Platter mat insanity


I was doing an idler upgrade to my 401 (more anon) and when finished used the Keystrobe disk to ensure speed. I use a 10" EP as a platter mat. I played a bunch of albums and it sounded fantastic. On the 6th side, I noticed I'd forgot to remove the 4" strobe disc. Duh. I took it off and figured VTA was responsible. So I lowered the arm to see if that made it sound so good. Nope. Put back on the 4" strobe disk and raised arm. The awesome sound returned. So air under the record removed haze, smearing, flattened soundstage and muddled bass; and made it so more musical. Comments... 
128x128noromance

Showing 1 response by tony1954

I will preface this post with the disclaimer that I am NOT an engineer and do not have a vast knowledge of the dynamics of a stylus in a groove going around in circles. However, I can't help thinking that this is somehow analogous to salmon fishing in British Columbia. If one is motoring along on a choppy ocean (substitute the grooves in the record) and just sits on a bench, your butt is constantly losing contact with that bench due to the bounce created by the waves. However, if you stand up in the boat and use your legs as mild shock absorbers, everything calms down and you can enjoy the ride. Is it possible the lack of support under the record somehow allows the stylus to stay in contact with the groove by microscopically reducing the "bounce"?