Distribution
Having had all kinds of small chasis machine (EU size, 24") here in Germany, it really is dependent on the machine.
Our Panasonic had a huge tub with verry little space and - at least for high speed spins - a verry sensitive balance detection. It would distribute for up to an hour before giving up. It had 2 400rpm spin burst before its main final spin and these always went through perfectly. The final spin had a verry narrow balance window for noise reasons and only ever managed to spin with verry easy to balance loads.
I had other washers (like our current AEG or the Mieles) which spun high or even higher and spun nearly every time directly with no issue.
The suspension is only one part of the story. It has to be only stif enough to keep the drum form moving to much during low rpm stages of extraction. During high rpm stages, the drum can't move much of a distance anyway, so if the suspension is t stiff, to many of these high frequency vibrations are transmitted to the cabinet making for a rattely loud spin. To soft and it can't balance for low rpm stages.
Distribution algorythms are another.
Our current AEG has a pretty good spin preperation pattern. It tumbles 6 times, 3 times clockwise, 3 times counter clockwise. It starts with a tame 30rpm tumble and steps that up gradually to distribution speed during these tumbles. This pulls larger items apart gradually, allowing them to distribute better. In between spin burst, it stays at distribution rpm so it dosen't have to redistribute if it dosen't have to.
On the other hand, Hotpoint is and was a contender for the worst distribution on their Aqualtis range.
The machine would start tumbeling in on direcion, distribute, check for balnce, and if it wasn't satisfied, it would slow down but keep tumbling in the same drection, just distribute again, over and over. As it only reverersed once in a blue moon, the load would become more and more tangled as it treid to balance, only makeing matter worse with time.
Another thing is the padle design.
Asymetric drum lifters are designed to move larger loads from front to back slowly, which really improves cleaning as it moves items that would be usually stuck in the center of the load on larger loads to the outside and back to the middle again. Sadly, that also makes for a huge tangeling issue. Like, immense tangeling with large items.
And then there is how the machine actually senses for OOB situations.
Some machines only rely on accelerometers. These actually look for movement.
Some machine use motor current draw or motor rpm patterns at a current power supply.
Some use both in combination.
Depending on that, some can handle some loads better then others.
For example, really heavy items can startle motor based OOB detection. For example, towels don't tend to tangle much in my experience, but they are heavy when soaked.
Now, the load might look pretty well distributed, the drum dosen't sway much.
A motion sensor based system will greenlight the load for spin no problem.
Because the weights involved are high, even the apparently well balanced load will pose a verry high current situation to the motor, making the machine act more carefully.
Now, a brushed motor is much less accurately judgable for current as well, but machine with brushed motors are usually in the cheaper price region, so structural integrety and further sensor are less common on these machine as well. Thus, a machine that is not well equipped to judge loads on their balance is usually even less capable of handeling themand thus has to be even more carefull.
In general, there is nor ule of thumb what to look for in a machine.
Best way to know: Look for reviews.
For example, LG had huge balancing issues on their early generation TurboWash washers, making them less "turbo" then most wanted them to be.
They however ittereated their programming and solved some but not all of the balancing issues.
Another good example for the US were the Samsung made Maytag machines. Horrible machines in general, but especially for balancing.
Currents Samsungs don't seem to be the best either.
On the other hand, Electrolux seems to be decent with their - as they claim - learning balancing algorythm and their second floor guarante.
WP seems to be OK with hicups from time to time.
In the EU, currently, AEG as well as BSH seem to be decent.
AEG is a little more shakey, but spins without any mayor redistribution issues in my experience.
BSH seems a little quieter, but little more carefull for that matter.
Miele is as always leading, though their W1 series is certanly more sensitive then previous generations and seems a little more less Miele-quality in general with some minor issues which just should not happen on 1000+€ machines. (One that I read about for example is that - just as with SQ - a pump that burns out can potentially take out the main control as well, which just is bad construction in my opinion).
Of the cheaper brands, I know Gorenje to be OK. Not good, not bad.
Panasonic still has issues.
So does LG and Samsung.
