It's the "cheap" in the title.
I just ordered an assortment of o-rings myself. And being cheap, I found a 225 rings set for less than $6 shipped.
Cheap Turntable Tweak
- Thread starter Ilikevinyl
- Start date
It's the "cheap" in the title.
I just ordered an assortment of o-rings myself. And being cheap, I found a 225 rings set for less than $6 shipped.
link?
beatcomber
AK Member
I just added the O-rings to my SME just like you did, and sure enough, there is an improvement in the bass and mids, and there are better dynamics. :thmbsp:
Ilikevinyl
Cool Breeze
Glad to hear your sound is much better too!:thmbsp:
As soon as anything additional is carried by the tonearm, whether on the counterweight side of the pivot point or on the arm-tube side, the resonant behaviour of the tonearm/cartridge combination is altered from what it was prior to the addition. This applies even if the tracking force applied to the cartridge is consistent in both situations.
That alone could and will alter the sound depending upon how much extra weight was added.
That alone could and will alter the sound depending upon how much extra weight was added.
SaSi
Seriously Illogical
A couple of years ago I tried a thicker o-ring around the fastening ring for the headshell. It did sound to me that it made a difference, although a subtle one. I thought it was me dreaming but there may be something to it.
I have an Ortofon test record with a track for visually verifying resonance frequency. I might try this again.
I have an Ortofon test record with a track for visually verifying resonance frequency. I might try this again.
Try the test a number of times, each time with an extra o-ring. Try as many as the OP has. Obviously there are cartridges which prefer to be used on a heavier arm. The addition of mass would benefit that type of cartridge. Either way; benefit means change asmuchas detriment means change. The addition of mass for one cartridge might mean benefit. The addition of mass for another cartridge might mean detriment.
The number one recommendation I could make for this method is that it is easily reversible if one didn't like the results and it is cheap as chips to experiment with.
SaSi
Seriously Illogical
I only have one or two such rings. I will give it a try once and check if there is a measurable change in resonance frequency.
"......rather than adding mass to the arm."
Adding or subtracting mass to an arm will have an effect on the resonant frequency. The question is: how much has to be added for a particular cartridge and arm combination to be either benefited or degraded by the change as the case may be. The effect will be peculiar to the arm and cartridge combination and a different effect could be found by adding exactly the same additional mass to another combination of arm and cartridge.
Tone arm/ cartridge matching involves matching the effective mass of the arm with the compliance parameters of the cartridge in order to have the combination's resonant peak to fall within a defined frequency band. The masses, the cartridge parameters and the frequency band of the combination's resonant peak are all tied up together. Change the mass of the tonearm or the parameters of the cartridge(ie use one with a different compliance) and the band within which the combination's resonant frequency falls will change. The question is: how much mass has to be added or subtracted to affect appreciable change and whether that change benefits the arm/cartridge combination under observation or whether the added or subtracted mass degrades the arm/cartridge under observation.
There can't be one universally applicable solution(*ie "Adding mass to the tonearm always benefits the combination." OR "Subtracting mass to the tonearm always benefits the combination."). In each instance the degradation or benefit depends upon the individual arm and cartridge used in the analysis.
That's what I'm trying to draw attention to in this discussion of using o-rings on a tonearm: The o-rings might well be damping something or other, but multiples of them will add mass and that will have an effect on the arm/cartridge combination's resonant frequency. For me the test would be to add the same mass in a form other than o-rings and to see whether that improvement is down to the enclosing of the tube by the o-rings or the addition of mass alone.
Dandy
Addicted Member
I agree theophile. The way to test it is to try adding a single O ring to a tonearm and cart with a known resonant frequency, to see if it changes, and whether the change in frequecy is different with the ring at different positions on the tonearm. A detachable headshell tonearm is obviously easiest for this.
beatcomber
AK Member
I'd like to add a follow-up...
I initially put the O-rings on my SME 3009 S2 Improved exactly like this:
Last night, I decided to experiment, mainly because I didn't like the way it looked!
I removed the two O-rings from the tube and just kept the three O-rings at the pivot end and the two at the collar. (Of course, I also re-balanced the arm.) To my surprise, I found that the imaging snapped into vivid 3D on every record I listened to. My conclusion is the O-rings on the tube had choked it too much, although the O-rings at the ends seems to have a positive effect.
Incidentally, I got the same choked results using O-rings on my AR-TX.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Harborfreight has the deals on these orings. the 382/397 pack ( SAE/Metric) is 7.49 with boxes and the 225 pack is 3.99 Metric (all on sale) the 225 SAE is 5.99. They also have the Buna and Viton for those that want to experiment.
Gas to get to HF might be more than the difference in price getting a kit from the bay.
Gas to get to HF might be more than the difference in price getting a kit from the bay.