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How does tone-arm mass impact performance?

Specifically, how does increasing or decreasing the mass of the tone-arm impact the performance of the system? Please do not answer; it will improve your bass or; it will provide a wider sound stage, these are not types of answers I am looking for.

Hypothetically, could one have a 1 ton ton arm with a 1 ton counter weight and still be able to play a record?

I recently changed my catridge from Ortofon OM to 2M blue. The 2M is heavier, as a result I had to increase my anti-skate setting. Are there any other impacts?

Is a lighter tone-arm better then a heavier one or is there some optimal mass?

Thank you.
nick_sr
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
Excuse typo, Vinyl Engine OR Audio Asylum
Post removed 
nick_sr OP
263 posts
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I checked out Vinyl Engine and Cartridgedb websites, and it apears that the 2M blue is a good match for the technics sl-1200.

But I have made some minor changes such as, I replaced the stock headshell wires with heavier gauge silver wire, I added a shim between the cartridge and headshell to allow for an easier azimuth adjusmtent and finally, I am planning to rewire the arm, all this will certainly result in a different effective mass from the one listed in the generic DB.

So my question now is, how can you determine the actual effective tonearm mass of your customized tonearm?
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oatstao
2 posts
 
This is a question specifically for Viridian -

I was checking out this guy's 1200 MOD page - http://audio.innerurban.com/2010/06/adding-mass-to-technics-tonearm.html

What exactly is this person trying to achieve? I was reading your post about where the mass is important and it seems this guy is doing it opposite - adding it close to the pivot point. Maybe you can critique or explain what they are doing, since they are not making it clear in their blog post.
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