Fidelity Research FR-64 vs. FR-54

Dear @lewm :   """  How can you learn anything from anyone else, when your mind is so closed to all other opinion?  """

I don't know why you can think that in the subject of FR undamped pivot tonearm design your opinion and other one opinios are rigth and I'm wrong.

Why can'not it be the other way around?

Makes no sense to me and let you explain my take here:

- my MUSIC/audio main target is to listen/hear what's in the recording. If this is not your main target then we have nothing to talk on that and any other home audio subject.

- all of us are distortion lovers. To what kind of distortions?, the ones on each one home audio system.

- what kind of parameters take I in count to evaluate any home audio systems and its differences in between?: mainly the distortion levels, every kind of internal/external home audio system distortion.

- almost every " decent " audiophile  use some way or the other different kind of home audio system damping depending where is used that damping.

- we can name some of those damping system tools: 

   room treatment,  TT footers,  TT platforms,  damped racks,  TT mats,  TT clamps, daped headshells, damped tonearms by design like: VPI or Triplanar and several others,  cartridge suspension dampers, cartridge body design shape to " kill "internal resonances/distortions, damping on tonearm boards, damping on speakers, damping on speaker crossover, damping on electronic chasis/box, damping on tubes it self, damping footers on any kind of system electronic item/link, damping on cables construction,   damping,     damping,   damping,    damping,......... damping everywhere in a home audio system: this is the rule and it's not for " free ".

- that everywhere damping has a sole/unique reason: TO HEAR WHAT IS IN THE RECORDING and not to all generated home audio system distortions.

The main target in that very hard work of system damping is to " kill " all kind of distortions or at least mantain it at " extremely " low/minumum levels.


AND, AGAIN AND AGAIN, YOU AND ALL THE OTHER LOVERS ( including the " 11 " one. ) OF FR NON DAMPED TONEARMS  SUDDENLY " DISCOVERY THAT THE FR DESIGN REALLY DAMPS THE DISTORTIONS THAT TRAVEL  AND SOME THAT ARE GENERATED BY THE NON DAMPED DESIGN ! ! ! ! 

and    YES AND: NO ONE BUT ME AND J.CARR DETECTED THOSE DISTORTION LEVELS????


As I said: makes no sense to me. Makes sense to you?

If yes then that's why I said that we are distortion lovers. I'm too but with way lower distortion levels than you. At least I'm aware of it.


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

- what kind of parameters take I in count to evaluate any home audio systems and its differences in between?: mainly the distortion levels, every kind of internal/external home audio system distortion.

Raul,
Always talking about distortion, but can you even prove the distortion level of your system is lower than any of our by any measure, other than the convenient saying of “I know because my ears are trained” ?

After after years and years of Raul's posts, I've learned it's best just to take them with a grain of salt. 

Alongside a slice of lemon and ounce of tequila. 

Raul, For the Nth time, I am only saying that MY FR64S sounds very good in my second system, which is very low in distortion and includes mostly solid state components in the chain from cartridge to speakers.  Not that I agree in any way with your other diatribes, against vacuum tubes.  But let's stick to the FR64S: My saying that I like my FR64S in this particular set-up does not mean that I think you are categorically "wrong" in your critique.  Got that? I do recognize the theoretical importance of "damping".  Until I put the stylus in the groove for the first time, I had no idea whether I would like or dislike the FR64S.  I only knew that if I disliked it, I would have no problem re-selling it.  But... I like it.

There are many cases in this hobby where components go against this or that widely held belief and nevertheless work well, and it is not always the case that they are perceived to work well only because they produce euphonic distortion.  I understand that you hate the FR64S/66S.  You are entitled to your feelings. Peace. Out.

Dear @thekong : """  Always talking about distortion... """

the home system name of trhe game is exactly that: distotion levels on each home audio system and if you can't understand it after those several times I posted then I think something is wrong in your overall audio understanding.

"""  but can you even prove the distortion level of your system is lower than any of our by any measure  """

@thekong I don't know if you still own that " terrible " Aesthetix I/O all tube phono stage that I know very good.

Well, that unit manufacturer gives you no single distotions measures in a 20K + dollar unit and what they gives are " terrible " numbers for say the least:

output impedance: 1kohms where high frequencies are degraded/losted in his cable travel to the amplifier.

RIAA eq. deviation:  swing of 0.5dbs from 20hz to 20kz.

noise level: 70 db.

Other than that, the cartridge signal must pass inside the phono stage for 6 different circuit stages where only because these so many stages the critical and sensitive cartridge signal suffer a huge degradation.

You love that unit and its quality performance levels. Do you know that unit everykind of distortion levels?, sure you do not and are asking me that I give you measures of my home system distortion levels!!!!!!!

Do you understand at least the complexity of what you are asking?

Certaninly not and that's why you ask.

We all need to learn about the name of the game: distortions and how to be aware of those distortions at each link in the home audio system chain.


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.