Thicker platter = better performance ??

I've noticed that most turntables that are labelled as audiophile tend to have a way thicker platter than the ones DJs use. Does that actually make any difference in the overall listening experience or is it just a matter of design?

E.g.

Linn Sondek LP12
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jLCqhI-fz...OcJomyK17Ss/s1600/5569306267_89d40eb22c_b.jpg

Hartvig TT
http://hartvigaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/MG_3247_Uden-skilt-resized24001.jpg

Vs


Audio Technica ATLP1240
http://d3qk4yk8nq0n55.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/at_lp1240_usb.jpg

Technics SL-1210 MK5
http://www.weberaudio.com/images/gallery/Untitled-5.jpg

 

It's the weight of the platter that seems to affect the sound, not the thickness. I think that's the key factor here. Is that what you're referring to?

 

http://s29.postimg.org/j35ebqudj/Pics_Art_1416478311925.jpg

The best I did in order to explain what I meant.

You can also consider the weight but I guess a less thick platter made of a heavier material is equal to a very thick one.

 

Increased platter thickness usually means increased platter weight as well, although I'm sure there are examples whereby this is not the case. What you want is an increase in platter weight as it provides better or more consistent rotational stability.

 

Thanks for the feedback. I'm currently using an MK2 turntable and I'm very happy with it. Just the fact that many people consider these DJ turntables less precise than the hifi labelled ones. Anyway...

 

The DJ decks have to start/stop very quickly, so they're not suitable for heavy platters. You'll find the latter mostly on belt drive hi-fi tables which you can leave running for the duration of the listening session. Inertia = speed stability, some say it even helps the stylus tracking heavy groove modulations (bass tones) to not slow down the platter.

 

It is not just additional weight. When a stylus is tracking a groove, it is imparting a lot of force on the groove and it is elastically deforming the groove. The groove then snaps back to its original position. All of this action, both pressing and deforming the groove and the elastic rebound, buts a lot of vibrational energy into the record. The record then transmits this energy to the platter. A thicker platter does a better job of dissipating this energy instead of reflecting it back into the record.

 

If it works for vinyl, I'm sure the same holds true for the platter it rests on.

 

Going from a Rega RP2 (light-ish glass platter) to a VPI HW19 Mark III (heavier lead/acrylic platter) was a big difference. And when I moved to a VPI Aries 1 with its 25 pount TNT platter, I heard an even bigger improvement - less wash/noise, better bass, stability on piano tracks, etc.

 

I don't think the thickness of vinyl makes a bit of difference.

 

Wouldn't the type of mat you use play a bigger role in what you have so eloquently said?

 

Exactly.

Kidding aside, there are too many variables in designing a well-performing turntable to make a generalization about platter thickness's relation to overall performance. It's just one part of the equation.

 

My table, a Basis Debut vacuum, has no mat at all. The platter is acrylic, which has characteristics close enough to vinyl so that energy is easily transferred from the record to the platter. The vacuum clamping system also helps to closely couple the record to the platter. One can quite easily hear the difference when the vacuum is turned on versus when only a record clamp is used. One of the neat tricks to demonstrate the effectiveness of such energy dissipation is something a writer for a magazine mentioned. If you put the stylus down on a stationary record and tap the record surface near the stylus with some object, like a pen, you will hear the energy that is transferred into the record and then transmitted back to the cartridge, as amplified and played by your speaker. With well dampened clamp/platter systems, there is hardly any sound from the speakers, with less well dampened systems there will be a louder thud and that sound will reverberate for a longer period. I have tried this with my Debut and several other tables and there is a big difference. Another positive attribute of good energy transfer/dampening is that ticks and pops are rendered considerably lower in volume.

Whether such heavy dampening of energy in the record is a good thing or not, sonically speaking, is a different matter. There are some who complain about such well dampened designs as being "dead" or "dark" sounding. I do hear what these people are talking about, but, in my system, this is not a problem. I know that lots of people have systems that will sound livelier with tables that "sing" a little more, like Linns or the lighter J.A. Michell tables, and this can be a better overall sound than one free of "artificial" reverberation . It really is a matter of taste and system matching.

 

I use a Linn (when its not in Bits) and a Debut 3 as the main source the rest of the time. Trust me, the Acrylic Platter (and a decent cartridge) is one of the cheapest ways of transforming that budget table way beyond its price tag. Never tried a clamp though - I have heard the simple weight type ones can cause more problems than what your trying to solve - but a vacumn locking one sounds like a neat solution.

 

Wow, that's a pretty big jump from the Rega. I just moved from a P5 with the Groovetracer upgrades to an Extended Aries 1. It's like night and day.

 

Apart from platters.

I guess it could always be a major improvement to install an aftermarket tonearm to any turntable. The issue is the price, though. I know that we strive for excellence in our sound but we have to keep the budget down to a logical level. At least, that counts for me

 

It does matter but it is not quite as simple as thicker=better although that is often true

 

I don't thick it's so much about the the thickness of the platter, it's more about the length... of the tone arm

 

I think the eradication of ANY component that can "ring" is a VERY desirable thing on a TT. The more inert the top plate, the platter, the arm, the base, the motor support etc.,...the better.

 

My Thorens has a very heavy platter.Could this be one reason why even very thin records sound good on it?

 

My theory is that very thin vinyl just basically sounds very good anyway.

 

Is

Is it really acrylic sounded better than glass?Been thinking to do that on my RP3.

 

Thinner vinyl sounded awful on my rp3. Standard vinyl sounded good. 180gm vinyl sounded better.

 

I opted for the Delrin platter instead of the acrylic. It definitely made a difference in sound quality. The best upgrade, in my opinion, was to replace the plastic subplatter with the Groovetracer model.

 

Some of my best sounding records are RCA Dynaflex editions.

My quick and dirty thoughts are that the heavier the platter, the more stable the speed. That said, I would think that both weight and thickness contribute. Heavy for inertia (as someone already mentioned,) and thickness to resist any vibrations/bass frequencies that might make their way to the platter.