Nice thread. I stumbled upon it by accident. I'm posting since the last post is from April this year so I figure it's ok to keep it alive.
I'm with the camp that rumble/flutter/woofer pumping is part of the vinyl experience. If you don't experience it, then count yourself lucky. My setup is fine on paper but on certain records the woofer pumping was insane. It didn't seem to have much to do with record warps.
I think whether anything in the signal path causes a deterioration in transparency or affects sound quality is a moot point if your system is experiencing a rumble problem despite attempted mechanical fixes. The woofer pumping will have a much worse effect on the sound than a good quality filter that will relieve the amp from trying to reproduce LF signals that are not audible, and the woofers from unnecessary and stressful movement that with time will most likely cause damage. To me it's a silly argument to make. We're not talking theory, but practice; you're not listening on paper but with your ears and observe with your eyes.
For those who want a ready solution: get a KAB rumble filter. I got one, I'm in vinyl nirvana every time I listen to records, no woofer pumping, no distortion, no audible sound compromise; in fact, the sound has improved.
I'm with the camp that rumble/flutter/woofer pumping is part of the vinyl experience. If you don't experience it, then count yourself lucky. My setup is fine on paper but on certain records the woofer pumping was insane. It didn't seem to have much to do with record warps.
I think whether anything in the signal path causes a deterioration in transparency or affects sound quality is a moot point if your system is experiencing a rumble problem despite attempted mechanical fixes. The woofer pumping will have a much worse effect on the sound than a good quality filter that will relieve the amp from trying to reproduce LF signals that are not audible, and the woofers from unnecessary and stressful movement that with time will most likely cause damage. To me it's a silly argument to make. We're not talking theory, but practice; you're not listening on paper but with your ears and observe with your eyes.
For those who want a ready solution: get a KAB rumble filter. I got one, I'm in vinyl nirvana every time I listen to records, no woofer pumping, no distortion, no audible sound compromise; in fact, the sound has improved.