Phono Stage upgrade to complement Dohmann Helix One Mk 2

@mijostyn 

Just to clarify:  the LP test record has a track with various frequencies, and when the frequency that is played causes the stylus warble, that's the resonance frequency?  (and each change in frequency is annoted on the LP?)

I personally only listen to acoustic/classical/jazz music, and the bass provided by the SoundLabs is just perfectly realistic:  just enough vibration from the tympani, double bass, etc.  (I also prefer a naturally aspirated 911 to a turbo!)

Yes, as you know I purchased the CH Precision P1/X1.  Just out of curiosity, it would be interesting to compare the CH Precision to the Channel D, but I don't know that it would be any better.  Once you get your new driveway and Channel D, let me know, and we'll have to find a way to compare them!  

Mijo wrote, "A given cartridge is going to require an arm of a given effective mass." My only point was and is that the cartridge and the mounting hardware ARE part of the effective mass of a functioning tonearm, their mass must be included if you use the equation for resonant frequency.  An atypically heavy cartridge, like some of the Benz cartridges and others, can add ~10g and more to effective mass, turn the 17g Schroeder into a 27g effective mass, because of course the mass of the cartridge is directly on top of the cantilever/stylus. (That's assuming that Schroeder makes no allowance for the cartridge weight when they state the EM of the CB tonearm at 17g.)

@lewm , quite correct. You have to factor in the weight of the cartridge. The single best way to do that is by measurement. If the resonance frequency is off, too high, mass can always be added. This is the advantage of having an arm on the light side. It is much harder to remove mass from a heavy arm. The Schroder arms have cartridge mounting plates of three masses and counterweights of three sizes. They can be adjusted for just about any cartridge. 

@drbond, the CH is a fine phono stage. It is not the Channel D Seta L20. I have a naturally aspirated 911, a Speed Yellow C4S.  You only drive around at 40 mph. I prefer 100 mph. Above that in New Hampshire is classified as reckless driving which takes speeding to a whole other level legally. You would still benefit from a proper subwoofer array, just not as much as someone who listens to Metallica at 100 dB. It is not just the added bass but the lower distortion everywhere else. Any bass note in a full range speaker is going to Doppler distort everything else the driver is trying to reproduce. If you can see the diaphragm moving it is Doppler distorting all other frequencies. I have observed naked ESRs on numerous occasions. You can see diaphragm excursions up to about 100 Hz. Which is where I cross over to subs. Even at 100 dB you can not see my diaphragms move. The difference in sound quality is exceptional. 

Where do you live? 

Or you can come to my house and hear great bass response from a pair of 845PXs with no subwoofers. ESLs don’t “hate” bass. They are hampered by diaphragm to stator spacing, bias voltage, panel size, and phase cancellation. And by amplifiers.

@mijostyn @lewm 

So, it sounds like all three of us have SoundLab ESL's!  That's quite unusual.  Insofar as bass in SoundLabs is concerned, I would have to agree with @lewm .  I've had the Atma-Sphere MA-2's hooked up to my speakers, and while the sound is quite pure, and the mid-range is perfect, they do have difficulty producing bass in the speakers.  It seems that the SoundLabs perform very well without subwoofers with my amplifier.  But, it appears we are veering off topic. . . 

Unfortunately, we live in opposite poles of the country, as I'm in Florida, so I don't know that we'll be able to compare components easily.  

@mijostyn 

Does that track for resonance frequency on the Test LP inform you which frequency is being played; if not, how is it determined which frequency the stylus is vibrating to? 
Thanks.