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Few vinyl lovers realize that a simple, super-rigid, designed-by-ear turntable stand will make their desert island discs sound way more lifelike. In contrast, elaborately-engineered hollow steel or aluminum tubing stands with over-damped composite or MDF shelves--even $15,000 ones--leave exquisitely recorded albums sounding relatively dull, smeared and compressed. If you want all the exciting dynamics, mesmerizing clarity, and warm natural overtones that make vinyl sound so unique, our handcrafted SAMSON Turntable Stands will deliver exactly that--and at a reasonable cost, with performance backed by our money back guarantee.
All SAMSON Turntable Stands are specifically designed around industrial strength, 1-1/4” solid steel uprights locked to massive 4” and 2” air-dried maple shelves. Adjustable heavy brass footers allow precise leveling on uneven and irregular floors. Shelf spacing is infinitely adjustable and all shelves can be independently leveled. Ideal for minimalist 2 to 3 component systems or to optimally separate turntables from vibration sources in larger complex systems. The record storage area down below holds +/- 150 LPs, yielding convenient access to new purchases and recent favorites--or can be replaced with an extra component shelf.
Our top-of-the-line SAMSON V.4 Ultra Turntable Stand features air-dried solid maple components, hand-finished with matching clear satin lacquer. It includes:
(1) 24" x 18" x 4” thick maple platform mounted with Black Isoblock suspension on top of the massive top shelf, thereby providing the ultimate in TT vibration control.
(3) 27-1/2" wide x 21" deep maple shelves. Topshelf is 4”; below are two 2" thick shelves, one for electronics and one for LP storage.
(1) 2” maple LP support bracket, can be used on middle or bottom shelf.
(4) 36" high black solid-steel uprights.
(4) brass top caps, (20) brass shelf nuts, and (4) 3" footers. Choose footers from the pull-down menu based on floor type.
Ordering Tips
• The average weight of the 4” platform on the top shelf is +/- 45 lbs. If your turntable weighs less than 60 lbs., choose the Isoblock 1 option. For heavier TTs, choose the Isoblock 2 option.
• For best performance on uncarpeted floors, choose the Megafoot option.
• To avoid leaving dings on polished hardwood floors, use Radiused Megafeet.
• For high pile carpet with padding (more than 3/4" deep), you need Thick Carpet Megafeet to penetrate and rest solidly on the floor.
• For standard commercial wall-to-wall carpet (less than 3/4"), Thin Carpet Megafeet will sound slightly better than the thick carpet version.
Additional Info
• To hear the full potential of the SAMSON, we strongly encourage mounting each component to its maple shelf with three of our brass footers. Using Micropoint Heavyfeet or Megafeet to couple your components to the maple shelves will nearly double the sonic improvement you get with any SAMSON.
• Every SAMSON shelf is planed down from rough-cut 2-1/4" and 4-1/4" maple to remove saw marks and surface imperfections. We aim for a true 2" or 4" thickness--as opposed to the commercial lumber yard practice ofundersizing. But, because of variations in the rough-cut timber, the exact thickness may vary by up to 3/16".
Design & Performance
In 1986 we started exploring ways of mounting audio equipment to improve the sound of Mapleshade Studio recordings. Success led to 30 years of of further vibration control listening tests in pursuit of ever-better sound. Those tests have proved that:
• Most crucial is to provide an absolutely rigid, straight, resonance-free path for vibrational energy to flow out of the equipment into the shelf and down through the supporting uprights into floor. Any plastic, rubber or other damping material introduced for "isolation" into the path from the shelf to the floor induces muddy bass with smeared mids and highs.
• Any wood shelf sounds much better than metal, granite, slate or glass. Wood also sounds better than Corian, graphite/carbon fiber composite or highly damped composites. Solid wood is best. Plywood is a distant second with butcher block, MDF and particle board increasingly poor-sounding.
• The best-sounding wood species is red maple, significantly better than rock maple, walnut, cherry, myrtle, spruce, pine, oak, mahogany, jojoba or other exotic tropical hardwoods. Air-dried maple is audibly better than kiln-dried (all lumber yard and butcher block maple is kiln-dried). No matter what the wood, the industry standard ¾" shelf thickness is inadequately rigid for first rate sound.
• To provide a clean, unbroken vibration path to the floor, the shelves must be rigidly locked to one piece uprights. Segmented modules spiked one on top of the other are never rigid enough--and seriously interrupt the vibration path.
• Uprights must be solid, not hollow--and much more rigid than needed for load-bearing alone. Damping the very audible resonances of any hollow metal support with sand or lead fill introduces new problems: notably both dynamics and ambience are deadened and sustained notes are truncated. To transfer vibrational energy cleanly into the floor, uprights must be terminated with massive pointed footers, preferably brass.
• The overall rack structure must be unshakeably rigid and stiff. Most importantly, there must be absolutely no side-sway and no fore-and-aft sway. This is a weak point for almost every audio rack on the market.
The SAMSON addresses these crucial design issues quite simply:
• Shelves are 2" and 4” air-dried maple. Two inch solid maple is over 40 times as stiff as the ¾" veneered MDF standard on most audiophile racks.
• Uprights are 1 ¼" solid steel, 8 times as stiff as the typical rack's 5/8" steel rod or 1" square hollow aluminum tubing.
• Shelves are locked to the 1 1/4" steel uprights by being captured with crushing force between two massive threaded brass cylinders at each corner. This yields a totally rigid vibration path and zero measurable side sway.
Specifications
• Solid 2" and 4" thick air-dried maple shelves finished in clear lacquer.
• 2" shelves will support 300+ pounds; 4" will support over 900 pounds.
• Shelf dimensions are 27-1/2" wide x 21" deep; 23" width between uprights.
• Fully assembled height is 42"-43" from the floor to the upper surface of the platform on the top shelf.
• When evenly spaced, vertical clearance between shelves is +/- 13".
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