Rhetorical question: How does it “improve” the performance of a cartridge to attempt to decouple it from its (tonearm/headshell) platform?

When the “Cartridge Man” made his elastomer-based decoupler, which he touted as making a huge improvement to the performance of any cartridge, I worked with Wally Malewicz [WAM Engineering/Wally-Tools] to examine this premise. From a physical standpoint, you are introducing yet another mass-loaded spring-damper system into an already complex system. From both mine and Wally’s point of view, after subjective listening, this reduced transient response, and deadened the system. Ergo: more like ‘oatmeal’ than music….

Maybe someone can explain why it would ‘improve’ a transducer to add a flexible layer to its base, given that its job is to accurately deflect and trace groove modulations, and generate a voltage. Rigidity (and sufficient effective mass to deflect and drive the motor) would seem to be the key attributes for accuracy in such a system.