Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

Dogberry, a warp, or any other change in stylus velocity which is actually happening throughout the course of replay, has no effect on the friction force. The equation for that force is simply the coefficient of friction for the two materials that are in contact multiplied by the normal force that is causing the contact. “Normal” here means the perpendicular component of that force.

While I completely agree that one who purchases an underhung tonearm will have a certain “expectation bias” toward forming a positive opinion, it seems a little far fetched to conclude that all the positive reviews, even from reviewers who haven’t bought the tonearm, could be fairly attributable to expectation bias.

Sorry for not completing my thought above. The skating force arises due to friction between stylus and groove. Therefore the need for AS does not vary with stylus velocity. It does vary in both magnitude and direction with respect to the angle by which the cantilever is out of line with the pivot.

Lew, I meant that with the bearings being aligned as they are, any up and down motion will involve not just moving the bearing that allows vertical movement, it will also mean moving the horizontal bearing. So moving both ball races instead of one should double the friction to overcome, requiring more force to do so. By the third law that will increase VTF. I'm not involving anti-skate or stylus friction here.

I get it. Sorry. I don't know if bearing friction would double, because for most tonearms the vertical bearing friction is different from the horizontal bearing friction, but I guess it would be increased.

But like Dave said, and in spite of what I wrote earlier, give it a try with the SME.

Dear @dover and friends : " if accurate alignment is your primary goal, ", well I don’t know other audiophiles but accurated alignment is the first step of other important steps in the whole cartridge/tonearm set-up that can puts me nearer/truer to the recording.

Why choosed I a different first step other than the one that gives zero tracking distortion as the LT tonearms?, mainly because does not exist the perfect tonearm and through my several first hand experiences with LT that I owned it made everything fine but the low bass. So I choosed my trade-off in benefit of whole MUSIC sound and choosed and never came back to the pivot tonearms using as first set up step the Löfgren alignments and let explain my sense/mind about and all steps down there to be nearer to the recording ( the Löfgreen alignments are the ones to zero tracking error/distortion to the LT designs: are the ones that puts the cartrudge stylus nearer to groove modulations tangentially. VIV is way way off that main target no matter what. ):

After the Löfgreen alignment set up we have to fine tune that alignment along other critical set up parameters as: VTF/VTA/SRA/AZ/AS/ZENT and the like. All those steps puts me nearer and truer to the recording that’s my main MUSIC reproduction target in my room/system. The VIV puts any audiophile far away from the recording but any one has different room/system targets.

Btw: " aware of any negative comments on underhung tonearms voiced by either M Kelly or Dave Garretson ", sorry lew but I never posted that you need to read again why I mentioned to those gentlemans. That " vitriol " you posted is not vitriol but and opinion against your several times " insult " to LÖFgreen that obviously for you and dogberry is just ok and not for me. Re-read my post about.

R.