Why do turntables have a light

The argument in both cases is that there is a degree of isolation imparted by the overall mass of the player. It is more common to find light platters on heavier chassis but both types are numerous enough. What is rather rarer is companies like Funk who go all out to produce extremely lightweight turntables that combine light platters with equally light plinth-type chassis. These very lightweight designs are almost entirely dependent on the use of external isolation—be it a platform or more effective still a wall shelf.

Without such a thing, these low-mass designs can be very susceptible to outside interference. So why would a company bother with this design practise knowing that resulting design is dependent on being placed correctly to sound its best? The reason is that the performance of lightweight turntables is often rather different to their heavier brethren and depending on your subjective preferences, it can be the case that very little else will do.

There is an immediacy to their performance that can be harder to replicate in heavier turntables. Their handling of dynamic passages is free of any sense of lag or overhang and this can make for more exciting listening experience. What is notable about this is that in an absolute sense, almost all affordable turntables are adherents to the lightweight school of design—as you might appreciate, making a very large and heavy platter and plinth is physically expensive—and this can have some interesting effects on the sound we expect to hear from our records.

Comment Share. Create your profile. Only paid subscribers can comment on this post Already a paid subscriber? Log in. Check your email For your security, we need to re-authenticate you. Ready for more? See privacy , terms and information collection notice. Tone arm height adjustment ring: Allows you to set the height of the tone arm. The marks on the side indicate the current height in millimeters.

Tone arm height adjustment lock : Allows you to lock the height of the tone arm after adjusting it with the ring. Anti-skating control: Sets the anti-skating force. The marks indicate the amount of force in grams.

Cueing lever: Once the needle is set over the right place on the record, the cuing lever allows you to slowly lower the tone arm, and then pick it up. Tone arm lock: Locks the arm on the tone arm rest, which is useful when transporting the turntable. Locking nut: Locks the headshell in the tone arm.

Headshell: The cartridge is mounted on the headshell, which is in turn attached to the tone arm. The headshell also has a handle that the DJ holds when placing or picking up the needle.

Pitch reset button: Forces the pitch to zero. Headshell stand: This is where you can stick a spare headshell for your deck. How does a turntable strobe work? A strobe light flashes rapidly. Most commonly at 50Hz version or times a second 60Hz version. The platter or disc is marked with dots or lines.