comparatively light and insubstantial; easily damaged : i go for this one
especially the powersupply , but the unit itself was very lightweight for high end gear as well , and so was the sound very bass light , no comparison to the solid convergent pre amp sound with power top to bottom, best trade in i ever did , off course its amplification sections are completely different as well
The small nagra recorders were off course meant to be carried around but no need for a preamp not to be a bit more heavier built
For good/dynamic /clear / relaxed sound you need stabilty and no vibrations , same goes for speakers , with no housing resonances the sound will be better
I come from a Heavy industrial machinery background and there is probably a different opinion about how rotating mechanical machinery should be built ,for example the more stable a bearing is placed in a housing , the less vibrations one gets , and a couple of mm wont do it , may be the front of the plp(recorders ) was a bit thicker.
The gentleman asked how for example nagra gear could have been built better , and there is my opinion
The good build quality examples in turntables are plentifull , rockport continuum wavekinetics techdas sme tw acoustic ....
These are all solidly built machines which give vibrations no chance