Long and Short Arms. YOU KNOW THEY FIT a Luxman PD444.

I just read the manual, and looked on eBay. 

Luxman made an arm rest/lock that extends from the Luxman arm base, so that long arms with separate stick type rests could be used. So, part two, long arms can include them.

Elliot, IMH if you are looking for the best sound you are barking up the wrong tree.

On the bright side you can make anything fit if you are clever. I do not like 12" arms. The faults which have been discussed in many threads far outweigh any benefit of a reduced tracking angle error. 

There should be one wire from cartridge pin to to the phono stage and only two contacts at the cartridge and at the phono stage. As far as head shells go the two arms that get it right are the Kuzmas and the Schroders. If you have a nice small needle nosed pliers it is a breeze to deal with the clips. Allen screws with nylon plus under the screws are the best way to deal with adjustments. You never torque them hard. Lightly is all you need. You are not setting up a jack hammer. 

Adjustable VTA is a fad and totally unnecessary. Any play violates the function of the arm. You set VTA at 92 degrees and forget about it. Still some great arms have it like the Kuzma 4 Point 11 and 14. The 9 is the best arm he makes and it does not have it. You just get it direct wired and you are in business. Next up would be the Schroder CB which you can get in 12 " if you want and the Reed 2G which has a removable arm wand, the reason I went with the Schroder. The Tri Planar is also an excellent arm. If price is an issue Rega sells its arms separately and they are great arms for the money. 

Good luck with the Luxman. They are built like a battle ship and as long as the bearing has not been harmed it should last you your lifetime. The only thing you need to do to get it very close to the state of the art is put it on a good isolation stand. Any good stand will have to be ordered for the weight of your table. If they do not care about the turntable's weight forget it and look elsewhere. 

“Adjustable VTA is a fad”?????

You can’t be serious. If you had written that VTA on the fly is a marketing ploy, I’d have agreed, but in this day and at our age, would you really be willing to set VTA with a set screw whilst holding the tonearm at the desired height using you other hand? Not me, keemosabe. And as I’m sure you know, SRA is commonly set at 92 degrees, not VTA.

mijostyn

This is about the second arm, right side, 9", for mono and alternate cartridges, MM and MC. It will be purchased and installed first, SOON! The criteria has been considered, desired features have been clearly stated.

I am asking for help: who personally knows what fits, who has had good, bad, found tricky solutions to mount ....

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The left rear arm, without doubt, will be a long one, it will be part two, later, more money acquired, more time for research, 

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My preference, after searching other maker's two arm tables, those OEM arms, ... many makers, using the desired features:

a pair of Micro Seiki MA-505, short now on right side, long one later. 

Micro Seiki MA-505 Experiences, Concerns, questions to ask while buying???

VTA/FLY, or Very Easy Height Adjustment is a dream come true. I really don’t care about adjusting while listening, I care about the absolute ease of getting it right.

My Acos Lustre GST-801 VTA/FLY base is superbly made. (Micro Seiki MA-505 has the identical base) It’s movement, tolerances, remind me of my Thorens TD124 bearing (it was incredible tolerances).

Technics VTA/FLY EPA-B500 base is terrific, I just installed one for my friend’s SP-15

It is big, custom shaped hole, I prefer the GST/Micro base, IF it's larger diameter hole can be accomodated.

@elliottbnewcombjr , like I said, you can make any arm fit. Send me the arm board and the specs of the arm and I will make it fit no charge.

My comments are for your information. The intent s not to make you angry. A 911 is a better handling car than a Lincoln. More people will go for the Lincoln because they do not want a stiff, noisy car. 

Get a Kuzma 4 point 9. It is a Cayman. 

mijostyn

I'm not angry, that takes a lot. If you do not have personal experience with PD444, I have to ask, why respond?

Too bad we've lost Chakster.  He was  a PD444 maven.  I hope Putin didn't get him for his outspoken political remarks. More likely he is in Audiogon purgatory for selling stuff here or touting it here and selling it elsewhere.

The Technics B500 is a technical marvel, I agree, but it is so large as to defy mounting on many turntables.  As you say (Elliott) it requires a very large diameter mounting hole, just for starters.  So I would not recommend it unless you have taken all the necessary measurements to be sure it will fit. Until recently, I owned a B500 and two arm wands to go with it.  I sold it because none of the 5 turntables I currently use regularly could easily fit it. (Well, maybe one of them could, actually.)

Last I talked with chakster was a while ago on another forum but it was after he got put on hold in here.

Internet service was getting spotty in Russia and the government shut it down as the war unfolded. Have not heard from him since. No idea what is left on the internet web in Russia at this point unless it's done wireless somehow, the government controls all communication and news at this point. Our friend chakster is just another causality of this war. Hopefully someday we will hear from him again.

I miss his long and informative post.

BillWojo 

I miss chakster. I remembered, and looked at chakster’s system photos still here on the site

he had two Luxman PD444’s, my Acos Lustre GST-801 on one, a pair long and short of the JVC Victor arms.

Correction: 28mm hole is for a version of an arm without the VTA/FLY base. Both the Acos Lustre and MA-505, with same VTA/FLY base need a 38mm hole

@elliottbnewcombjr @lewm @billwojo

I speak to Chakster weekly and he’s good despite Mr. P. I miss him firing off at someone for being stupid.(usually me) I almost bought a second PD444 a few months back but decided to start a Japanese knife collection instead.  Got a Victor UA 7082 and 7045 from Chakster awhile back in pristine condition.  My Victor is back from JP and ready to roll. I’ll tell him everyone says Hi! He's doing well. 

that's great news, say a definite hello from me.

I speak to Chakster weekly 

good news

@knollbrent , I'm glad to hear that news. I wish he was back here as well. Miss his post. Tell him I said hello.

BillWojo

Will do everyone.