I suspect some of the ’sound’ of the turntable goes beyond the usual measurable ’specs’ of rumble, wow & flutter and has to do with mass, materials, isolation, the sonic character of the interface between the LP and the platter (which could be a combination of materials, hardness or softness of that material), etc.
If you think about the process- transducer, like a microphone, amplified by phono preamp, again, by line stage, and again, by amplifiers, you are hearing the combination of all of it-- the character of the cartridge, the arm and the table-- magnified to a considerable degree.
Even if you eliminate some variables- same cartridge (assuming no unit to unit differences), same arm and same set up, mass and materials have a sonic character.
I have often wondered to what extent different vinyl formulations and LP ’weights’ contribute to the process-usually its just a matter of how ’quiet’ the surfaces are, but are there differences in, say, the ’resonance’ characteristics of ’heavy’ vinyl v. Dynaflex era records? (Leaving aside VTA/SRA to account for 'thickness' of the record?)
Think about the various experiments people make with different platter mats, weights, clamps and the like. I think it all matters.
Not that I have any scientific methodology to suss all this out- but if you are working with a good turntable, there are many ’tweaks’ that may enhance the sound of one set up and not sound as good on another.
If you think about the process- transducer, like a microphone, amplified by phono preamp, again, by line stage, and again, by amplifiers, you are hearing the combination of all of it-- the character of the cartridge, the arm and the table-- magnified to a considerable degree.
Even if you eliminate some variables- same cartridge (assuming no unit to unit differences), same arm and same set up, mass and materials have a sonic character.
I have often wondered to what extent different vinyl formulations and LP ’weights’ contribute to the process-usually its just a matter of how ’quiet’ the surfaces are, but are there differences in, say, the ’resonance’ characteristics of ’heavy’ vinyl v. Dynaflex era records? (Leaving aside VTA/SRA to account for 'thickness' of the record?)
Think about the various experiments people make with different platter mats, weights, clamps and the like. I think it all matters.
Not that I have any scientific methodology to suss all this out- but if you are working with a good turntable, there are many ’tweaks’ that may enhance the sound of one set up and not sound as good on another.