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TONEARM DAMPING : DAMPED OR NOT ? ? USELESS ? ? WELCOMED ? ?

Dear friends: This tonearm critical subject sometimes can be controversial for say the least. Some audiophiles swear for non damped tonearms as the FR designs or SAEC or even the SME 3012 that is not very well damped in stock original status.

Some other audiophiles likes good damped tonearms.


In other thread a gentleman posted:


"  If a cartridge is properly matched to the tonearm damping is not required. " and even explained all what we know about the ideal resonance frequency range between tonearm and cartridge ( 8hz to 12hz. ). He refered to this when said: " properly matched to the tonearm ".


In that same thread that a Triplanar tonearm owner posted:


" This is the one thing about the Triplanar that I don't like. I never use the damping trough...... I imagine someone might have a use for it; I removed the troughs on my Triplanars; its nice to imagine that it sounds better for doing so. "


At the other side here it's a very well damped tonearm:


https://audiotraveler.wordpress.com/tag/townshend/


Now, after the LP is in the spining TT platter ( everything the same, including well matched cartridge/tonearm.  ) the must critical issue is what happens once the cartridge stylus tip hits/track the LP grooves modulations.

The ideal is that those groove modulations can pass to the cartridge motor with out any additional kind of developed resonances/vibrations and that the transducer makes its job mantaining the delicated and sensible signal integrity that comes in those recorded groove modulations.

 That is the ideal and could be utopic because all over the process/trip of the cartridge signal between the stylus tip ride and the output at the tonearm cable the signal suffers degradation (  resonances/vibrations/feedback ) mainly developed through all that " long trip " .


So, DAMPING IS NEED IT AT THE TONEARM/HEADSHELL SIDE OR NOT?


I'm trying to find out the " true " about and not looking if what we like it or not like it is rigth or not but what should be about and why of that " should be ".


I invite all of you analog lovers audiophiles to share your points of view in this critical analog audio subject. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT?


Thank's in advance.



Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.






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cleeds
5,951 posts
 
lewm
... What does mistracking look like on a ’scope? Wouldn’t you need a positive control, a cartridge that does not mistrack the passage, to know what you are looking at?
You use tracks of increasing amplitude from a test record - such as the Ortofon LP - then look for deviation from a smooth sine wave on the ’scope. It is possible to see mistracking before you can hear it.
lewm
13,070 posts
 
Makes sense. Thanks.  But in that case you are using a pure tone from a test LP, not music, which is fine but does not quite mimic the real world situation.  Because music will always give a very complex wave form on a 'scope, that is why I asked the question. 
billstevenson
357 posts
 
Lewm, Your point about the complexity of a musical wave form is well taken, which is why it is important to follow up by listening to music as Raul has explained.  This is a very enlightening discussion because it underlines the importance of keeping an open mind and that there is value in using every available resource to optimize the set up of our record playing equipment.  And of course things change over time, so it is necessary to check, realign, re-check etc. to get the best results.  It is worth it, though, at least to me.  I find analog more challenging and more rewarding that digital equipment that sits gathering dust most of the time.

Bill
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cleeds
5,951 posts
 
lewm
... you are using a pure tone from a test LP, not music, which is fine but does not quite mimic the real world situation. Because music will always give a very complex wave form ...
That's true, of course. Regardless, it is often possible to detect mistracking using steady-state tones before such mistracking can be detected audibly using actual music.

Thatis part of why I discount many of the claims that a cartridge "tracks great." When questioned, those making the claim usually can't really explain how they arrived at their belief. Merely being able to play an LP side without skipping or obvious distortion is not itself proof of good tracking.
danvignau's avatar
danvignau
935 posts
 
Spring loaded anti-skating mechanisms actually provide some damping. I prefer my fluid damped arms, but the engineering is the real key.  I added a bit of very thick fluid to the "razor" bearing of a pal's Grace 707, and it did smooth it it a bit.
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