Halcro,
A couple of thoughts...
I think we will all agree that just because the 'theory' is not borne out in 'results" does not mean the theory is wrong. In many cases, the 'not-as-good-in-theory' concept is far better implemented than the theoretically-correct. My Micro Seiki belt drive sounds far better than my Technics SL1200 but my Exclusive P3 sounds better than a Rega P3.
I too am not 'religious' about audio. Personally, I think several of the arm pods developed here are probably capable of permitting excellent sound (arm/cart/implementation permitting). Reading this thread has given me some ideas. And it makes me want to have a crack at something similar too. A 10-20kg arm pod is a prodigious weight, and in practice, that kind of weight will couple the pod and therefore the arm bearing to the surface below the arm pod. Pods are not necessarily like galleons on a stormy sea in practice. That said, if I implement pods, I will seek to couple the pod and the motor to a single rigid surface, and then isolate that rigid substructure. Doing so will get me somewhat close to Jonathan's concept.
Many of us, myself included, are firmly in the camp of improving our systems any way we can. That necessarily requires experimentation. And in many cases experimentation is assisted by forming a hypothesis, which for practical purposes, until proven, is really all a theory is. In many cases, there are practical obstacles to going down the road of perfect theory. Your point about MCs vs MMs is an easy case in point. The theory that MCs are intrinsically better than MMs requires that the pre-pre stage (head amp or step up transformer) be capable of not limiting the effective performance of the MC. I think in practice that aspect limits the performance many get from their LOMCs.
As to your points on air-borne sound transmission and its effect on turntables... All I can say is that if you have never noticed it, you have been extremely lucky, or extremely good, in your room set-up. I have not been either and have heard the effects. Even when my P3 is well away from my speakers, listening with top up or top down is different. If you have an ADC, testing the effects of sound transmission on analog playback, and of the effect of greater volume, is relatively easy.
In any case, I applaud your efforts at experimentation thus far. It really is all about living with and enjoying the result.
A couple of thoughts...
I think we will all agree that just because the 'theory' is not borne out in 'results" does not mean the theory is wrong. In many cases, the 'not-as-good-in-theory' concept is far better implemented than the theoretically-correct. My Micro Seiki belt drive sounds far better than my Technics SL1200 but my Exclusive P3 sounds better than a Rega P3.
I too am not 'religious' about audio. Personally, I think several of the arm pods developed here are probably capable of permitting excellent sound (arm/cart/implementation permitting). Reading this thread has given me some ideas. And it makes me want to have a crack at something similar too. A 10-20kg arm pod is a prodigious weight, and in practice, that kind of weight will couple the pod and therefore the arm bearing to the surface below the arm pod. Pods are not necessarily like galleons on a stormy sea in practice. That said, if I implement pods, I will seek to couple the pod and the motor to a single rigid surface, and then isolate that rigid substructure. Doing so will get me somewhat close to Jonathan's concept.
Many of us, myself included, are firmly in the camp of improving our systems any way we can. That necessarily requires experimentation. And in many cases experimentation is assisted by forming a hypothesis, which for practical purposes, until proven, is really all a theory is. In many cases, there are practical obstacles to going down the road of perfect theory. Your point about MCs vs MMs is an easy case in point. The theory that MCs are intrinsically better than MMs requires that the pre-pre stage (head amp or step up transformer) be capable of not limiting the effective performance of the MC. I think in practice that aspect limits the performance many get from their LOMCs.
As to your points on air-borne sound transmission and its effect on turntables... All I can say is that if you have never noticed it, you have been extremely lucky, or extremely good, in your room set-up. I have not been either and have heard the effects. Even when my P3 is well away from my speakers, listening with top up or top down is different. If you have an ADC, testing the effects of sound transmission on analog playback, and of the effect of greater volume, is relatively easy.
In any case, I applaud your efforts at experimentation thus far. It really is all about living with and enjoying the result.