As part of our regular ‘Ask the Industry’ column, we reach out to some of the biggest engineers in the world of hi-fi and AV to give us their valuable insight on topics close to their hearts.
They have dedicated years to product design, learning, research and development all in the name of producing the best products possible.
This month, we’re talking about turntables, specifically, turntable design and what the best engineers in the business have learned since they first delved into the subject. Here’s what they had to say.
Jonathan Nye
“Perhaps every design choice shapes performance – and knowing how they work together defines a great turntable, not rushing to extremes.
When you’re starting out, it’s easy to think in extremes, solid vs. fixed, heavy vs. light, isolated vs. integrated. In fact, all design decisions change the behavior of the system in different ways. Solve one problem, and you often introduce another.
What I’ve learned over time is that good turntable design is less about chasing perfection in one area and more about balancing competing elements to achieve a harmonious result.
Another important lesson is that what you measure and what you hear don’t always match up. Ratings matter; they guide you, but listening is very important, because the end goal is always musical knowledge.
Ultimately, the best designs come from combining strong engineering principles, careful listening, and a clear vision of how you want the product to feel, not just how it works.”
Robert Suchy
“It’s the combination of many small details that really matter – understanding which area of use, which combination of materials, and using the highest precision throughout the manufacturing process.
It all comes together in some important places. This is still appreciated today, but our understanding has grown a lot.”
Eric Kingdon
“The simple answer is I haven’t stopped learning, so it’s not just one thing. A simple change can often make a big difference in the sound. For example, the side of the drive belt that you attach to the engine and the plate can affect the sound.
I think turntable design is a careful balance between form and function. The plinth itself is an acoustic instrument and should be something you enjoy playing at home. “
Roy Marston
“The first thing I learned when I started working around turntables was how a small difference in a part can change the sound.
It could be something as small as using a different threadlocker on the screw, changing the thickness of the cable insert, or using a different type of rubber to seal.
They all cause a lot of tension. Listening to various LP12s with endless combinations of components highlighted the importance of the ‘system’ of the turntable and gave me the drive to understand the LP12 on a deeper level.
From a high level, the turntable may seem very simple. But delving into the details reveals that they are really complex.”
Alfred Langer
“Understanding the complexity of tonearm geometry and skating power. Once you really get it, you can start tonearm design.”
Roy Gandy
“When Rega started in 1973, we realized the important part that the turntable and amplifier played in listening and listening emotionally.” However, the entire industry believed that only the microphone was important.
It used to be taught that an amplifier was a ‘useful piece of equipment’ and therefore had no effect on sound quality. The turntable function is considered to rotate the record without ‘rumble’ or ‘wow and flutter’.
The quality of the cartridge was considered its ability to ‘track’ and record with small playing weights, at least one part of a gram. Indeed, some very few articles have been published about turntable design produced by Shure and dealt with by ‘Trackability’. This commercial pressure pushed Rega to use its first turntable, the Planet, with controversial cosmetic content, rather than trying to market Sound Quality.
After a few years, Rega became financially stable. Other retailers around the world, along with Linn and Naim Audio brands, began marketing the concept of turntable and amplifier ‘sound quality’.
Although our main distributor objected, Rega gained the confidence to introduce the Planar 3, based on sound quality and value. It removed the audible shortcomings of the Planet but was visually basic and restrained.
Rega has found that most fans of recycled music don’t care about sound quality. The music itself is enough*. However, a small percentage of listeners find music to be active and immersive. For these people, the closer the produced sound is to natural sound, the more emotionally satisfying the listening experience.
These are Rega customers, and we’ve learned that the new model should come with improved value and sound quality. If a product costs more, it should sound better.
* For some people, a Hi-Fi system is a statue or a piece of jewelry.”
Touraj Moghaddam
“This is a question that, unfortunately, I don’t have a concrete answer to – there is no silver bullet in any product designed to work very well.
You will never find a single thing or property or single parameter that makes a complex system work in unison to achieve the desired goal.
It is always a combination of many factors and parameters. Each of them needs to be understood and, in turn, given the right weight for its importance in the overall design so that the turntable can do what it was designed to do. I think this was the most important thing I learned!”
David Baker
“Floor vibrations generally have less impact on sound quality than mechanical vibrations produced by the turntable and tonearm themselves.”
Heinz Lichtenegger