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Why does your turntable sound the way it does.

Ok, we all seem to agree that turntables sound different, and there are any number of upgrades to a basic turntable that are offered, up to and over $100k. But what is it that causes a turntable to sound the way it does. After all, isnt the basic principal that the table causes the groove undulations to pass by the stylus at a certain speed, thereby creating the sound we hear. If that's true, then only something that affects that point of interaction should have an effect on sound. Forget of course, differences in cartridge, tonearm, wire or preamp. Just think of the turntable itself.
Now, we hear that idler drives are more impactful than belt drives, belt drives are quieter and release more inner detail, direct drives maintain speed and tempo better, aluminum platters sound different than acrylic or glass or MDF. Platter mats can change the sound considerably. different bearing materials and precision in manufacture can change the sound. but why?
Is there a basic sound to be acheived when everything is perfect, and what we are hearing is actually a distortion of that sound based on resonance or time or torque or vibration or whatever. Is there a means of measuring what a cartridge can do in a perfectly set up system where there is no influence on the stylus/vinyl interface and the cartridge is free to follow the groove undulations without exterior influence. Is this perfect environment found in the cutting head, or is it also subject to the same influences as the playback stylus. And if so, how can we ever account for that effect in our playback systems.

So, fellow Audiogoners, what do you think has the greatest effect on vinyl playback as far as only the turntable itself, and what do you think can be done to ammeliorate those effects.
manitunc

Showing 8 responses by mapman

mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
Audiofiles sure love to ask questions that have no simple answer. I guess that helps perpetuate the breed.

Turntables have been around a long time. There are no unexplored great mysteries here. Do some homework and experiment until done right. Or hire a skilled professional to do it for you. Why spend time debating these things that are well documented over the years and have no simple answer?

I guess if one likes to go on and on about turntables or whatever in general there is no harm but what's the point? The devil is always in teh details. Pick a specific configuration and then maybe there is something to talk about why it sounds the way it does.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
I have but not with apple/apple recordings on both.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
mani,

the rtr delivered a more full bodied peesentatiion,like hd compared to standard video. cd finished third. i cannot say this was due to format rather than recording quality though.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
Mani, can't say based on one audition. Insufficient test data.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
History says the other approaches pretty much replaced idlers becasue they were better.

Where other than high end audio do old technologies that were supposedly replaced by newer superior ones gain favor once more?

Antique collecting which I love is one such area but one does not collect antiques because the technology used was superior, but mainly because someone achieved something unique at the time in some way worth preserving.

GOtta admit though there is nothing like the sound of a properly restored Victrola. Maybe same is true now with idler drives. But better than others? That's certainly debatable which I suppose is why we are here.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
Tubes versus transistors is a debate unique to high end audio. There are really no other home applications where the discussion is relevant anymore. That's my point. Audiophiles are quite special and unique in that regard apparently. REcords are a little different. If you have records and want to play them, you need a record player. No alternative really. Once you have one, then its not much of a stretch to go buy more records. That pretty much describes me. I suppose there are some that owned a CD player and no records at one time and decided then to go records only, but I have to think that is an extremely rare breed.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
Hey I agree!

That's kinda like what I said early on.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,566 posts
 
It can be a lot cheaper and predictable to tweak one's mood while listening for better sound than most anything else. :-)
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