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And where does the sound come from?

post #1 of 9
12/1/09 at 5:22pm
Thread Starter 
Quick question, when "upgrading" turntable parts it seems to me that the only real parts that need upgrading are the stylus, arm, and phono amp. The stylus creates almost all the the sound as it is the only thing touching the vinyl. The arm carries a lot of that signal so it seems of equal importance. And then comes the phono amp, and to properly amplify the signal it seems valid to have a nice amp. Now with this in mind, and assuming you have zero vibration issues i know thats a lot to assume, what is the point of upgrading the patter and motor and such? Shouldn't any table with three, components mentioned above, be just fine? Maybe I'm missing something here....
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post #2 of 9
12/1/09 at 5:32pm
On a TT, most of the ugrading is done with carts and styli. Support furniture and feet can make differences too. The best TT upgrade I did involved the purchase of a CD player though.
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post #3 of 9
12/1/09 at 5:36pm
there are resonances motor and groove noise that can resonate into and back through the platter and back into the cart, so a good isolating platter and quiet motor, motor isolation etc all very important for quiet sound. Plus accurate speed control via a good controller and motor are awesome too.
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post #4 of 9
12/1/09 at 6:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fido2 View Post
there are resonances motor and groove noise that can resonate into and back through the platter and back into the cart, so a good isolating platter and quiet motor, motor isolation etc all very important for quiet sound. Plus accurate speed control via a good controller and motor are awesome too.
x2, as any rumble footfall etc.. can affect the sound because it can be directly transmitted through the setup.
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post #5 of 9
12/1/09 at 6:39pm
Agreed on the rumble, in my experience. Minimize that to the best of your ability and you're golden. Now, I'm not sure as to the importance of the tonearm, though. ANyone want to fill in on that?
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post #6 of 9
12/1/09 at 7:09pm
What about a mag-lev table?
While we're on the subject...has anyone slept in a mag-lev bed?
I saw one in a magazine and it looked awesome.
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post #7 of 9
12/2/09 at 2:57am
The material the platter is made of also plays a part, since it resonates. The platter's mass also is important.

The quality of the bearing plays a role, as does the plinth. A suspended deck will sound different from one that isn't suspended.

The motor's vibration and its speed stability also figure in.

You an also make an argument for the rack or shelf you put a turntable on.

So there's a lot at play with a turntable - much more than the cart, arm and phono stage.

You can drive yourself nuts weighing all the differences, so I recommend getting a good deck and arm and sticking with it if you enjoy the sound. Endless tweaks are not necessarily the route to happiness. You can change the sound, but that's not necesarily "better" if you can see what I'm getting at.

I started down that road a bit, but managed to catch myself beore going too deeply in. There's more I could tweak (of course), but I'm happy where it is and plan to keep it where it is.
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post #8 of 9
12/2/09 at 2:10pm
i think the signature of a turntable set up is determined by the turntable, arm, and cartridge-- in that order.

groove modulations are extremely small- down to the molecule of vinyl level, so a turntable is a vibration detector of sorts.

this requires very precise machining, good dimensional stability, and immunity from external influences to properly read the groove. if the turntable (ie, platter, bearing and motor) aren't doing their job, the arm and cartridge don't have a chance to do their job correctly. (Imagine trying to hand-hold an extremely good telescope, and having any luck at focusing on your 'target').
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post #9 of 9
12/2/09 at 7:00pm
In regards to the tonearm importance. It is critical the tonearm is well balanced so as not to have inertia on the cart. when a dip or bump comes by. If it does not float freely (have very good bearings) it will drive the stylus into the groove causing it not to vibrate properly and at the top of the bump it will cause the stylus to "pull out" of the groove again causing a reproduction error. Unfourtunatly albums are not perfectly flat although 180 gram audiophile albums should be more level if stored and shipped properly.
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