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Fidelity Research FR-64x

 Fidelity Research FR-64x.....(with silver wire ).  Is this arm still considered  viable today ?

offnon57
mulveling's avatar
mulveling
1,852 posts
 
@offnon57
Well at $150 on the 64fx, you got an absolute steal. That arm should go for $1K+, easy, if in good/clean condition with original counterweight and silver internal wiring. More if you have the original head-shell. Plus for most low-ish compliance MC cartridges, it’s hard to imagine any $1K used arm options, and new arms sub-$5K (!), matching that FR64fx in performance and build quality.

I need to get a Clearaudio arm board cut so I can use mine again, especially since I have an extra Koetsu to pull out. It was a joy to use; silky smooth action. I currently have a Graham Phantom Supreme 10" ($6.7K new) and Clearaudio Universal 12" ($6.5K new) mounted; I expect this FR64fx should easily compete with (if not beat) them.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

@chakster , Your Lustre 801 has only the (thin) armwand

made from steel. The same apply for the SME ''R'' kinds.

The effective mass by FR-66/64 S depends from the used

headshell and counterweight. I never used any of the FR

headshells because I consider them all as worthless.

For the FR 66/64 series 3 different counterweights are made:

standard, 170 g and 250 g. One should use the weight which

can be moved nearest to the pivot. The least inertia is the

result. The worst headshell is S3 ( 19,5 g). The other are to

short for the usual headshell wire length. So the effective length

is not easy to adjust (stylus ''distance'' to the pivot). I prefer

headshells made from magnesium with ''movable 4 pin connector''.

This kind make azimuth adjustment possible as well the added

space for the stylus adjustment.

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
If anyone missed Fremer’s SME tour: https://youtu.be/usXKl8p6kuk
Fast forward to 31:23 to watch Brian Laker (service manager) talking about new and very old SME models.
They use magnesium for arm wands on the top models. 
invictus005
597 posts
 
Magnesium is the best. SME is the best. That's pretty much that. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@offnon57 

 I bought the Pink Triangle for $150 locally in Hicksville LI back in the days when you could find stuff in Newsday classifieds almost everyday.
The guy I bought it from kept his arm but hooked
me up to another guy for the Fidelity Research, for another $150

Amazing, nowadays they are up to 2k on ebay
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