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How dose your plinth sound?

Iv been thinking about the materials that turntables are made out of and have a few questions. It seems that much of what is desirable is a material that will not resonate with what ever vibrations it is exposed to ie: floor, motor, styles and arm resonance ect. Yet many tables are made of materials that are very resonant ie: aluminum, glass, brass and.......wood. Wood can be very resonant depending on the type. This brings me to my questions. I see that the Teres is offered with different plinth materials, acrylic, plywood and solid wood(glued strips). It is also offered in different kinds of wood, cocobolo, jatoba, wengi and such. i cant help but think that the sonic signature between say ... acrylic and cocobolo is very different. When cut and shaped right cocobolo is a choice wood for marimbas, as is wangi. Acrylic just sounds like a dead chunk of plastic. Off the top of my head i would think that a wood like cocobolo would be a poor choice for a plinth or a platter(saw a picture) materiel. Teres wood plinths are laminated so this would cancel some of the natural resonance of solid piece but still. I will stop rambling on and just ask ..... what is the relationship between the plinth and the tables sound? If you had three acrylic platter Teres one with an acrylic plinth one with a cocobolo and one with a lead what would happen and why ........

Bill...
bkcme

Showing 2 responses by bkcme

bkcme OP
8 posts
 
I guess what im looking for is some kind of baseline. Its interesting to here that your lead massed cocobolo plinth is a significant improvement. But is this because of the wood or the lead? Is the lead shot in the plinth in a similar arraignment as in the platter, or is it loaded in a different way? As a wood worker my mind keeps coming around to the wood and its use in turntables. I look at Schroeder arms and his use of wood and am fascinated that this is his choice of materiel. Reading in another forum, Schroeder suggested that there was little difference(sonically) in the type of wood used in his arms and different types of wood were only used for there mass! This is very surprising to me as the difference in “tap tone” between cocobolo and say balsa (both used in Schroeder arms) is enormous. By the way if Shroeder arms sound ANYTHING!! like how they look they must be close to audio nirvana!! But i digress ...... So what is the biggest source of unwanted vibes in the plinth, the platter/ record vibes or the cartridge/ arm vibes?......

Bill
bkcme OP
8 posts
 
I realize that there are many variables in design and suspended is one that im not about to attack(build). In general im referring to the “slab o plinth” type of table. So if i understand right whether its a light or a heavy plinth the ideal material would be one that absorbs vibration without vibrating its self, and/ or transmits vibrations away from bering/ arm(one way) to another location?. Question ... can you induce sound to travel in one direction. Say with different layers of materiel with the most resonant being the farthest away(or some other arrangement)?
As for the mass issue i have a hard time believing that the “more mass is better “ argument. All mass is not created equal. Some would absorb and some would reject sound. I believe how you use the mass is the most important thing. Also a 300 lbs. turntable is not an option!(for me at least)...... On the other hand ... anybody know were i can get my hands on a few hundred lbs. of depleted uranium? .. ; ‘ ) ...
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