TT Arm-base Unipivot vs Gimbal-base Designs...


Any thoughts/insight on a single-point needle unipivot tonearm base vs a gimbal based design for turntables? Have you had both in your TT systems - what are your preferences and why? Pros/Cons...your own personal experiences?

- Function, quality of design, usability & ease of use, design purpose to actual performance - is there a notable difference? Does each system have inherent flaws - what are they?

 

Your insight is appreciated,

J

jmrrobbie1

My guess is, Unipivot arms works really nicely but to me it felt strange, to each their own. I did also try Linear Tracking TT’s but they were finicky at best on the low end. I will stick with my 1210 and it Jelco arm.

I have been able to be demonstrated many Tonearm Designs, not all in my system.

Many years in the past, through 'sat in front of ' experiences, I deselected many arms of interest and settled on the Gimble Designs as my Tonearms of interest..

Somewhere during this period, I again had been pro-active in achieving demonstrations of different Brands Gimbal Models and made my selection.

The discussion on Tonearms will prove to be endless, especially when 'flaws' are in the remit. 

I suggest experiencing both designs in use, and attempting to discover where the presentation is to be found, that is proving to be most attractive to yourself.

There will be plenty of suggestions for a Model, once there is a sureness brought about, as a result of discovering the design that is of most interest. The only limitation will be Budget and compatibility with other devices wanted to be used. There is plenty of subjective suggestion, that certain Cart's don't perform to their best when coupled with a particular Arm, and the same can be subjectively suggested that certain Arms struggle to reveal the most attractive performance  when coupled to a particular type of TT.

The selection of a Tonearm is only one piece, to create the Trilogy needed to replay recorded music on a vinyl medium. Ask how many are all using the Same Trilogy of Devices ?,   

Note: From the Poorest, through to the most Well Executed of designs, each are able to perform their role for the replay recorded music quite successfully. What really matters is the design that is most attractive in use to the end user, and how much they intend to spend on the pursuit of the most Well Executed of designs. There is a cut off point for any spend. The Budget for such a selection will need to range from approx' $300 - $60 000. In general a prudent purchase within a $1000 - $5000 range can offer a lot of attraction to a performance that can be achieved.   

A Cartridge and TT will also need to be accounted for as well, preferably ones that are known for being able to compliment each other.  

     

If you use Google, there are endless discussions on the advantages and disadvantages of each type of arm.  In the end, I think it comes down more to the design and execution of each type, rather than whether the arm is unipivot or gimbal.