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TONEARM DAMPING : DAMPED OR NOT ? ? USELESS ? ? WELCOMED ? ?

Dear friends: This tonearm critical subject sometimes can be controversial for say the least. Some audiophiles swear for non damped tonearms as the FR designs or SAEC or even the SME 3012 that is not very well damped in stock original status.

Some other audiophiles likes good damped tonearms.


In other thread a gentleman posted:


"  If a cartridge is properly matched to the tonearm damping is not required. " and even explained all what we know about the ideal resonance frequency range between tonearm and cartridge ( 8hz to 12hz. ). He refered to this when said: " properly matched to the tonearm ".


In that same thread that a Triplanar tonearm owner posted:


" This is the one thing about the Triplanar that I don't like. I never use the damping trough...... I imagine someone might have a use for it; I removed the troughs on my Triplanars; its nice to imagine that it sounds better for doing so. "


At the other side here it's a very well damped tonearm:


https://audiotraveler.wordpress.com/tag/townshend/


Now, after the LP is in the spining TT platter ( everything the same, including well matched cartridge/tonearm.  ) the must critical issue is what happens once the cartridge stylus tip hits/track the LP grooves modulations.

The ideal is that those groove modulations can pass to the cartridge motor with out any additional kind of developed resonances/vibrations and that the transducer makes its job mantaining the delicated and sensible signal integrity that comes in those recorded groove modulations.

 That is the ideal and could be utopic because all over the process/trip of the cartridge signal between the stylus tip ride and the output at the tonearm cable the signal suffers degradation (  resonances/vibrations/feedback ) mainly developed through all that " long trip " .


So, DAMPING IS NEED IT AT THE TONEARM/HEADSHELL SIDE OR NOT?


I'm trying to find out the " true " about and not looking if what we like it or not like it is rigth or not but what should be about and why of that " should be ".


I invite all of you analog lovers audiophiles to share your points of view in this critical analog audio subject. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT?


Thank's in advance.



Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.






Ag insider logo xs@2xrauliruegas
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,177 posts
 
Absolutely right fsellet. They can't hear because their eyes are slanted. I wonder if this is true of the South Koreans and Chinese. We use to think it was because of the music they listened to which sounds like a hand full of silverware thrown into the air but rauliruegas has straightened us out.

It turns out that the Japanese and South Koreans love American Jazz and the ones I know are good listeners. They do make some of the best cartridges. Is that by accident?
Post removed 
bukanona
174 posts
 
No don't own and I don't want to buy Japanese Max tonearm. 
It will make my distorted music sound bad.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas OP
12,781 posts
 
@bukanona : That says you never owned the MAX tonearm so you not even can dream or know what you are talking about.

Useless to all of us to follow " talking " with you on that specific regards because you have not first hand experiences. Go figure ! ! ? ? !

Way better to re-read all the Audio links, you must do it too.

R.
Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas OP
12,781 posts
 
Dear @bukanona : No, I’m not loosing " some " signal but thank’s to the rigth damping levels is the other way around: I have a lot of more MUSIC information in the cartridge signal with a lot less distortions.

Tha’s all, it’s not that I’m in love with damping.
In One of the first posts in the thread a gentlemans posted: " where to damp and how much? " and things are that fortunatelly the answers for those good questions I already answered in the rigth way and again not because I say that but is what other gentlemans opinions about in my room/system.

The Micro Seiki MAX tonearm is an outstanding design that beats easily top today tonearm designs.

Its gyroscopic bearing design is unique an unbeatable. Its 3 arm wands are very well damped, comes with its silicon paddle and additional the big metal nut to fix it at the arm board weigths over 800grs.
Its design quality excecution is second to none and it’s a balanced design with out using spring for set the VTF and along the Lustre GST-801 are the only balanced designs tonearms ever that the balanced mechanism is totally neutral/transparent: no ringing spring down there.

With all respect to Mr. Ikeda what really know is about cartridges but its knowledge levels with tonearms is way different.

Japanese people are not a true sound reference as true audiophiles, they likes high distortions and unfortunatelly they don’t know that what they are hearing has those higher distortions. I don’t care about those gentlemans, I only took them as an example .
Yes very good skilled manufacturers but its knowledge levels in the overall audio main issues is really low.

We can take the tonearm alignment choosed by almost all manufacturers: Stevenson and your SAEC about is a mess to say the least.

All those are facts and certainly not a racist attitude. Btw, who speaks about " credibility " ?

Btw, for how much years do you own the MAX237 with its 3 arm wands and with which cartridges you used and against which other tonearms compared in your room/system and which were your reference LP tracks for those tests? did you used in balanced or static way? could you list the TT, speakers, phonolinepreamp, cables and electronics you used or use in your system?

And be you a SAEC owner speaks a lot of what you like to listen and why the MAX is not for you.

Btw, to know your system item list was only to know which kind of real resolution you are accustom too.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.




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