Some tables have soul and some not

I found that as I tried to increase the damping of my TT's plinth I gained clarity but lost the "soul". Happily, I did find a balanced place where I was able to damp the plinth and retain the soul of the music. From this I would say that overdamping anything can remove the sould from the music.

Have you ever heard an overdamped room. It just doesn't sound natural. I think the same applies to components. You can reduce vibrations and unnecessary jiggly stuff, but if you go too far it starts to sound dry and uninvolving.

Is this distortion or coloration? Yeah, probably, but it is far more enjoyable than an over detailed, dry, unforgiving and joyless sound.

Soul = Good Vibrations!?

A turntable cannot have soul (soul, not A soul); it is a machine. Music has soul. Some turntables reproduce more of the soul of a musical performance than other turntables because they are better machines; they let more of the rhythmic nuance in a performance be heard undistorted. Rhythm is where the soul of music lies.

Rhythm is perhaps a foundation of music but not a "location" of soul of it. And much music actually lacks anything that could be called that.
As for turntables being machines made by humans, well, first of all people are machines too just of a very different type and second exactly because things are made by people they have soul too, or they don't.

Inna, I must say (in the spirit of debate) that was one of the most ridiculous posts I have ever read on this forum; and, with all due respect, just plain wrong. I respect your opinion to consider yourself a machine of sorts; but please speak for yourself only.