A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dgob,
I'm really excited about your experiment because I am familiar with the Mambo (not too different from Raul's Acoustic Signature model) and knowing the way the armboard is connected to the 'plinth', I believe you should experience a marked improvement if you separate it onto spikes?

The only caveat is whether it is heavy enough to maintain the stability required?

My apologies to Dertonarm as I have just seen images of the Apolyt turntable he designed in 1990 (google it) and it is quite stunning and interestingly, has massive independent arm pods.

To these eyes it would be a disappointment if it didn't sound as beautiful as it looks?

Will the 'new' one be a more affordable version of this Daniel? :-)

Cheers
Henry

Dear Henry, sorry to say, but the new version will rather be the "big brother"..... in all respects ;-( .....
Cheers,
D.

Halcro, here is our 'table. We've been making it about 10 years. It looks all the part of an Empire, but looks can be deceiving. The photo is from about 2000 or 2001.

http://www.atma-sphere.com/products/208.html

Dgob, I have a little thought experiment for you. You have the platter on its stand or whatever, and you have the separate arm tower. But we are going to put a vibrator under the arm tower but not the platter, and run it. The question is, will you be able to hear the result? I think you can.

That, in a nutshell, is what the issue is. There simply can be no extraneous motion besides that of the arm tracking the LP! **Any** other motion is a coloration. So if the arm tower is able to vibrate or resonate at any slight amount that is different from the platter, you have coloration. Cheesy plinths totally allow for this sort of thing- that is what I have seen over and over- and so getting rid of a cheesy plinth is likely a good idea.

But that is simply not the same as having a plinth that is properly engineered! (This is sort of the same argument that because a particular LP is scratched and warped, therefore all CDs are better than all LPs.) And you are experiencing a step towards that, as your platform for your towers is in fact your plinth. Try coupling the platter and the arm more tightly into that platform and see what happens. The more dead you can make the platform, the stiffer you make it, the better the 'table will sound.

Atmasphere,

Thanks for sharing this. It clarifies your point well. I am still left with the issue about theory and practice though.

The Acoustic Signature Mambo shares your approach with increased mass and a rigid and directly affixed arm-column. It is simply phenomenal in its performance when well isolated. However, the seperated Technics/arm-column improves on specific areas. Key among these are the scale (depth, width and height) of the sound stage; the air/audible space that exists between performers and the ease with which the entire performance is resolved (leading to smoother sound at higher volumes).

I am still not absolutely certain what trade-offs might be happening and so I will explore this fully before determining if what I am hearing is just different or actually 'better'. One thing for certain is that it is a dramatic difference.

The questions that remain would therefore (at least for those using pneumatic devices under one component or both to decouple the arm-column/TT) seem to include to what degree and at what specific point or level do disparities in vibration of arm column/TT impair the quality of sound produced. They might also include questions of how much does appropriate VTF compensate for any such disparities. This and - 'most importantly - the obvious difference in performance that I am getting at present are important reasons why I'll continue to experiment with the phenomenon of seperation and decoupling. As part of this, I am considering trying spikes, viscoelastic and pneumatic options under the arm column itself, as I am not wholly convinced that seperation and decoupling "must" involve disparity.

Time and my hears will tell and both can only be further assisted by the kind contributions of people such as yourself.