Zeta on a Townshend Rock Elite, fitted with a London Super Gold.
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Well, if you have a lot of money the Kuzma 4 point 14 with an Air Tight PC1 Supreme. You you have a lot less money the Kuzma 4 point 9 with an Ortofon Winfeld Ti. Even less Money a used Syrinx PU 3 with a Clearaudio Concerto V2. There are others. This is just off the top of my head and combinations I have actually listened to or owned. |
My two favorite arms are Triplanar VII and Analog Instruments Siggwan, both used on a Galibier Gavia table. Behind them but still in the running is a Moerch DP-6 with 12” wand. Some other arms I have owned in the past that did not measure up to these three include: ET-2, JMW-10, PT-6, Grace 707, JH Formula 4. |
It is tempting here to just name favorite arms, but, I don't know if it helps in terms of identifying ones that sound dynamic and musical. I suspect that the terms "musical" and "dynamic" mean different things to different listeners, and any item that emphasizes an particular attribute of sound reproduction will sound good to some, terrible to others depending on taste and matching with the rest of the system. Those arms that sound distinctly more dynamic (to me, lively sounding) can tend to sound harsh or "jangly" in some systems. I suspect that lively arms are doing less to damp vibration and it is the resonance that causes emphasis of certain frequencies that make them sound more dynamic. Is that good or bad? That really depends on the system. An example of a lively sounding arm is the Naim ARO. In a lot of systems, it sounds notably more lively than other arms and that is a good attribute for systems that sound dead and bloodless. But if you already have a lively sounding system (e.g., horn-based system), it might be too much. |
From what I have owned/own in order of preference under 10K I feel that linear tracking arms provide the most musical performance especially when it comes to transparency and soundstage Thales Simplicity II Trans Fi Terminator 3 Triplanar VII SE Arms I would like to hear that I feel would be up with the ones above Thales Easy Kuzma 4 point 11" Reed 3P |
One of the greatest benefits of the Trans-Fi is its adjustability. Adjustments are precise and stable. What's the point of a wonderfully engineered product which can't be adjusted for optimum sound? Another great benefit is its tweak-ability. One can tweak the mass of the arm wand, the damping, and by supporting the other end of the beam, even the stability. I would love to hear a Durand in my system on my DIY air bearing table, but other priorities beckon. |
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I had a Trans Fi Terminator for a few years and It is a very fine sounding arm that you would need to pay a lot more for to get something better. I think It worked best with medium/high compliance pick-ups. I have a preference low compliance, high-mass, mc pick-ups and now use a second-hand Ikeda CR IT 407 mounted on a Merrill Williams 101.2. I have a (re-built by Ikeda aka ITT Industries) Ikeda Kai mc and the combination Is very musical, dynamic, and thoroughly enjoyable. For trying out charity-shop, second-hand vinyl, to see what's worth keeping, I have a Denon DL 103 mounted In a Musikraft body. A 17g Ikeda headshell gives too low a tonearm resonance so I have the Denon mounted In a 10g Yamamoto Ebony headshell. Actually the Denon DL 103 Is astonishingly superb In the Ikeda arm. If I hadn't got the Kai for a bargain price I'd be happy with the Denon. It tracks any record with no audible distortion. It Is dynamic and has very solid sound-staging. I'm of the opinion that the tonearm Is more Important the pick-up. The Denon, mounted In Ikeda arm would put to shame many, much dearer pick-ups, mounted in lesser tonearms.
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There are a lot of good and interesting arm recommendations made in this thread, but, as I said before, it is hard to attribute any particular qualities to the arm alone, particularly dynamics and a sense of being "musical." At best, one can say certain combinations of arm, cartridge and tables have these qualities as strengths (and someone may find those same qualities weaknesses). You could argue that an arm that can handle the demands of a Decca London cartridge is extremely dynamic because the cartridge sounds dynamic. The same could be said of an arm that optimizes the performance of a Van den Hul Colibri. Keep in mind that "dynamics" is determined by the particular table chosen. As a rough rule, tables with direct drive, idler drive and very high torque motors on belt drives tend to sound dynamic. While I am tempted to say that a lot of tables without a spring suspension also sound dynamic, but, there are plenty of exceptions to that rough call (e.g., a good Linn setup is quite lively sounding). Also, the kind of platter mat on any given table also affects the damping of vibration which greatly affects the sense of dynamics (the right mat is quite specific to each setup). |
I get confused with so many tonearms because it's a pointless thread! Comparing one tonearm to another on the same turntable with the same cartridge is not easy, probably the best way is to have two identical turntables and cartridges on two different tonearms connected to the same phono stage to make such test. Still not easy to tell which one is more musical, because a cartridge and arm must be matched very well. Then it's a system dependant and we're not a reviewers. What is good for me might be not good for somebody else in his system. It's like tubes vs solid state, conventional speakers vs. full range speakers ... etc. New toneatms vs vintage tonearms and so on and on |
Trans-Fi Audio´s Terminator T3Pro - analog audio´s most ridiculous bargain, back in the business and better than ever : ) Fits all kind of cartridges, from very low compliant 10 cu (like Entré-1) to highest compliant MM´s. As Terry says: Another great benefit is its tweak-ability. One can tweak the mass of the arm wand, the damping, and by supporting the other end of the beam, even the stability. Time to experience something new and totally different. Time to experience today´s technology and future of analog record play. Enjoy the ride |
I've heard the Eminent Technology ET1 and 2 (but not the 2.5) on many occasions, as well as the old Rabco (ancient history), the Goldmunds, Mapleknoll, Souther, and Versa Dynamics (oh how I lusted for that table/arm!). They were all, for their time, rather expensive. If one wants to try out a linear-tracker, the TransFi Terminator is cheap enough to take a risk on. |
I am pleasantly surprised at the versitility of the Spiral Groove SG2 turntable with the Spiral Groove Centroid arm. I've used a Lyra Delos and Stanton 881S with D81 Stereohedron stylus and Long Hair Brush installed. I was pleasantly surprised that the high compliance Stanton 30 x 10-6cm/dyne at 10Hz, performed exemplary in the Centroid arm. I measured (with a test record) 9Hz -13Hz lateral resonance and 10Hz -14Hz vertical resonance. That is pretty close to what I get with the medium compliance Delos (10-13Hz lateral resonance, 10-12Hz vertical resonance). The versitility of the arm "Balanced Force Design™ "...modal analysis places centroid at bearing point Counter-weight design minimizes moment of inertia by staying close to bearing 10" pivot-to-stylus distance". The representation of the music with either cartridge is stellar. |
@millercarbon well on my current table (EAR DiscMaster) over the past ten years I’ve owned it I’ve had an SME-IV, Triplanar VII, Wand+, Durand Talea and Durand Kairos. As it takes two arms at the same time it’s not hard to make comparisons. I’ll be getting a Durand Tosca shortly to replace the Kairos which should be an interesting comparison. Much although I like the unipivots I always have that nagging doubt whether they are en pointe, the Talea seems more stable so that I will keep, and hope that the Tosca retains the snap and dynamics I liked from the Durand unis (and much preferred to the Triplanar or SME) while adding some more heft 😉 |
Ha! Excellent! I knew some here would have done this. Not very many. But some. Still it shows how rare it is. Even a hugely experienced analog guy with a two-arm table, over ten years. Most never manage even to compare even two. Oh, they hear different arms- but on different tables. That's no comparison at all. Then even when you do get a valid comparison its not always easy to know quite what is due to what. My first arm for example was a Graham. The Origin Live Conqueror that replaced it is leagues better. But is that because the Graham is a unipivot? The Graham has a detachable arm want and uses an interconnect. So was it all the connections? I'm sure its some of each, and everything else. Then on top of all that they all have this habit of constant improvement. Some of these arms were different depending on when they were made. Oh well. At least we know they are all magic, each in their own way. |
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Here is my mid priced top 3 vintage tonearms i've been using on decks like Technics SP-10mkII, SP-20, and later on my Luxman PD-444 (with 20 different cartridges from MM/MI/MF to LOMC). |
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