Well - It’s supposed to be cheap.
- Thread starter MisterDK
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Paul Weathers was a remarkable engineer/designer, and Weathers equipment was practically the definition of 'out of the box'. At a time when turntables were mostly idler driven, the usual solution to rumble/wow and flutter/speed instability was to add mass, but, of course, required heavier bearings and motors, which raised prices and shipping costs, and lowered resonances to awkward frequencies and made response to changes in stylus drag slow and probably overcompensated. I
Instead, Weathers tables were very light and used very consistent clock motors with tiny soft idlers that didn't even need to be moved away from the platter when not in use, so the mechanism was as simple as it could get. The arms were made of wood, which was better damped than metal arms, and had lower mass. The cartridges used capacitative loading rather than moving magnets, and tracked cleanly at dramatically lower forces than the other cartridges of the day. But they required a box in line with the RCAs - it was called an FM demodulator - and that seems to have a bridge too far for the average consumer.
Instead, Weathers tables were very light and used very consistent clock motors with tiny soft idlers that didn't even need to be moved away from the platter when not in use, so the mechanism was as simple as it could get. The arms were made of wood, which was better damped than metal arms, and had lower mass. The cartridges used capacitative loading rather than moving magnets, and tracked cleanly at dramatically lower forces than the other cartridges of the day. But they required a box in line with the RCAs - it was called an FM demodulator - and that seems to have a bridge too far for the average consumer.