A Copernican View of the Turntable System

Dear Raul,
when I am assessing a turntable's sonic footprint I need to have comparable preconditions, meaning same tonearm, same cartridge and same phono pre ideally. Sometimes you have to compromise on one or two units differing which is not the ideal way.

Nevertheless when I am listening to a record I do expect that the audio chain and especially the phono parts (turntable is one, maybe the most important part of it, or not?) are able to reproduce the signal like it was recorded and create a warm, open, detailed and as Syntax is mentioning a 'toe whipping vibration'. If the music is not dynamic ( not meaning overdynamic which e.g. some not well adjusted idlers may produce ) or wishi-washy etc. somehing was wrong during the recording process or is not well transported by the audio chain.

When I have listened to the same record with the same tonearm, the same cart and the same phono-pre (the preamps and amps both excellent comparable tube solutions) only the turntable is different (! SME 30/2) I am not the only one, at least in the specific session, who thinks he is able to assess the sonic footprint of a turntable.

If the result is a flat and not vibrant impression I do not care if the principles of neutrality in turntable building are the most desired precondition. I just assess the turntable misses something or adds something which I do not prefer (Peterayer - of course subjective).
Now you (or some others) may put me in the corner of a certain music philosophy you are not liking sharing with me. But this is how the world is and we may allow many audio listeners to enjoy their SME 30 with good feelings. I now know in which corner I must put you :-)

best @ fun only

If I understand Raul's position here then I fully agree with him. The role of the turntable and tonearm is to be as neutral and accurate (adding or subtracting no colorations of their own). Then each person can pick the cartridge that presents the characteristics that suits their experiences and tastes the best. When the turntable and/or tonearm introduce strong colorations of their own, the cartridge matching question becomes far more complex.

As similar condition might extend to the choice of amp and speakers. If so, the amp should be as neutral (perhaps within it's power range) as possible so the speaker choice can be made to suit the preferences of the owner. But in this example I believe the listening room acoustics must be considered equally and along with the speaker choice.

Dear Thuchan,
I can't imagine anyone could not be satisfied after a listening session in Raul's living room. A great system is allways a good treat for everyone's ears. It is just that every individual music lover has his own perception in fine tuning the emotional trigger in a personal manner. Me, as a MC/Idler Drive/Passive Line/SET/Full range Horn, I'm certainly on my own marginal music corner with strong feelings but trying to have a tolerate attitude also, in order to learn and enrich my experience. We are a friendly group shearing our experiences in our hobby. Right?

Dear Geoch,

Agree Absolutely.
But does a friendly group sharing experiences not explicitely ask for sharing assessments we are making or are we a playmobil of the marketing efforts of manufacturers? Or let me put it into other words: what is wrong with showing that we have different assessments and everyone among us can make up his mind?

I think sometimes a clear word is maybe better than elaborating too complicated in clouds of overall agreement. I for myself regard our group as a platform of experienced and very competent audio afficiniados which enables us to learn a lot too - which I like very much.

Being in a corner is not a bad thing, we all have our likes and dislikes. No one is better because of his gear, maybe one has  reached a fine level of experience on carts or tables or tonearms or tapes, whatever. 

What I regard as most important is not attacking the person behind a unit or a philosophy coming with, exchanging ideas or judgements is just another way of enjoying our hobby. In this respect our group seems to be very grown up.

Whenever you find a clear statment of mine it is meant to express my assessment of a unit not targeting the person behind it. In the case of Raul & me it is a lot of fun exchanging different and sharing opinions. And sometimes challenging a position helps to clarify standpoints - nothing else.

best & fun only

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be instructive.