Tonearm microphonics

@bdp24 

Can an arm be "too" damped, too non-resonant? Are those two things the same?

Not really.

Removing resonance from the arm tube is a good thing and its impossible to overdamp the arm tube in this regard. One **massive** problem with that though: messing with the mechanical resonance caused by the compliance of the cantilever and the cartridge/arm mass is not good, unless by doing so you get it inside the 7-12Hz window. So if you are applying damping materials to the arm, you can mess that up and with dreadful results.

Damping can be done by a damping trough too; which is an entirely different form of damping, but IME that can lead to problems especially if the LP is not perfectly flat. Generally speaking the arm will not need this kind of damping if the mechanical resonance is in the right window.

So you have to be careful when bandying these terms about. They can mean three or four different things depending on who you're talking to and that's on a good day!

@rauliruegas 

Totally wrong. The sound not comes from the tonearm: it can't be that way. Sound comes from the cartridge, that's the difference. Infection is hearing the sound from the speakers.

Of course!! I'm sure this is a language issue as you and I are in complete agreement on this point. I think you must have misunderstood.

@rauliruegas

I think you have a misunderstood about because that’s not the issue and not what the op asks.

In this case you are wrong; I merely cut to the quick of it. It does not matter what the arm sounds like when it is at rest. It matters quite a lot what is sounds like when playing. The OP was careful to mention that his arm was at rest. Hence my response.

Tapping the tone arm while it as rest will say almost nothing about how it will sound when doing its job. It really is right next door to the address marked 'Red Herring' on Red Herring street.