Naim introduce a turntable - the Solstice Special Edition

fsonic, Your little experiment with a single idler-drive turntable and platters of different mass does not "prove" that high mass per se is the cause of a "plodding" sound, whatever that means to the author.  It only means that you prefer the lighter platter on your Garrard.  It is only information useful to you with your turntable in your system.  Furthermore you fail to mention which platter, if any of the 3, was OEM to the 301.  The 301 drive system was probably designed with a particular platter mass in mind; it would not be surprising if heavier platters would overload the drive and cause a sense of dullness or plodding or that a lighter than original platter might enliven the sound.  But I couldn't say that unless you were to reveal which was the OEM platter.  However, I hope you see my point.

fsonic, Your little experiment with a single idler-drive turntable and platters of different mass does not "prove" that high mass per se is the cause of a "plodding" sound, whatever that means to the author. It only means that you prefer the lighter platter on your Garrard. It is only information useful to you with your turntable in your system. Furthermore you fail to mention which platter, if any of the 3, was OEM to the 301. The 301 drive system was probably designed with a particular platter mass in mind; it would not be surprising if heavier platters would overload the drive and cause a sense of dullness or plodding or that a lighter than original platter might enliven the sound. But I couldn't say that unless you were to reveal which was the OEM platter. However, I hope you see my point.

And to think I used to respect your knowledge. If you knew Garrards at all, a scintilla of a speck of a flea's patoot, you would know the answer. The OEM is the lightest by far. But not my favorite. My preferred platter is the mid-weight or mid-mass if you will. Or won't. 

Should anyone question the motivation for my response to Lewm, the answer is here "Your little experiment". So f-ing condescending I could just...... Well, you get the idea. 

Should anyone question the motivation for my response to Lewm, the answer is here "Your little experiment". So f-ing condescending I could just...... Well, you get the idea.

@fsonicsmith
Well after the red mist subsides, @lewm s point is correct.
Just because you had a poor result with a heavy platter on your 301 does not mean a heavy platter cannot work with other setups.

I have built both Garrard 301’s and 401’s and in fact the heavy platter options are different for each model On my 301 I use a modified original platter, heavier platters upset the bass timing. Conversely on the 401 I built increasing the platter to a 11kg brass platter improved pitch stability.

I have both a 301 and reference high mass TT with 26kg platter.
It is the high mass turntable that has speed and coherence the Garrard 301 ( nor anything else I’ve heard apart from the DD Technics SP10mk3 but that has other issues ) cannot match.

Platter mass has to be viewed in context with the capability of the drive system and how that mass is managed in terms of stored energy.