או.קיי , בקטע הנ"ל מתוך הכתבה יש התייחסות לגבי תיכנון הבסיס של SME וההישג ההנדסי בבידוד , אין כיסי אויר יקרים אלא מערכת מיכנית זולה משמעותית מכיסי אויר , לא נראה שהזרוע לבד מספיקה .
Design Rationale
High mass, compactness, and stiffness combine to reduce flexing and vibrating—two things you don't want a plinth to do. .
Designing a suspended subchassis that will operate at the effectively low resonant frequency of 3Hz that's necessary for true isolation is fraught with difficulties. SOTA and Rockport tried this, and both companies' results were equally problematic. On some SOTA models, the spring-hung subchassis oscillated like a porch glider when the arm's mass would shift back and forth due to record eccentricities. Ditto the air-suspended Rockport Capella, which I reviewed years ago for The Abso!ute Sound. The motors of both 'tables were hard-mounted to their bases; when the subchassis was horizontally deflected, the platter-to-motor pulley distance would vary, causing speed irregularities. On the Rockport, the problem was exacerbated due to the linear-tracking tonearm's relatively high horizontal mass. Fitting the SOTA with an Eminent Technology arm (a popular combo in the early 1990s), with its moving rail and thus even higher horizontal mass, created an even bigger deflection—but even a pivoted arm caused movement.
SME's solution to the "porch glider" effect was to hang the subchassis on 48 specially made O-rings (12 per tower), for a total of 96 strands, in combination with damping systems of a paddle in thick fluid: one damping system per tower. Should you need to replace the O-rings (not likely, unless buying the 'table causes a divorce and your soon-to-be-ex takes a box-cutter to them), it can be done almost instantaneously—even while a record is playing, according to SME. The damping system all but eliminates horizontal deflection, while the adjustability of the degree of damping lets the user adjust the system to various conditions of acoustical and floor-borne feedback.
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There you have it: a no-BS, industrial-grade turntable using one high-quality motor plus electronic drive, a crowned stainless-steel pulley, a compact, high-mass plinth system, ultra-low-tolerance machining everywhere, zero use of acrylic, and a truly effective isolation system.