Fast forward a few hours. After placing the WellFloat Board Slim Model under my Qualiton P200 amplifier it did not take long (thirty seconds of music playback) to realise this was the right choice!

The unforced, natural flow of music through the speakers spoke volumes. The overall presentation was not just ‘different’ than when using other component isolation, it was markedly better in every musical shape and form. My first intention was to listen intently for any changes to the sonic picture (positive or negative). Changes to instrument timbre or tone? But I found myself quickly becoming absorbed into the music itself. Yes, instrumentation did sound more realistic, more open and airy with greater clarity and focus than before.
Note decay felt REAL, more defined and spacious.

It soon became evident that my listening experience focus was quickly changing.
My focus naturally shifted to ‘just enjoying.’ It was now ‘all about the music!

Turntable isolation?

As the WellFLoat Board Slim Model worked so well under my amplifier, I felt comfortable to progress experimenting with isolation under other components. As I was in possession of two boards, I initially considered placing the second board underneath my preamplifier. However, after much discussion with other vinyl record lovers regarding the major improvements isolation made to their turntable, I felt compelled to hear what results would be achieved using a board under my turntable?

My AMG Viella V12 turntable is my main source and I have enjoyed many years of vinyl record playback. I did have my turntable placed on a wall shelf at my previous address (the best option in my books) but I was not comfortable using the required heavy duty fixings in the modern brickwork of my new listening room. Therefore, the AMG turntable sits directly on my Quadraspire Q4 rack.

Using the WellFloat Board Slim Model under my turntable (including granite support slab) is where sonic improvements and musical enjoyment really stepped up multiple gears. Within five seconds of the needle touching the record (twenty-five seconds sooner than the above amplifier – board test) I realised I would not be able to remove this board!

The sonic and musical results – Considerably (focus on the word considerably) reduced noise floor, even greater clarity, greater instrument separation, wider and deeper soundstage with deeper, significantly defined and controlled lower octaves.

Vinyl playback distortion?

Vinyl playback distortion (or sibilance) is a tricky and challenging area to discuss in one paragraph, due to the fact there can be more than one cause, such as:

. Turntable design

. Incorrect arm or cartridge set-up (alignment)

. Dirty records & or stylus

.Questionable or deteriorated sourced material used for vinyl record reproduction
(tapes or digital source).

.Inaccurately, poorly pressed vinyl records

. Airborne and physical vibration
(micro-vibrations & otherwise) transfer from, and through various sources.

The arm and cartridge on my turntable is set up correctly. My records and stylus are clean and I am familiar with many of my records in respect of their sourced recording material, pressing quality and sonic capabilities. Of course, like all record collectors, I have a number of records which do not give me everything I require sonically, this is the way it is!

 

Many companies claim their turntable isolation devices will completely eliminate vinyl record playback distortion; however, such claims should probably be treated with polite cynicism until proven. Especially when we consider the above potential challenges?

One of the most positively convincing vinyl listening demonstrations using the WellFloat Boards Slim Model was achieved during the playback of Chris Potter’s double disc “Hindsight” (2021 release on A2 Records). Previous playback sessions of this multi-themed jazz - rhythm and blues tinged set consistently revealed various levels of distortion with the ‘For Ellis’ track where Porter reaches for the higher registers with his trumpet. This distortion had me stumped for a while, but I concluded it was a pressing fault and was on the verge of returning the album. However, with the Wellfloat Board Slim Model in place, all traces of distortion vanished. With such an emphatic result, I can only conclude the cause of the distortion was due to airborne and physical vibrations (micro-vibrations & otherwise) as stated above.

At this point I decided to remove my review notepad and pen from my listening room altogether and just enjoy the music. After all, if I am going to spend this amount of money on anything hi-fi related, I wanted to be sure I would not regret the changes to my listening experience later on when exploring other albums, or other types of music in my collection.

Again, it did not take long before I was at ease and was able to just sit back in my listening chair in pleasant awe at the relaxed natural delivery. I felt confident instrumentation timbre and tone were delivered with far greater accuracy than before. I could sense a greater synergy with all components in the chain.

Over three months later I returned pen to pad and fingers to keyboard to complete this experience review. During this time I also encouraged other music lovers who had previously enjoyed my musical space to return and share their thoughts.

“Wow… this is amazing. Music sounded great before, now it sounds surprisingly better. I am even more involved than ever!”

“I am listening and feeling Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” more than ever before. The woman is right bang in the center of those speakers. In fact where are the speakers? They have disappeared!”

“This is much more than clarity and detail. Both attributes are here in abundance, but most importantly I am feeling the music and don’t want to get up. I’m gonna be late for my next appointment!”

Installing the WellFloat Boards Slim Models under my amplifier and turntable proved to make complete sonic sense and produced musical magic. As with my WellFLoat Delta isolation units under my speakers, I do not pretend that these units will fit every music lover’s budget. I will continue to explore using Slimboards under my preamplifier and even my phono stage
(when my bank balance recovers)!

WellFloat Slim Model 3534SF details

(Check the WellFloat website for details of other models)
The half-height (31mm) ‘S’ model has been developed by combining the current WellFloat mechanism with a bottom board, crafted in steel and will easily fit into on the shelves of the majority of
hi-fi racks in on the market.

Specification
Supported Load Weight 0-300Kg
Dimensions W450xD350xH31(mm)
Material MDF, Steel

Robin Francis
© Michael Valentine Studio
February - June 2025

Complete system details: