Decided to try a SPU cartridge

@boothroyd 

The Rigid Floats fly in the face of all known theories of cartridge alignment, if you are using a standard style cartridge like the SPU Royal N the Nelson Hold headshell is a thing of beauty. Remove the headshell and just pop in a full bodied SPU and Bobs your uncle. It is one of the easiest arms to set up, the only slight issue is height adjustment which is easily overcome by using playing cards as shims. 

@kennyc 

The Kuzma 4points are fantastic arms the 9" is a Pitbull terrier of arm, with the 11" and the 14" being more relaxed, for the 11" and particularly the 14" you need to use relatively low compliance normal bodied cartridges and you can only use Nude SPU's. Are the Rigid Floats better? It comes down your own ears.

Strangely whilst mine is a 9" it's positioning is very close to that of a normal 12".

A general tip with Rigid Floats whilst in theory they are free standing they do benefit from being bonded to the armboard/plinth with double sided sticky tape or even better and if you are really brave gluing it with a few dabs of epoxy. 

What’s seems strange about the Rigid Floats is that they don’t give the tonearm mass which would allow cartridge+tonearm compatibility calculations. Rather, folks seem to be are using lighter to heavy cartridges.

Before I went down this SPU route, I was planning to purchase 2 tonearms. Originally my top choice was the 4point, then the next was a Schroeder CB or a Reed 3P. After reading about the different but excellent results the Rigid Float will be my second tonearm.

For a Ortofon SPU G type cartridge, I wonder if using the 4point or the Rigid Float are better choices than the other ~3k SPU tonearms I listed previously.

I favor the longer ~12 inch tonearms for their potentially superior sonics , not so much their higher price tags

All - thanks for your help and advice

@kennyc 

I didn't think you can use an SPU G type with a 4point as the headshell fixing is not compatible.

Should you baulk at the rigid float a Schröder CB would be an excellent choice for an SPU N series, just make sure you order one with enough mass, somewhere around 20g or more with the brass mounting plate and order any fine adjustment options available.

I’m also running a Royal N but on a Schröder Reference and my expectations of a £1000 cartridge were far exceeded, once I’d got the setup tuned in. I bought the SPU as a stop gap and out of curiosity while I got my Transfiguration Proteus repaired but I haven’t been missing the Proteus and now it’s back, with a fresh stylus and suspension I’m in no hurry to fit it.

@yeti42 

I am certainly loving my Royal N, for me it just plays music and I am not missing any of the so called hifi elements.

In the UK I know people are changing there Kondo IOMs etc for the Royal N. It is a cartridge that is being championed by the designer and maker of Living Voice speakers, he has told me that it is without doubt his favourite cartridge.