Ralph, are you therefore opposed to a table having separate tone arm pods? I think I am, as to me it seems logical.

@bdp24 Arm pods being desperate from the plinth of the platter so coupling between the two isn't good. So this type of setup is prone to coloration and noise.

does that apply to unipivot arms?

@onhwy61 Of course! There should be no 'play' (slop) whatsoever between the surface of the platter and where the cartridge bolts to the tonearm. That is why the bearings of the platter and those of the arm are so critical (in addition to the plinth coupling the two together). This is the same engineering principle as steering in a car. If there is play between the wheels and the steering wheel the car is dangerous and will be unpleasant to drive at best.

@atmasphere does that apply to unipivot arms?

@atmasphere: Ralph, are you therefore opposed to a table having separate tone arm pods? I think I am, as to me it seems logical.

Junk. And I think off the market because of some nasty accidents.

FWIW Dept.: the coupling between the platter surface and the base of the tonearm is one of the more important engineering aspects of a turntable. If they are not tightly coupled (and also as dead as possible) then the arm can move in a different plane as opposed to the platter surface. This will allow the arm to interpret that motion as a coloration or sound.

It's a lifestyle turntable that looks cool, but it's not a hi-fi product.

This is nothing new.

Mag Lev Turntable. Your Thoughts?

Mag-Lev Turntables

Now you have to worry about the flight characteristics of your platter!  😀