High mass vs Low Mass Turntables - Sound difference?

Shadore

You don't understand the design philosophies of what Rega and other low mass companies are trying to do.

There are really two major philosophies

High mass with the thinking that the additional mass is harder to get to resonate, however, the energy is slowly released adding coloration.

vs

Low mass wth the concept that the lighter weight materials will flex to absorb energy or bounce the enegy off of the table by virtue of the materials propensity not to be vibrated by certain frequencies, and disapate that energy faster leading to a faster less colored more nimble sound.

Personaly the best table I have ever heard did battle with a $40k high mass table and sounded nearly identical for 1/5 the money.

That table used a plinth of rubber laminates to absorb all energy presented to the table and turn it into heat rather than trying to deflect it low mass or absorb it or not be excited high mass designs, best table I have ever heard $7k beats most $25k tables.

Over the last 40 years I have worked with Sota, Linn, Vpi, Kronos, Rega, Linn, Thorns, SME, and many others. 

Troy
Audio Doctor

10 kg mass ORACLE DELPHI, early models w/ GROOVE ISOLATOR and "soft spring set" suspension outperform so many IME. In musicality.

higher mass will lower the Q of of the resonant system

- for those allergic to Google, that means any resonance near a certain freq. will be lower in amplitude and more spread out than a higher Q for both higher & lower freq.

it isn't really that it harder to get to resonate

higher mass is just one of a number of engineering design factors that can be used to deal with resonances - there is no way one could take a number of xlnt turntables and weigh them to rank their SQ

BEST THING: put the turntable (and it's pre-preamp) in a different room or area that is acoustically isolated from the listening room

so back to the ORIGINAL QUESTION...

anyone here able to do direct, head on comparisons?

i just care about the sound...

jjss49

anyone here able to do direct, head on comparisons?

Either approach can yield outstanding sound. I'd put Oracle and Linn at the top of the low-mass designs - I had an Oracle Delphi for years and it was superb. I've long since returned to a high mass VPI and that's my preference.

High mass designs are easier to setup and tune, in part because the pickup arm mass is relatively insignificant compared to that of the plinth. Higher mass designs are also easier to operate; you can rest your hand on the plinth without bottoming out any springs.

I sold my Oracle to a friend who still uses it. It still sounds great. There are really many good examples of each design approach.