A beneficial Technics tonearm mod that only costs $2.50...

[kirk57]

So if a 5 cent piece of heat-shrink tubing on a tonearm makes a positive sonic difference, why didn't the guys at <insert TT manufacturer name here> figure that out? Is there some down side to this?

 

[cube-tube]

The reason why Technics says not to use a weight on the 1600SL MKII is that everything is suspended from the underside of the deck. Adding weight to the platter will reduce the acoustic isolation properties of the suspension system and cause the system to become unlevel as the springs on the left side will extend farther then the springs on the right side. The deck itself will remain level but the platter and the relationship between the tonearm and the platter will not unless you make the deck unlevel by adjusting the feet to compensate.

Yeah, I saw that in the manual just the other day. Doesn't matter now as I totally disabled the suspension in my 1700MK2. On that note, the platter and tonearm would still line up correctly as they are both attached to each other through the sprung base.

So if a 5 cent piece of heat-shrink tubing on a tonearm makes a positive sonic difference, why didn't the guys at <insert TT manufacturer name here> figure that out? Is there some down side to this?

Looks and labor most likely. Or the fact that it doesn't matter so much in a live music/DJ setup.

 

[jsisk]

Yeah, I saw that in the manual just the other day. Doesn't matter now as I totally disabled the suspension in my 1700MK2. On that note, the platter and tonearm would still line up correctly as they are both attached to each other through the sprung base.

Yes, they would line up as whole chassis is one piece, but the springs on the left would lower more than the springs on the right from the additional weight, making the chassis lean to the left. Of course if you put the transport screws back in to disable the suspension, then you could put all the weight you want on the platter and it wouldn't matter.

 

[onlysleeping]

Thanks! Bought some for my SL-1300 today. They were a pain to put on, but I think it made a difference.

 

[cube-tube]

Yes, they would line up as whole chassis is one piece, but the springs on the left would lower more than the springs on the right from the additional weight, making the chassis lean to the left. Of course if you put the transport screws back in to disable the suspension, then you could put all the weight you want on the platter and it wouldn't matter.

I realize that. What I was getting at is that the platter and arm move in tandom. And I don't think I'd need much more than the 1 lb weight as it seems to do a pretty good job of flattening out any warped LP's I have, not that I have that many, or bad ones for that matter.

Thanks! Bought some for my SL-1300 today. They were a pain to put on, but I think it made a difference.

How were they a pain to put on? They slip on rather easily once you get them past the collet.

 

[rnorton]

So if a 5 cent piece of heat-shrink tubing on a tonearm makes a positive sonic difference, why didn't the guys at <insert TT manufacturer name here> figure that out? Is there some down side to this?

Really good arms usually are usually internally damped. External damping materials can improve a cheaper arm. The undamped thin-walled steel tube on my Mitsu LT-640 is a good example. The difference when I put that piece of spiral cable harness on it was audible and highly beneficial. Fortunately, I actually needed more effective mass to properly match the low mass arm to the medium compliance AT95E cart, so it benefited in two ways.

If I ever have to remove the arm (which I really don't want to think about), I'll stuff it with earplugs.

 

[thedelihaus]

So if a 5 cent piece of heat-shrink tubing on a tonearm makes a positive sonic difference, why didn't the guys at <insert TT manufacturer name here> figure that out? Is there some down side to this?

Some have.

The Jelco manufactured Audioquest arm uses internal AND external damping. External, by use of a rubber sleeve. Jelco manufactured the Sumiko Premier arms with internal damping.

Infinity coated their aluminum arm tube with a black dampening coating.

There are others...

Technics left their arm end stub hollow on this arm. There was a british magazine who tested the arm and found resonance issues near the end stub- deductive reasoning should tell you why.

Again, those Jelco arm stubs are solid.

...there are reasons why arm tube damping should improve the sound. Most of the high end arms, by the way, incorporate arm tube damping (or resonance control) in one way or another.

Indeed.:yes:

 

[thedelihaus]

Really good arms usually are usually internally damped. External damping materials can improve a cheaper arm....

Good arms can also sometimes be externally damped- the Audioquest comes to mind. So does the coated Infinity Black Widow, the early version with an aluminum tube.

...If I ever have to remove the arm (which I really don't want to think about), I'll stuff it with earplugs.

I use that for the end stub. I've found cotton is easier to use for the arm tube, in regards to rewiring, etc. The expanding foam like the ear plugs is used for the Sumiko arms. It's a witch on the "S" arms to remove or repair. Kevin at KAB has started using cotton when he rewires his arms.

 

[Catcher10]

Ok I am trying this tweek........I just added 8 O-rings on my tonearm. I will see if there is any hearable difference over the next few days. The rings slid on very easily, little effort to get them over the collar. I did rebalance the arm after adding the rings.....

I also added a ring right at the base of the arm as it goes in at the pivot point....Here are some pics

 

[Catcher10]

Ok...I am happy to report that I believe this little tweek is working. After several albums I did not really notice anything.....But just finished playing King Crimson ItCOtKC side II.
I was pretty impressed at hearing a much improved low end, which this album can lack. I also did not hear the normal surface noises I was used to hearing, which I thought was the album....It may be but the rubber O-rings may be dampening those sounds now.
I don't think I can express the same results that the OP mentions, but it seems to be helping some, which for $2.50 is pretty good investment.

 

[Catcher10]

Just FYI......the other tweek I did was, while at Lowe's buying the o-rings, I also picked up a 12" cork mat for $4.50, drilled a hole in it and replaced the felt AT mat. That has really improved my sound by eating up AT LP120 motor noise and other stuff I was hearing as I did an A/B test.
I am sure I have made a huge dent in the W&F figure for this table......Listening to King Crimson In the Wake of Poseidon, last song Peace - An End....all I hear are nice clean vocals by Greg Lake.....

 

[tunein4fun]

I also damp the arm tube internally with cotton. Kevin at KAB also uses cotton to internally dampen the arm tube.

Hope you don't mind me picking your brain here.
When you say cotton, what does that mean in this context please - cotton wool? Where inside the armtube is the cotton placed and how hard is it stuffed in there? I've tried to find info about this without success.
Many Thanks!

 

[chadbang]

Well, I really wanted to to try the heat shrink wrap mod. It is very difficult to find a piece of heat shrink wrap that will work. I ordered about six different sizes and they were either all large or too small. If it's too small, you can't slide it on. No greasing will help. The only way to get a right-sized piece on is to removed the collet which is a royal pain in the butt. For aestheics, technics put the screw holding the collet in place on the bottom side of the arm. Getting that screw out is a feat (getting it back in next to impossible). Then there is also the soldering of the headshell wires which is like performing brain surgery. I've done that work before, and I say forget that labor to test out a tweak. If you buy too BIG of a size of heat shrink tubing that will slide over the collet, then you can't get it to shrink neatly and tightly on the tube. I ordered three larger sizes in different millimeter differences and never found a happy medium-- even with a 3/1 shrink ratio. The closest I came still didn't shrink on nice one tightly (and I was scared of the high heat needed to do so. I worried about the fine headshell wires inside). So unless youre willing to remove that GD collet, I don't see how people are pulling this off. Personally the o-rings look stupid to me.

I have found another solution. I bought a can of Plasti Dip rubber spray paint at Loews ($6). This is a liquid rubber spray paint. It's pretty neat in that it weighs almost nothing when dry and puts a stretchable, lightweight rubber coating on your tonearm. It also peels off if you want to remove it. (when I tried to cut that damn shrink wrap off my tone arm, I scratched it with an exacto blade. If you try to tear that shrink wrap off it exerts too much pressure on the tonearm pivot). The only real labor involved with the Plasti Dip rubber coating is -prepping with a couple of piece of blue removable painters tape on your tonearm assembly to protect it from overspray. But that only takes a five minutes, much easier that removing a collet. If you want to try a resonance killing coating that fits like a rubber glove (literally) and weighs next to nothing (when I went to rebalance my tonearm, it was as if I hadn't added any weight at all! It puts on a rubber coat thinner than a balloon), possessing the best possible deadening material (rubber), I would say give the rubber coating spray a try. It's easily reversable and fun to do, versus struggling with that (heavy) heat shrink wrap and trying to get a neat fit.

Does this tonearm deadening produce an audible improvement?

That's for your ears to decide.