One turntable with two arms, or two turntables with one each - which would you prefer?

I have two tables, one is a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse with a SME V, so a 1 arm 1 table combo. With a suspended deck its really not possible to run two arms on it.

The second table is a Scheu Analog Das Laufwerk No2 which is an 85 pound non-suspended deck with two Dynavector DV505 arms on it. No suspension issues, so it is suitable for two arms.

The phono stage is an Esoteric E-03 that allows for two separate inputs and each side has cartridge loading options. With this arrangement I can compare two cartridges with the same arms (Dynavector) and same phono stage, along with the same drive unit (Scheu)

However my typical arrangement is using an Ortofon MC2000 on one Dynavector arm and the T2000 transformer into a Graham Slee Accession phono stage. The second arm gets a casual listening cartridge like an Ortofon MC3000 I have into one input on the Esoteric. The SOTA has a Transfiguration Audio Proteus on the SME and goes into the other input of the Esoteric.

But with little difficulty, aided by the fact that the Dynavectors have removable headshells I can set things up for cartridge comparisons on an even playing field with little difficulty.

But I did toy with the possibility of one good table. Locally there is a Walker Proscenium available. If I sold most of my analog stuff off I could afford it. But I am not sure where I would put the air pump, and now that Lloyd is passed not sure how to get it serviced if need be, and I think the gold trim on the arm is ugly. Besides I have my doubts how much better it can be versus my SOTA. I am not willing to risk everything to find out the answer to that question.

I wouldn’t go near the delicate TT101 (I chose the TT81), however, Halcro, member here did, went thru all to achieve perfection, then proved that the DD motor was able to maintain perfect speed when 1/2/3 arms were simultaneously playing.

I went with the conventional vintage JVC Victor Plinth, he made custom and separate pods for his 3 arms. And, dust cover??? one of the reasons I stayed with the JVC design.

It has been difficult to suggest a Densified Wood to be considered for use in the USA as there are not too many Brands able to be found.

Thanks to the TV Series 'Forged in Fire', I have seen a material used that captured my curiosity and have now discovered the correct name for the material that somebody who is developing a curiosity for a Densified Wood might like to look at.

My searching for Diamond Wood, has commonly not found the wood type I was looking for.

A different approach has found Dymond Wood.

This is more like it, a Birch Wood Veneer Board, that begins as a 2 Inch assembly of Layer and is compressed to a 1 Inch finished product with a plastic resin type of adhesive.

The description is very in keeping with the Wood Type I am an advocate of. 

The properties that make it more akin is the Weight I have a Dymond Wood at approx' 1300Kg per Cubic Metre, which is undoubtedly a Densified Wood.

The Compressive Strength and stability when submerged in water is very attractive, this material is extremely stable and will not expand or yield in any usage for HiFi.

You could make a plinth large enough to use a M4 Sherman as a Tonearm and it will be the ideal Plinth Material.

Hopefully the info' will be of use to a forum member for their own trials to commence.     

@pindac Try Panzerholz. You can order from their Canadian distributor BK Industrial. About $1000 for enough to build a plinth. Very difficult to work with, but I managed to complete a 2-arm plinth for my Technics SP-10 MK3.

@au_lait I am quite familiar with Panzerholz and Permali, I have some very nice P'mali Boards and am fortunate to have purchased a supply oof P'holz with a friend who has CNC Produced a P'holz Plinth for both of our SP10 Mk II's.

I have listened to the SP10 Mk II in a P'holz Plinth for a few years now, at another friends, and this past weekend on Saturday, was demonstrated one of the CNC Cut Plinths produced for the SP10 MK II, for the first time in my friend's system since it was exchanged from a Marine Plywood Plinth. 

The P'holz Plinth has been mounted on to a P'holz Sub Plinth to create a Two Teir Support Structure.

My comments on the last occasion I visited, when a Marine Plywood Plinth was in use; was based around detecting a detractor, of which the fundamental cause was suggested to be from the Cabinet Speakers. I was awarding the Speakers Cabinet as causing coloration.

This Time around, I was very quick to make it known the same Speakers were quite transparent and getting a fix on their placement was now much more difficult, the coloration that was suggested as being present in the speaker's had seemingly disappeared.

A set of Electrostatics were also put to use, and the Cabinets and ESL's were seemingly with parity when it came down to Transparency.

One other point of interest is that on a very well-known Album, I was confident that the replay on this occasion, was delivering information, I had not detected before when replayed on a selection of systems. 

The change of Plinth Material in this case has had a notable effect at managing a distortion that can be passed through a Styli, and manifest downstream at the Speaker. 

I can't help but think the Sub Plinth has been instrumental in assisting with the additional detail being detected in a replay. As a P'holz Sub Plinth has proved quite a valuable addition to other equipment used at demonstrations prior to Saturday's Visit.  

I know the cost of receiving Panzerholz outside of Continental Europe can be quite prohibitive.

Permali is a Densified Wood that is a little easier to find, maybe the licensing for the product is eased.

In general, I encourage a search for Densified Wood as most Countries produce their own Brands, that all share very similar properties, it seems the weight for Overseas Shipping seems to be restrictive, hence the home-produced material. 

The Dymond Wood is found in a Board and is found in many colours, this might appeal to a would-be Plinth Builder.