Schroeder vs. Triplanar VII Sonic Differences

Ahhhh!! Now this show be a good thread! I am interested in both arms. Hope we can get some expert advice. Also it would be good to compare the DPS Schroder ($3,900) vs the Tri ($3,900).

I remeber reading in a thread that DougDeacon and his partner did some serious comparing between the two before settling on a Triplanar for it's ease of repeatable, cablibrated, adjustments. Hopefully he'll jump in with some insights.

And I'm pretty sure that the two arms squared off in two of the great cartridge shootouts. One was Doug's place(I think) and the other was in Denver(?).

Although, I truly love my Teres 255/triPlanar/XYZ Airy3S/SB/Trumpet w/S&B setups. I have to say, however, that I am somewhat confused by this mfg's. customer service or lack there of shall I say. Please read on:

About three months ago I bought the new TriPlanar VII from the very kind and thoughtful Mehran of SoraSound. After a tenacious set up, I discovered that I was missing the anti-skate weight and unable to finish adjustments. It was not until well after CES that I received the missing weight. Early in Jan. 06 I spoke to Tri Mai regarding the cueing mechanism and resulting drift from my new and latest edition of this tonearm, the TriPlanar VII. He offered to send me diagrams and his special tweak regarding the anti-skate defeat and alignment, which is supposed to help in this problem. A problem that has been addressed a few times here on AudioGon and AA. When I mentioned the simple fix discovered by Chris Brady of Teres Audio, he became irate and confided that he is not an engineer and no real ability to re-design the mechanism. Since, then I have spoken to several about this issue among them our very own Doug Deacon, who sympathized and was very interested in what Tri agreed to send me. Now, two months later I still have not heard a word from him, in fact, there seems to be no communications with him, at all. I mean he won't answer emails or even answer his phone in the past few weeks.

Now, here is a fine sounding tonearm that has an inherent problem that is not being addressed by the mfg., whose support and quality assurance seems to be less than stellar!! This is a concern to me as with the high prices of good vintage vinyl these days I shouldn't have to worry about ruining my investment in vinyl with an in-accurate cueing mechanism, not to mention the poor service I am experiencing from this mfg.

So, I ask again...What has happened to TriPlanar??
Will they going to take a responsible role in support, address the issues of quality control and offer an update to solve this cueing problem? I am now the second person I know of that received a new arm with missing parts. For me is the issue of the fine adjustments of my arm, I am still having issues with distortion, a symbalance in the right channel, which is maybe the result of the anti-skate adjustment or alignment?

Here I am still waiting after three months, what is going on here?

Aoliviero,

Cello, Teres, Thom Mackris and I have offered detailed sonic comparisons of these arms several times. A search should turn up those posts.

You asked some shrewd questions, which indicate you've already got a handle on the key differences.

Will a Schroeder deliver dynamics, punch, bass suited to Rock music?

Yes, absolutely. Frank Schroeder enjoys leading edge electronica. If his arm didn't rock he'd fix it.

But a TriPlanar VII will do it slightly better.

Will a Triplanar deliver natural, timbral accuracy?

You'd better believe it, at least with a top level ZYX. I'm spinning Solti's 'Siegfried' as I type, and Fafnir sounds as real as any dragon I've ever spoken with!

But a Schroeder Ref will do it slightly better.

Are both these arms suited to the same music?

Yes, depending on the cartridge.

IMO neither arm is "better" than the other. They are more alike than different, and either one's small differences could be preferred by certain listeners or in certain systems. Do you prefer Art or Science?

***
Like Diamond007, I'm distressed by the poor support from the current owner/builder of Herb Papier's wonderful arm. Improvements suggested by multiple owners are ignored. QC and consistency often fall well below standard for a product at this price point. Ship dates are missed. Communications from both dealers and owners go unanswered.

Two years ago I encouraged Mehran to carry the TriPlanar, thanks to its wonderful synergy with all the top ZYX cartridges. But if Tri-Mai doesn't get his act together he could destroy one of the finest products in the history of audio. Anyone interested should buy one before that happens. Assuming you get a fully working copy it could be the last arm you'll ever want or need.

Cello once asked Paul and me if we'd take a Schroeder Reference for our TriPlanar VII in a straight trade. We both agreed that we wouldn't. It's truly that good.

Doug

Andrew- I've not had the pleasure of hearing a Schroeder but I will tell you that one evening at Doug and Paul's, we listened to everything from country/bluegrass (Trio- Ronsdadt, Parton and Harris)to classical instrumentals, to classical vocals to jazz instrumental/vocal(Louis Armstrong). It all sounded stunning. I'm very disappointed about the support issues, because I passed up the opportunity to buy one used recently.