Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

I’ll drink to that. But I will add that it does or did make a positive difference when I carefully aligned the cartridge using the L-shaped template, vs when the same cartridge was out of alignment by several mm using the same template, due to my own carelessness. So I use the template each time I change cartridges.  So far, I have auditioned about four different cartridges in the Viv, all of which were familiar to me based on prior listening in overhung tonearms. In each case, the Viv excelled, with characteristics as Reimac described. (This is another important point; if you look at reviews on the internet, the positive comments of disparate listeners using a wide variety of audio systems hang together.)

@dogberry Before making a new penetration into a owned and spare SME Headshell, please refer to the numerous White Papers that are to be discovered on the matter.

I have not been privvy to such elusive content, but do suggest there would be another methodology in use for at least 60 Years to mount a Cart' to a Headshell, if a Penetration in a Headshell was a concern.

SME the revered Company it is, in the eyes of some, has a line of Perforated Headshells, which seemingly or strongly suggests, the Company has not found any fault, or been very confident in a design with additional penetrations in a Headshell.

In relation to the Viv, I feel the methodology for the use of the Oil at a Interface, is one that has a contribution to the end sound the TA is able to produce, and one that is able to make much more of an impression to the end sound than the Trials of Oil Damping I was privvy to.

I feel confident in claiming to typical oil damping methodology for the TA with the rear mounted trough, does very little audibly, not even tidying up the end sound.

I have had much more success tidying up end sound with a Puck Weight,       

Dear @reimarc : Well , I will no drink to that and let me explain what I posted.

"  how do you actually know what exactly is encoded in the LP grove? Unless you have the master tape side by side.  "

I never posted that kind of statement what I posted is that my target is to stay nearer/truer to the recording and I posted too that to reach or been close to that target weneed that each kind of system developed distortions most be at minimum.

My take in whole audio MUSIC reproduction to have top MUSIC enjoyment is to try to have an equilibrium between your classic dogma 100% subjectivity that ( you

repeated ( some way or the other ) in your answer to me ) and objectivity that in this thread issue demands that the stylus tip be centered in the groove modulations.

In my target I reached it using that equilibrium when for one side objectivity tells that any one of us must use LT tonearms and I did it and through the time ( i owned at least 3 different LT and over 15 pivoted tonearms and over 150 any kind of cartridges with different cartridge motors andat least 7 different TTs ) my subjectivity ( equilibrium ) tells me that I had to change to pivot alternative to reach the rigth bass range and to do this the second best alternative was and is use the Löfgreen alignments that puts that stylus tip nearer to what the LT does: NO MATTER WHAT. The underhung just has not that "perfect "equilibrium, no it's not rocket science only common sense andnoIdon`t need those master tapes and if you or any one makes what me neither will need.

Yes, from my statements you are far away from the recording and overall wrong and not because I say so but because almost all of you have not looking for that way demanding equilibrium.

R.

"I had to change to pivot alternative to reach the rigth bass range and to do this the second best alternative was and is use the Löfgreen alignments that puts that stylus tip nearer to what the LT does: NO MATTER WHAT. .."

That depends, doesn't it, on what a LT tonearm "does".  In your opinion, it's the elimination of TAE.  But the virtue of an LT tonearm could just as well be the elimination of the skating force. If you think the goal above all else is to keep TAE as low as possible, even if it means a significant increase in the skating force, then an overhung tonearm is just the ticket.  If the goal is minimizing the skating force, then an underhung tonearm is preferable, when choosing among pivoted tonearms. Also, one could argue that the overhung tonearm does not come closest to an LT tonearm at any point in its arc; only the underhung tonearm achieves zero TAE and zero skating force, at its single null point.  The overhung tonearm never gets near to the latter goal. Anyway, I apologize to anyone reading this thread.  I hope I and some others who appreciate the Viv have convinced at least a few of us to approach the issue with an open mind.

Raul

 

 The underhung just has not that "perfect "equilibrium

Can you provide a list of underhung arms you have experimented with?

dave