Do you leave your platter spinning while switching

a constant stress of belt driven platter is always better than variable stop and go. for direct drive it doesn't matter.

It all comes down to the record weight that you use (or don't use).

If it's a threaded type (aka VPI) you have to stop the platter from spinning to torque it down.

If it's unthreaded, or if you don;t use one, you can keep the platter spinning.

See this thread, which addressed the same question. As is often the case in audio, there is complete unanimity on the matter :-)

Regards,
-- Al

I did when I had a Linn and it was easy. now I have an OL deck and its not really possible due to larger platter and longer spindle. I dont believe pluking the lp off a spinning plater is bad-only if you drop the lp while doing it.

With my Thorens TD 125 Mk 2 I leave the platter spinning while making the switch. With my Concept 2QD DD turntable I have to make the switch while the platter is stopped.

Yes, my owners manual states it saves wear on the belt and motor.

I have always started and stopped my tables for each album side. I guess it really is how comfortable you feel.

Almost all of my tables use screw down clamps, so it's kind of hard to do with the platter spinning.

It's much easier on the motor/belt if you spin around at the same speed.

This becomes increasingly challenging at 45 RPM.

Thanks.

Not unless you want to...

No. Seems like a bad idea to me, even if your table does not use a clamp or a ring. I'd never do it.

Wouldn't Delrin, Cork, Copper and Acrylic platters subject the LP to scratches if not plucked perfectly from the platter??? Seems like a good way to ruin many LPs unless you have the reflexes of a cat, Meow!

No way I would leave it spinning.

My main rig uses a threaded clamp so it's not even an option. Even if it were I wouldn't do it. There's a $5K cartridge hanging there and its cantilever is well placed to get whacked. The miniscule wear and tear on motor and belt from startups could hardly compare with the cost of one little accident...

Even on my old TTs with no clamp and cheap MMs I never did it. Why risk LP or cartridge damage? Unless you're a DJ spinning and mixing live it's a pointless risk.

Startup stress on the motor and belt can be mitigated in safer ways. Just give the platter a helping push.

It was always the done thing with LP12s - largely due to the low torque arrangement. It helped stability to leave it on. The Hercules II is even worse! (Bit of a misnomer that...)
The felt mat had a constant tendency to attach itself to the LP during flipping and occasionally dropped off during the act, causing it to assume a dangerously wide arc towards the stylus! (Another reason for preferring a Ringmat :) I never damaged a cartridge despite this.

So I continued that practice for 25 years until I acquired a Raven, which I always switch on and off as the platter size doesn't lend itself easily to "active flipping".
The Raven's platter is always stabilised in < 1 second so there's no hardship in doing this. If I was going to give it a helping hand I'd have to be quick!!

YES........ I leave my platter spinning when I turn over an LP or put on a new LP. No magical manual dexterity,.. just simple care and an easy touch.

I use a TW deck too, the Raven one and leave it spinning. I don't use a clamp. I tried a Shun Mook weight and could'nt detect much difference. That being the case, it is easy to take a disc off a spinning platter and I agree that constant turning on and off, would logically seem to add stress to the motor and controller.

no, i use a TTWeights outer ring weight. The platter must be stopped.

I never turn off the TT when changing LP's.

I also never shut off my belt driven turntable. It runs 24/7 and my theory is that it won't develop a spot on the belt if left in the off position for a day or two.

When I used to shut off the TT, I had a chance to removed the belt after about two weeks of non-use and I found the part of the belt that wrapped around the drive pulley developed an "image" of the drive pulley on the radius of the belt.

I must turn off. I have a Basis with vacuum.

Notbananas, Don't you have to "pick your poison"? If you leave the tt running at all times, then you accelerate wear on the moving parts (tt bearing, motor drive shaft and pulley) and the belt that connects them. No free lunch. But I can see that with some belt drives that use low-torque motors, one saves time by leaving the motor running whilst changing records (or turning the LP over to hear the B side).

I actually get a kick out of turning off my SP10 Mk3 between LPs, so I can see how it comes up to speed almost instantaneously upon re-start. None of my other direct-drives or my Lenco are quite like that, but nevertheless, I always shut down between sides.

No...Rim and spindle weights demand that I stop it.

This is why I like direct drive tt....I dont have to worry about stretching my belt .

I always stop my turntable spinning while changing records.  I do give the platter a helpful push to start it spinning when I start it back up. 

It’s ALIVE!!!
The 9 years dormant question is ba-ack!

I've had my turntable running since the summer of 2012, hoping for a definitive answer.

With my new Origin Live Sovereign with the Gravity One record weight one of the really surprising pleasures is not having to stop the platter. So nice. Not to mention the lack of motor and belt wear from letting it run. Sweet.

I stop mine every time. It's part of the process,