Davide256, That's an interesting point, however it may also be that an air barrier has the unique advantage of decoupling earth borne vibration and plinth/motor noise from the arm wand. Whether in a linear or radial tonearm, the vibration flow is bi-directional, a complex system.
In the case of Terminator, mechanical dissipation of vibration into heat at the vertical point bearing interface may also serve to dump stylus energy.
Having empirically determined that the sound of Terminator improves as the wand is shortened, I'm inclined to believe that any mass required to absorb stylus energy is best placed hehind the pivot point. (It's also possible that I'm hearing the lower resonance behavior inherent in a shorter wand.) In any case, it seems intuitively right to design most of the horizontal mass into the sled assembly rather than a long tonearm. Unfortunately with most linear tonearms designs, high horizontal mass is a necessary evil and there is little wiggle room with respect to where to locate that mass.
In the case of Terminator, mechanical dissipation of vibration into heat at the vertical point bearing interface may also serve to dump stylus energy.
Having empirically determined that the sound of Terminator improves as the wand is shortened, I'm inclined to believe that any mass required to absorb stylus energy is best placed hehind the pivot point. (It's also possible that I'm hearing the lower resonance behavior inherent in a shorter wand.) In any case, it seems intuitively right to design most of the horizontal mass into the sled assembly rather than a long tonearm. Unfortunately with most linear tonearms designs, high horizontal mass is a necessary evil and there is little wiggle room with respect to where to locate that mass.