One turntable with two arms, or two turntables with one each - which would you prefer?


Which would you prefer, if budget allowed: one turntable with two tonearms or two turntables with one each? What would your decision criteria be?

And the corollary: one phono preamp with multiple inputs or two phono preamps?

Assume a fixed budget, but for the purposes of this question, the budget is up to the responder. Admittedly for this type of setup, there will be a sizeable investment once all components of the chain are factored in.

I'm curious to hear how people would decide for themselves the answer to this question. Or maybe you've already made this decision - what do you like about your decision or what would you differently next time?

Cheers.

dullgrin

Panzerholz is a material like any other. It has it's uses in places which require good rigidity and high damping, like tonearm wands for low compliance cartridges and turntable motor boards. No magic, just engineering.

One turntable with two arms, or two turntables with one each - which would you prefer?

An Inquiry of this type is able to suggest that a New Plith is a requirement.

One turntable with two arms: This as a method has seen many Bespoke Built Designs to suit an individual's specific needs or wanted aesthetic. 

or two turntables with one each: This can have various permutations, where one of them is for the use of Two TT's of the same design used with different Plinth Materials and the same Tonearm and Cart' used for both.

Either of the above, to suit one's specific needs, can require a Bespoke Plinth.

Plinth Materials are always going to surface when an Inquiry lends itself to potentially having to have Bespoke Equipment at hand to realise the method proposed.

@syntax Your statement is correct, My Granite Plinth which weighed in at 9 Stone, was produced as a design using professional services from a Stone Mason Company. There was no Middleman's mark-up, for the era it was produced, it was quite expensive, from recollection approaching £500, I'm sure another £500 was able to be added if Purchased through a Dealership.  

When P'holz was in regular supply, it was approx' £150-200 for a Plinth Blank from an individual supplying Blanks, and even cheaper if sourced as an off cut through another source.

I would have selected P'holz over the Granite, if I knew what I do now, through the experiences of both in use. 

Today I have selected P'holz for Plinth Purposes, over other owned Board Materials and other Structures available to me as a Plinth Material.

As said Sub Plinths in this material can be found selling at £1000, so sourcing and working with a Board of Densified Wood, if very cost effective. 

  

 

@dover

Perhaps you should learn to read before your stupidity and keyboard cowardice rise to the surface..

Panzerholz is a very hard surface resistant to impact quite significantly. How it machines is another story. This is what I said about it as far as working with it. Ive been working with it since the late seventies. However I think your density it would appear is far denser....

I find Panzerholz very easy to work with.

Sharp tools and lower Rpms. It machines

very well. Its not hard to work with but it is

hard on bits and blades due to the resins

When routing Panzerholz carbine tooling is necessary. Not carbine tipped. It machines incredible well but you will go through some tooling as it is tough on. tooling.

Yes slowing Rpm down and using a low flute tool, so it does not gum up, helps tremendously , but nonetheless to get a high quality part it takes a certain skill set for sure.

Try performing locking miter joints on 25mm for speaker cabinet.

I took some samples of 25mm Panzerholz locking miter joint compared to 25mm Finnish Birch (Baltic Birch void free) doing the same locking miter joint to an audio show this year.

Every speaker manufacturer I showed it to they were impressed at the difference between the two materials and the locking miter joint.

You would think that the $40,000 and up speakers would use this joint and material, at least for front baffle. It takes veneer and paints incredible well.

We've made numerous 100 mm plinths and you will find yourself in very deep water quickly if you are not careful. The plinths you see using the Panzerholz do not  machine from 100 mm. They instead use 25mm and cut four parts and glue them up. Glueing eliminates the structural integrity of the Panzerholz and yet this is how its done. 

Even Kaiser speakers, if you read carefully their marking description carefully, use Panzerholz in bracing and other key areas. The speaker is not made entirely from Panzerholz. 

Sorry if I got off topic from the point of this discussion. 

I have a 75mm Thick 'Permali' Densified Wood Board.

I am familiar with Panzerholz produced with 25mm and 32mm Thickness Boards.

The individual from Qualia Lab's who has caarried out the Testing on a large selection of materials chosen as a Structure to be used within HiFi, has made it known on regular exchanges that a 10mm Thickness Panzerholz or Permali are able to deliver the ideal Damping and Dissipation properties for HiFi related purposes, especially in relation to what more commonly selected material are able to offer.

A very good friend used a 25mm P'holz Plinth for many years, and then had been able to source a Thicker 32mm Board.

This allowed for the 25mm Plinth to be compared to a 32mm P'holz Plinth, their assessment was the Bass and Air from a presentation was an improvement when using the 32mm material, the 32mm remains in use today, and I hear this whenever I visit.

Another individual used a 25mm P'holz Plinth naked and another which had a Material called Newplast added, each were able to use the same TT > Tonearm > Cart'.

After a long period of trials, the Newplast was removed, as it was said to have created an overdamped sound which was not as attractive as the Naked Material only.

I have moved away from Mass Material Plinths, as the Perception of being overdamped was noticeable, and not dissimilar to the presence detected when certain designs of a Cabinet Speaker are used. Either of these being detected is an unattractive presence I am not comfortable with, when it is detected during a replay.  

There is only one method to discover if a Densified Wood is suitable to an individual as a Plinth or Sub Plinth, and that is to experience it in use.