in a number of ways, the most obvious being via capacitors. Capacitors were at one time referred to as condensers; yes, just as in a ‘condenser microphone’, and all capacitors act as microphones to some degree.
Thanks. Makes sense. So isolate the caps in the pre amp or the main amp first? ( from floor or cab induced vibrations)
I realise that the full effect is the sum of the parts, but as I say, until I get a new cab I’m limited for room.
In terms of which to do first…
I deliberately dodged that question 
, it’s not possible to know.
It may be best to do the 252 first, it may be best to do the SC as the large transformer can set up a lot of vibrations (the brass / ceramic ball / glass sandwich reduces transmission of vibration in both directions). The only way to really find out is to try it.
Thanks. I can feel a new research project coming on. Brass stop ends, silicon nitride balls and rubber tap washers are on the list, along with toughened glass sheets.
I decided that the rubber on the brass only (not on the glass as well) was the best method!
I’ve also clamped have a small “L” bracket behind the preamp to provide reistance to the button pushes, the brass dents mean the bracket is only in momentry contact with the glass shelf for the duration of the button push, then roles back to centre. It works well and the glass needs a slight realignment/re-jig every month or so, but i can live with that.
Having read through the 800 plus posts on the Fraim thread, I stumbled across this and it’s been a thoroughly good read, though it’s given me some questions as to my own set up. To isolate my system, I’m using an Atacama Rack and beneath my naims, I’ve used some washing machine isolation mate which I picked up cheaply from the bay - I’ve also used this same matting for my speakers, plus some slate.
Does what I’m doing make sense, or am I kidding myself with this DIY solution?
I’m also thinking of further isolating my units with glass and bearings, this thread has been brilliant and I’ve really enjoyed following the OP and others adventures with this!
The nicest rack I know! And seems very effective too.
How high off the ground is your TT?
Does the rack become less stable as it grows?
What do the metal cones/cups consist of and how do they work?
The TT is 135cm high, about shoulder height. Works fine for me.
It is solid Oak and is very solidly built. The rack is absolutely rock solid, each level has three points of connection with each other level.
There are cups and spikes on the glass and each level, which are both bonded to each.
Can’t you split this rack into 2 racks? Just wondering if it would still not look like even nicer.
Something to consider
And it would sound better, as all power supplies will not share the same rack.
