Turntable upgrades - improvements or snake oil?

[Martin Bush]

Hello all

I have become the owner of my first decent turntable courtesy of Nickthedentist.
Thanks Nick!

Now, I am yet to get into using it properly, but I have been wondering whether simple 'upgrades' have any value at all. The things I have in mind are cork platter mats and record clamps.

I have a friend who swears by his mat, yet I dont see why it could be any better than the factory fit one. The idea of a new clean mat sounds good as I like to start with a clean disc and keep it that way. But how else would cork of all thing help?

I do understand the principle behind the clamps, but wonder whether the additional weight would place more strain on the belt and motor than was good for it.

What do you think?

Martin

[paulsherwin]

I don't know much about clamps but wouldn't expect them to make much difference.

A good solid turntable mat can reduce distortion due to resonances, though using cork seems a bit audiophooley - heavy neoprene is better. The improvement depends on how good the factory fit mat was.

If I were you I'd get used to the way the deck sounds as you have received it before doing anything else.

[sp10mk11]

Yes get to know the sound of the deck before you start trying to tweek its sound changing sound is often easier than improving it
you haven't said what deck it is?
Gary

Ps I find clamps/weights work better with thin light discs (90 gram) than heavy (180 + gram ones)

[Ted Kendall]

Yes, get used to it first. A clamp, rather than a weight, is useful for flattening a dished record without putting excessive load on the bearing. A decent rubber mat is OK - there is a trade off between record contact and griitting the record here - a mat with ribs or grooves gives the dust particles somewhere to settle, so needs less diligent cleaning than a mat with a completely flat surface.

Different mat materials can affect damping of the vibrations propogated through the vinyl by the action of the stylus, but this is a second-order effect and you need not lose any sleep over it. If it sounds right, it is right.

[John123]

So long as its set up properly, I wouldn't go overboard with any extras. You run the risk of entering into audiofoolery territory, otherwise! Get yourself a decent record cleaning brush, and you're pretty much good to go.

A good turntable setup video can be found here.

[Martin Bush]

I think I will hold off until I find real evidence there's any benefits to me, I was just curious really. It's a good deck and I always think that at a certain level of product the manufacturer will have struck the right balance and not leave it to the likes of me mucking about.

But it's good to get views on these things I think.

I do have to do a bit of setting up which I'm looking forward to.

[TonyDuell]

I think it's important to remember that the real purpose of any audio system is to produce sounds (music, etc) that you enjoy listening to, that give you pleasure. It doesn't matter if it's technically right or wrong, if you enjoy listening to it, then it's doing its job.

Some of these changes/upgrades will affect the sound, others are less likely to. Some changes may make the sound technically worse, but (see above), if you prefer it like that, then use it like that!

[Radio Wrangler]

Your phrase "At a certain level of product" is the key.

There is a lot of profit in audiophoolery and any business is under great temptation to get a slice of it. All businesses which have shareholders or are owned by a conglomerate are in a deliver or die situation.

So they offer either a tiered range of models getting progressively more 'esoteric' on an exponential series of prices, or else they offer a variety of expensive upgrades/options.

Sort of like:

Foe sale: Ferrarii Enzo, red

and

For sale: Ford Escort, 1800cc BDA engine, 'Rocket' gearbox, 'Atlas' axle, 4-link, Bilsteins, anti-dive kit, Halda, safety devices cage , engine built by xxxxxxx etc etc.

The attraction for the manufacturer of the upgradeable product is that they can pitch the price of the base model to sell more units than a £90,000 turntable would and then sell upgrade kits or services as those owners financially recover. More people will do this than can afford to change the whole thing on every step of climbing the ziggurat of models.

The art lies in deciding which models really are cut-back cheapies designed to hit a price-point, and which models no longer offer any real benefit. Somewhere between these lies the one worth having.

A lot of the models and options they would like us to think are the summit are actually on a plateau. The qualities of the records themselves set a limitation.

I look at things and ask myself if it seems they put more effort into choosing a name for it than into developing the thing itself

I look at things and estimate what they cost to make in various quantities, and compare it to the asking price.

Some turntables and arms are gorgeously engineered, some are elegantly engineered, even if this is to an unnecessary level, it can be enjoyable to own. Look on them as objets d'art.
I want to avoid those that could have been better, I want to avoid those that make me look like I've been taken to the cleaners.

Finding real evidence of benefit is tricky. If you've just popped a lot of cash on something, you want to find some justification and your own mind will play tricks on you. Go for a good enough level and then only go beyond it on a matter of overall enjoyment factor.. sound, aesthetics, the whole lot.

If it stops being fun, stop.

David

[Craig Sawyers]

SME, who are a company worthy of some respect, bond a sheet of damping material to the top of the platter, and then post machine the top surface with a spiral groove "because it sounds better" (they say).

But you cannot tweak it - it is stuck firmly to the turntable surface. Other than putting another mat on top of it, of course.

Their turntables are a tad expensive though - just over four grand to over thirty grand. And things of physical beauty https://sme.co.uk/audio/turntables/ . But the latest Thorens version of the classic TD150, the TD350, is nearly three grand without an arm.

But Rega, still very alive and kicking, have the latest version of the Planar (the Rega Planar 1) at £250 including arm and cartridge.

Craig

[Ted Kendall]

I think the point in post 9 is worth reiterating - arguably the most important turntable accessory is a decent record brush - all the snake oil in the world does little good against a forest of crackle.

Carbon fibre brushes are most effective, I find - the filaments are fine enough to penetrate to the bottom of the groove and the conductive nature of carbon fibre keeps static problems at bay.

[Edward Huggins]

What is the turntable that you have? Whilst adding gizmos may appeal to some, it might alter the performance of an otherwise perfectly acceptable unit. Get used to the sound of the turntable first as it is.

[Martin Bush]

It is a Sonab and it is perfectly good. I asked my question out of curiousity really as there are so many cheap 'upgrades' like alternative mats that someone like me could buy when they'd be better off buying a record they like instead.

I've got a carbon brush and record cleaning bath. I expect I have all I need really, but I see these gizmos some people swear by and wonder if they are anything more than psychological.

[Ted Kendall]

I think that Sonab is actually a badged Yamaha, and you're right, it is a good piece of kit. Set up as you are, you need only enjoy...

[stevehertz]

I've never used one myself, although I've been intrigued and interested, but a record clamp/weight seems in principle to be a good idea as it 'bonds' the somewhat lightweight and 'susceptible to resonances' record to the heavy turntable. Like I say, I've never bought one, but that's the theory.

Try the experiment of removing the mat and playing a record, I bet you will find no difference.

[Ted Kendall]

Except for the grit you have ground into the surface of the record...

[G6Tanuki]

Can you still get those piezo-electric anti-static "guns" that were supposed to make the surface of your record repel the dust?

[TonyDuell]

It appears you can. A google search for 'Zerostat' (the brand name I remember for said device) produces some relevant hits.

You could also get a little metal-leaf (it wasn't gold leaf) electroscope to see if the record was still charged.

[Craig Sawyers]

Originally Posted by Ted Kendall

I think that Sonab is actually a badged Yamaha, and you're right, it is a good piece of kit. Set up as you are, you need only enjoy...

I agree with that. The Sonab was a well thought of turntable.

[Ted Kendall]

And good those Zerostats are - I have trouble with static from time to time, and the example I bought in 197-something still sorts it out.