Who knows what "groove guard" is?

Kalan,

TT is a Linn LP12 with Ekos/Arkiv/Lingo/Cirkus. Electronics are Audio Research PH3 SE/LS 25 Mk 2/VT100 mk 3 with Magnepan speakers. Interconnects are Litzlink for the most part.

I don't pretend to be a physicist, but it seems to me that any lp that presents more of a "flat" as opposed to a "convex" surface (as one without a groove glide should) will make it easier for the stylus to follow the groove and reduce skating forces. I don't know if that's what I heard or not. It just seemed a tad more "real" to me.

Kinsekd, thanks. The Linn platters also already take into account the added thickness of groove guard by using a smaller-than-12" platter.

I don't, for a minute, assume that your new non-groove guard records don't sound better. I am sure they do. I am just trying to understand why. The playing surfaces should already be flat with Linn platters with or without gg. Oh, well, life's mysteries make it interesting.

Kinsekd- A number of table manufacturers (some expensive ones!)purposely make their platters slightly concave in order to minimize record warps. The amount of this "dish" is somwhat more than the amount of "dish" that would be created by the additional thickness of a groove guard on a full 12" platter. I am not an engineer and don't pretend to know (or thought) much about it, but it would seem unlikely that these manufacturers would go to the expense of making a concave surface only to degrade the sound. Therefore, I would have to assume that a very slightly concave surface has nearly zero negative effect on playing a record. Perhaps a carefully set anti-skate would offset the stylus wanting to go "downhill"?

I always felt that the groove guard helped to guide the stylus onto the first track or at least keep the stylus from skating off the album when it (the stylus) was placed near the outer edge...

Regards
Jim