Suspended vs. non suspended turntable

I do not consider the Walker to be a suspended design per se.

Amfibius,

your impressions of the SOTA Vs. VPI sound like the characterstics of those two cartridges.

Isolation from footfalls, isolation from airborne musical feedback, isolation from motor resonances, evacuation of cartridge resonances and good sound are all interrelated but separate issues. How the designer handles all these issues is where the magic happens. And any well thought out theory can look good on paper. As usual there's no one right way to do it. Enjoy you choice!

For what it's worth, Pierre at Mapleshade goes so far as to recommend replacing the springs on suspended tables with his brass cones - evidently another vote for non-suspended tables.

"The question of whether this transgresses the immaculate conception of an original designer is a matter for religion."

well put!

nice test Dcstep! Have you figured out a way to burn SACDs from your Korg?

Dan ed,

you'll have to be sure that it was mastered by the same company. I've done the vinyl vs. CD test numerous times for myself and others using audiophile recordings such as those from Audioquest where the recording itself is reliably good and the mastering is consistent between the two formats. This test won't give all the information that Dcstep got but it should tell you a lot.