I did some research, and experimented myself with another table, on oil viscosity and its effect on the sound. I've found that the oil used need to be specially formulated for the oil-well and bearing tolerance in order to suppress the resonance generated by the bearing itself. So each turntable/bearing design must have its own oil formulation. The only company that explicitly stresses this fact is Basis Audio. I've been saying this for at least 7 years: http://www.galibierdesign.com/prd_bearing.html You are correct that the issue involves matching the viscosity to the bearing tolerance, but it also takes into consideration the belt (or other drive system), motor torque, and platter mass. In other words - everything that makes up this resonant system. Given that for most products, all of these components are fixed (pre-chosen for you), the only thing you are likely to change is the lubrication, so it's understandable that folks would think primarily in terms of bearing tolerance. The Micro Seiki guys have been hip to this for years as well, and have (as with us chez Galibier Design) advocated thin oil. Cheers, Thom @ Galibier |
