Albert Porters after market panzerholz plinths

Dear Vertigo,
If you wait for a scientific definition of perfection, when it comes to vinyl reproduction, and even when it comes to digital, you will be standing by the side of the road forever. Most of what you wrote is true; but there is still a lot of fun to be had in the subjective pursuit of happiness. This lack of precision actually works in our favor. If there were any absolute standards beyond what pleases the listener, audio would be a pretty boring hobby, in fact. We would be without eccentrics like Simon Yorke, probably.

Right next to my SP10 Mk3 sits a Lenco, using a different tonearm and a wonderful MM cartridge, in contrast to the MC Ortofon on the Mk3. Both sound superb and not terribly different to my ears. (Both give a big, free, open sound with plenty of depth and stage width.) I could live with either tt alone and probably will pick one, as I ride off into audio Valhalla. On the other side of the Mk3 sits a Kenwood L07D, one of the few tables ever built with a well engineered plinth that needs no mods whatsoever. Constrained layer damping a la 1979. It sounds great too. Record mats are very very important, I agree, by the way. Is that a bad thing?

Lewn,

As to your first paragraph. I'm not waiting for a scientific definition of perfection. I simply (calmly) am saying to help those who were like me, naive and gullible (believing the hype in marketing/reviews) that there was such a thing as a silver bullet component/components that will answer all your hifi problems/dreams. (including Albert porters table or the walker table or whatever)I say this last sentence as a direct response to the initial thread question. This message i guess is not to people like you but there are some out there who are very frustrated/irritated by the promises/lies propigated by salesman. Not all but some.

To answer the initial thread question i can say that the material panzerholz, of which i built an armboard which supplanted a mahogany armboard bettered it but there is still room for improvement and my results with the material might not be yours, as it will depend on which way your sound is already leaning but that its a good bet, but ultimately its your risk and there's no guarantees. You might spend alot of money time and effort but still end up wanting to sell it 6 months down the road. And is there anything wrong with that? No, not for those who didnt have any illusion's to begin with and has the patience, money, time and love for this pursuit, not to those who are prepared to make allowances for multiple "failures" disappointments, dashed hopes, when the perceived degree of advancement and its actually reality share no resemblance.

We've failed alot of naive, hopeful people by our greed and irresponsible claims.

I truly am enthusiastic about hifi, components, the material sciences involved and like you rightly say, the pleasure in the pursuit of attaining an ideal... not simply "arriving". I am impatient and my standards are probably too high.

I was so happy that simon yorke shared a bit of how he searches for ideal materials. I saw a bit of my myself in him, ie the passion, the excitement, the hopefulness, the desperation! (smile) I felt vindicated in that i always believed that results to some degree are unpredictable and that in the possession of every audio enthusiast is the power of experimentation! and to be able to dial in our sound not with supplanting our already great amp but by tweaking around it. We arent totally dependent or at the mercy of the "dealer" who thinks his products has the answer to my audio "problems".

There is ALOT of power, i think, in experimenting WITHIN our own systems , with OUR OWN hunches to yield very good results. How many different woods are there that i can build 1. a shim for between my cart and arm 2. to build an armboard with ? No how many different combinations can i get just out of those to parts? If i ad a third part, like maybe different feet, that just multiplies the number of combinations i can now make. Lets say there is 5 for each that would be like having a 3 dial lock with 5 numbers on each dial. As many combinations that are possible corresponds with how many different sounds qualities i can alter within the context of the rest of my system!!! Thats alot of possibilities! Now change armboard thicknesses, shim thickness and you've just added another 2 dials to your lock. This is what i am trying transfer to the idea of different plinth materials...(systems within systems, within systems)

Of course not everyone has that kind of time or passion, those are more likely to be the ones who get disappointed with the merry go round of components.

I guess each person will have to individually decide if all this is ultimately fun for them or not.

I'm staying here but on bad days i feel like selling it all and just getting an ipod with 10,000 songs, not obsessing over 1mm of vta or 1 /100 of a gram vtf! how one studio's sound compliments my set up while another fails it! (smiling) My perserverance/stubborness has helped me to ultimately have fun, learn and arrive very close to a sound that is close to impressing me. Things are sounding pretty good these days and i'm getting better at what i do, knowing how and where i can make sonic progress that brings meaningful results and pleasure to my life. But sometimes....its a jungle out there! beware the faint of heart and thin skinned! (smiling)

Appreciate you lewn! Thanks.

***I truly am enthusiastic about hifi, components, the material sciences involved and like you rightly say, the pleasure in the pursuit of attaining an ideal... not simply "arriving"***

Actually, I lied...It would be so nice to..."just arrive" forget the journey. (i guess i'm a dumb romantic too) (smile)

Vertigo, that long post was great reading. My God, I just loved that line:

We've failed alot of naive, hopeful people by our greed and irresponsible claims.

Thank you.

Regards,

Knowledge is power. Educate yourself on basic electronics, and you will no longer be naive or subject to the foolish rhetoric of audio advertising or hyped up reviews in magazines.