01 PRECISION ENGINEERING

TurntableIsolation.

Vibration is the enemy of analogue audio. Even the finest turntable and cartridge cannot perform when contaminated by feedback from your room and structure. Isolation is not optional — it is fundamental.

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Part of the Isolation Bubble philosophy

Turntable on Funk Firm isolation feet — side profile showing the Isolation Bubble stack

Stylus reads everything

A phono stylus is the most sensitive mechanical sensor in consumer technology. It cannot distinguish between music and vibration — it reads both equally.

Feedback degrades sound

Airborne and structure-borne vibration creates a constant low-level blur in your playback. The result is reduced clarity, smeared imaging, and an artificially high noise floor.

Isolation unlocks performance

Proper isolation removes vibration contamination and allows your turntable, tonearm, and cartridge to perform as designed — often with a dramatic, immediately audible improvement.

02 THE RANGE

The Funk Firm isolation range

Every Funk Firm isolation product is engineered around a deep understanding of vibration mechanics. We do not simply add rubber feet — we design systems that address specific resonance frequencies.

Ultimate vibration isolation

The Boing

Spring-based isolation that eliminates airborne and structure-borne vibration beneath your turntable.

From £150

Complete Rega upgrade

Isolation Bubble Kit

Full Isolation Bubble kit for all Rega turntables — the most cost-effective starting point for decoupling your deck from shelf-borne vibration.

From £525

Isolation Bubble Upgrade Kit for All Rega Turntables by The Funk Firm
Multi-layer damping

APM

Achromat on glass — a platter mat that absorbs stylus energy before it colours the signal.

£220

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03 THE PHYSICS

How vibration enters a turntable

Understanding the problem is the first step to solving it.

  1. Music plays through speakers

    Sound waves travel through the air and cause every object in the room to vibrate — walls, floors, furniture, and shelves.

  2. Structure-borne vibration

    Bass frequencies in particular travel efficiently through solid materials. Your floor, rack, and the turntable's plinth all vibrate sympathetically.

  3. The stylus reads contamination

    The cartridge stylus, tracking the groove at nanometre precision, picks up these vibrations and adds them to the audio signal.

  4. Feedback loop begins

    The contaminated signal is amplified and played back through the speakers — reinforcing the original vibration and creating a self-perpetuating feedback loop.

  5. Isolation breaks the cycle

    A mechanical low-pass filter — spring, elastomer, or pneumatic — prevents vibration from reaching the turntable, eliminating the loop entirely.

Technics SL-1500C with Funk Firm Isolation Bubble kit — deck in a real listening setup
Structure-borne vibration travels from speakers through the room into the turntable

04 THE PHYSICS

The science behind the Achromat

04 — QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions

Why does turntable isolation matter?

A turntable stylus reads groove variations as small as 0.0002mm — far smaller than the vibrations that travel through floors and furniture. Without isolation, those vibrations are misread as music, adding a subtle but constant blur to the sound. Good isolation removes this contamination entirely.

What causes turntable feedback?

Airborne sound from your speakers causes the room, floor, and furniture to vibrate. These vibrations travel up through the turntable's feet and chassis to the platter and tonearm. The stylus picks them up and a feedback loop begins — the louder you play, the worse it gets.

Do I need isolation if I use a wall-mounted shelf?

Wall-mounted shelves help with floor-bounce feedback but do not address airborne vibration, which causes the shelf to resonate. A good isolation platform works on top of any shelf and addresses both sources of contamination.

Which Funk Firm isolation product should I choose?

The Isolation Bubble kit is the most cost-effective starting point. For serious installations or challenging acoustic environments, The Boing and APM provide progressively higher levels of isolation performance.

Will turntable isolation improve my cartridge's performance?

Yes. A cartridge can only reproduce what the stylus reads. Remove vibration contamination and the cartridge — whatever it costs — will immediately sound more focused, dynamic, and low in noise.

Ready to hear what you've been missing?

Turntable isolation is one of the highest-value upgrades in analogue audio. The improvement is immediate, dramatic, and available at any budget level.

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