Analogue front end. You want more weight, scale and dynamics.Where do you start upgrading?


Is it the table, arm or cartridge, or perhaps phono stage? Assuming you have no clear weak links. Maybe even motor controller ?

inna

@inna You might try the platter pad. Many/most turntables don't have one that really does the job.

The job, in case its not clear, is to control resonance in the vinyl. To do that the pad has to be able to absorb energy at all frequencies (not just some) and to do that the most effectively it must be the same hardness as the LP.

Its really a good idea to damp the platter as well and a good platter pad can do that too. The difference in sound is exactly what you are asking for in your opening post.

Oracle makes a platter pad that does this job very well. Pads that don't work are made of cork, rubber, felt, carbon fiber and also raw platters made of metal. That's a lot of platter pads!

The thing is if the LP talks back to the cartridge you simply can't fix it anywhere downstream starting with the cartridge itself. So this has to be fixed first.

Ralph, I have Boston Audio graphite mat on my Nottingham Spacedeck, and the difference with original felt mat is quite big.

This thread is not about my set up. I my case, I would have to upgrade the table first and then the rest, so it's good enough for now.

I don’t use a platter pad. Well, maybe I do. It’s a 70mm POM platter pad sitting on a 15mm stainless steel platter. Right @mulvelingcheeky

 

With the acquisition of a London pickup. Then you will need an arm that can handle the mechanical energy it produces (a stiff arm tube and strong bearing design and build).

 

Dwette,

You have a platter that is designed to transfer the vibrations imparted in the record by the stylus tracking the groove, precisely how Atmasphere described.  POM was chosen because it matches the characteristics of vinyl so energy is transferred readily from the record to the platter instead of being reflected back at the boundary.

A clamping system can further improve the transfer of energy, but whether this will improve the sound is a matter of system synergy and personal raste.