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

Showing 1 response by oatstao

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.