That amount of mass will push the arm/stylus resonant frequency down too low making the system unstably sensitive to external vibrations.
Kal
Kal
Tonearm: How much mass is too much?
For fun and education, I want to make a tonearm. How much mass is too much? Does the answer change with whether it is a gimble design or a unipivot design?
I guess that some mass is desirable to provide resistance to the movement of the cantilever, so that its energy is put into sound waves rather than arm movement. To use an extreme example, you could design a tonearm weighing 10lbs that when counter-weighted has a tracking force of 1.6 grams. However, I imagine the stylus would have a very difficult time dragging that mass along the grooves, both in the horizontal and vertical planes.
So, can anybody recommend or point me to a starting place on the topic of how much tonearm mass is useful?
thanks, Jeff
I guess that some mass is desirable to provide resistance to the movement of the cantilever, so that its energy is put into sound waves rather than arm movement. To use an extreme example, you could design a tonearm weighing 10lbs that when counter-weighted has a tracking force of 1.6 grams. However, I imagine the stylus would have a very difficult time dragging that mass along the grooves, both in the horizontal and vertical planes.
So, can anybody recommend or point me to a starting place on the topic of how much tonearm mass is useful?
thanks, Jeff