A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dear Halcro: When I " arrived " to this forum ( 6-7 years ago ) I posted several times the main and critical importance that the tonearm/cartridge had in an analog playback system and several times too from everyone I received the same answer: wrong the more important link is the TT.

Over the years and through my ( and other ones. ) " insistence " on the subject today almost all agree on the main importance of the tonearm /cartridge in that analog system.

You can see/read that I'm not speaking on tonearm alone but in tonearm/cartridge as a UNIT.

Then for me the centre of an analog system is not the tonearm but the cartridge/tonearm UNIT that between other things represent the source that IMHO is the more important ( the source ) audio link in any audio system: the centre of an audio system.

The source is IMHO the " King " in an audio system chain where all the other audio links ( including our each one skills for right system overall set up. ) are " only " subjects/slaves at King's service.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

Thanks Hodu,
After the initial thread was started (with the link to my system's page), I was then able to post the long statement on this thread.
I wrote to Audiogon but have received no answer as to why this might be?

Dear Lew,
My thesis is that once the immovable and isolated base has been established for the tonearm, the method of drive for the turntable will make no difference to the sound retrieved by the cartridge as long as perfectly correct and stable speed is achieved without any resonances transmitted via the platter.

If this is the case and I am correct (two big 'ifs'), any 'plinth' is superfluous?
If an added plinth around the turntable alters the sound in any way, then it cannot be correct.
It may be preferred by certain listeners but must by definition, be a tone control either adding or subtracting information.
As Atmasphere correctly said about outboard phono stages.......if a change of interconnects changes the sound, the phono stage is flawed.

Dear Raul,
You are certainly correct that you have constantly been claiming that the tonearm/cartridge UNIT is the 'King' and most important part of the record-playing system.
But that is NOT what I am claiming.
My belief is that it is the BASE for the tonearm/cartridge unit which is the 'sine qua non' of the turntable system.

Once you have an immovable and isolated base, you may put whatever tonearm/cartridge combination you wish upon it?
MANY tonearms will sound well with a multitude of cartridges and I don't believe there is a single 'BEST' tonearm nor cartridge for all occasions?

I am claiming that without the precondition of the immovable and isolated tonearm BASE, any tonearm/cartridge combination will be compromised to some degree.
Of course there are many examples of non-isolated tonearm bases which work perfectly well but do so, I think, because they approach very closely, the characteristics of the isolated immovable base?

Your thoughts, as always, are appreciated.
Regards
Henry

"The tonearm is now the centre of this ‘Turntable System’ and is the most important element. It must be rigidly held on a base which is perfectly flat, non-magnetic and relatively immune to structure-borne and air-borne feedback. This base must ideally have no contact with mechanical or electrical interference and must under no circumstances, move or deflect in any manner.
This base should ideally have no contact with the drive mechanism of the platter or the plinth, sub-platter, belt, gears, idler-wheels etc.
This base should be an island."

What a vacuous discussion. Suggest if you believe this, then sell your turntable, motor and records and just listen to your arm.

Your statements above contradict themselves - for ultimate speed speed stability there must be no movement between the drive and the platter. For ultimate generation of music from the interaction of the stylus on the record, then there must be no movement between the arm mounting and platter.

Ergo the motor drive, platter, arm and cartridge must be coupled together in a closed loop system that is absolutely rigid and yet has no transfer of unwanted energy between them that smears the speed sound or whatever.

In fact there should be no cantilever suspension to ensure as much transfer of the signal as possible - much like a rally car where they remove all the rubber mounts in for the engine, gearbox, drive etc to maximise power to the ground.