Dave Morrison, founder of IsoAcoustics, a Canadian manufacturer of acoustic isolation products, has spent years developing technologies to improve the sound of audio systems.

To mark the Love Record Stores Day on Saturday June 20, Morrison is providing turntable owners with five tips to improve the performance of their systems.

5 Key Turntable System Tips:

#1: Speaker Placement:

Pointing out the importance of room acoustics and how speakers integrate into interior spaces Morrison says small placement adjustments can make a big difference.

“Positioning the speakers too close to the walls and corners of the room can boost lower frequencies to levels that are not balanced,” notes Morrison.

“High frequencies have a much smaller dispersion angle than lower frequencies, so they are much more directional. Adjusting the height and tilt to focus the tweeters to ear level within the high-frequency dispersion angle is a must.”

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#2: Speaker Isolation

According to Morrison, speakers generate a lot of vibrations that excite the supporting surface to create anomalies in the listening area can affect sensitive equipment like turntables. He says vibrations also reflect off the supporting surface and are mechanically conducted back into the speaker, which we call internal reflections.

“These reflections result in smear, and any artifacts that are common to both channels are perceived in the middle, which collapses the sound stage,” notes Morrison.

“Proper speaker isolation that manages the speaker’s energy and its interaction with the supporting surface makes a profound difference.”

#3: First Reflections

IsoAcoustics recommends starting at the source to address acoustical issues and then examine the path the sound waves take to reach the listener.

Morrison explains that first reflections are the locations on the walls, floor, or ceiling where the soundwaves reflect and create the shortest indirect path to your ears. He points out that if you positioned a mirror on your sidewall, the first reflection would be the wall’s location where you see the reflection of the speakers’ drivers while seated in the listening position.

First reflections are the next sound you hear after the direct sound from the monitors or the loudspeakers. They will significantly affect the timing and negatively impact the stereo imaging and soundstage if not appropriately treated with absorption or diffusion.

#4: Room Treatments

Often, he says the speakers and equipment get all the attention when it is actually the listening environment that can be the problem.

“Treating the room using a combination of absorption and diffusion to make necessary adjustments in the room will make a huge difference to provide a neutral and balanced sound,” emphasizes Morrison.

“Pay special attention to the corners of the room and ‘first reflection’ points. Acoustic treatment can be an expensive and rather daunting proposition compared to IsoAcoustics products, but it is worth the research if you want a truly neutral sound.”

#5: Turntable Isolation

Morrison comments that navigating the tiny variations in a record’s grooves is the turntable stylus. This apparatus is a delicate instrument that is very sensitive to vibrations. Unwanted structural vibrations from the air and floor can disrupt a turntable’s sound when playing music.

“Sometimes this problem is obvious, like when you hear distortion when playing at higher volumes,” he comments.

“You may have experienced feedback when energy from the speakers is conducted into the stylus and re-amplified again. But even at softer volumes, you likely don’t realize the finer details you are missing as a result of these vibrations.”

Morrison adds that his company IsoAcoustics provides integrators with a complete selection of isolation products. Some of those solutions include the OREA series, the DELOS series of platforms, and the Aperta series of speaker isolation stands.

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