Apologies if this has been covered before.
I am intrigued by the physics of why a heavier counterweight would be an advantage sonically, in the light of the light of the number being sold and marketed. Clearly if you have a heavy cartridge and you run out of adjustment then it is a no brainer.
I would be interested if anyone could contribute as to why it would be an advantage or whether there is something I have not thought of. Before Christmas I spent a good half hour plus discussing this with an old friend over a long walk who has a serious Maths and Engineering Degree, plus 40 years in Mechanical Engineering compared to my lowly A Level Physics grade which I somehow managed. We could not reach a conclusion, BUT,
Assuming arm rigidity, you can argue that a stylus would not be able to "see" any difference between a heavier mass nearer the pivot point compared to a smaller mass further away. The effective mass would be identical.
What does change is the total mass of the whole arm and the total mass of the arm behind the pivot point. The increase in total mass would put slightly more weight on the arm bearing, (not necessarily a good thing) which might behave slightly differently. But, the mass the stylus is exposed to would be effectively the same.
Can somebody advise please if there is something I am missing, ( there usually is). I suspect Newton and inertia might be involved??
If I am talking complete *******s I will retreat back into my hole.
Cheers. C.
I am intrigued by the physics of why a heavier counterweight would be an advantage sonically, in the light of the light of the number being sold and marketed. Clearly if you have a heavy cartridge and you run out of adjustment then it is a no brainer.
I would be interested if anyone could contribute as to why it would be an advantage or whether there is something I have not thought of. Before Christmas I spent a good half hour plus discussing this with an old friend over a long walk who has a serious Maths and Engineering Degree, plus 40 years in Mechanical Engineering compared to my lowly A Level Physics grade which I somehow managed. We could not reach a conclusion, BUT,
Assuming arm rigidity, you can argue that a stylus would not be able to "see" any difference between a heavier mass nearer the pivot point compared to a smaller mass further away. The effective mass would be identical.
What does change is the total mass of the whole arm and the total mass of the arm behind the pivot point. The increase in total mass would put slightly more weight on the arm bearing, (not necessarily a good thing) which might behave slightly differently. But, the mass the stylus is exposed to would be effectively the same.
Can somebody advise please if there is something I am missing, ( there usually is). I suspect Newton and inertia might be involved??
If I am talking complete *******s I will retreat back into my hole.
Cheers. C.