Just an observation here, but????????

Orpheus 10 how in the world is recording a album to tape, regardless of the type, going to make playback better.

A extra variable in speed?  Another transfer function?  Unless  I read the above post incorrectly, I am really lost.

Enjoy the ride
Tom

Sleepwalker, 

Here is a Teac 2 track


      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vagaEhC567Y

Tom, like many things in high end audio, it's difficult to explain, but easy to demonstrate.

Either high mass or good suspension can work, question is whether they do in a given situation.

I have one sprung table, a Sota Cosmos, and its is admirably free from environmental vibration. (A good way to test is to get out a test record with a blank side, lower the stylus on it, turn up the sound a bit and walk around the room or even stomp around - if you get nothing through the speakers you are doing a good job of isolation).

I have another high mass table, A VPI TNT, sitting on a heavy stone base about 4' high with a thick granite slab on top, situated near a wall, and it is equally unaffected by room/floor vibration. For suspension it has only four squash balls, one in each 'tower'...and no, I have not done auditions to see if orange dot (slow) or blue dot (fast) sound better than the yellows I have in there, but I intend to do so some day....

Then there are the guys that suspend their tables from the ceiling on bifilar lines so they hang in mid-air - and then stay awake at night worrying about air borne vibrations.

It’s all about trade offs. No matter what drive method, design based on suspension or unsuspended mass, or a balance in between, or multi plinthed.They ALL have trade offs in their inherent strengths and weakness’s of design. The more you pay initially, or the more you pay in tweeks and time will determine how few weakness’s are left.
Just pick the poison that suits your needs and what it needs to do and not do and how far your willing to have to reach up your backside to pay for it. A properly set up table/arm/cart that won’t damage the grooves of the record and when played through the owners system pleases her / his requirements......is all that matters.
There always seems to be exceptions to the rule in vinyl as well. Not all tables need or sound well on a mass shelf as some prefer a light support and sound better for it as just one example of the many exemptions to the rule or generalized beliefs many (incorrectly) take as gospel.
They all can be manufactured to sound good (relative), and all can be set up to sound bad. Its a personal thing,....including some with the inability to set and dial in and accepting mediocrity from under achieving set up, then believing its the product ……
I have witnessed it and heard it in dealers showrooms of all places......
also one of the biggest problems I see...is people often really don't know exactly what they want and thus accept someone else's wishes that often end up not matching their own......