Tonearm recommendation

Hello all,
WOW !!!
First, thank you to all who have offered advice, opinions, or fact to this mix. I truly appreciate it.
First, since Raul questioned what my phonostage is, let me state my entire system so that everyone will realize that it is not limiting my observations.
Feickert Blackbird turntable
Fidelity Research FR66s or Jelco SA750lb 12 inch tonearm w/ TTWEIGHTS VTA adjustor and ISOKINETICS counterweight.
various headshells, all high end stuff including The Arche w/silver leads
Grover Huffman phono cable
Sonic Frontiers Phono 1 w/ SE+ upgrades
Geortz silver micropurl interconnects feeding a Stax SRM007tll
either Stax SR007Omega or SR007 earspeakers as my mood strikes me.
All power cords Silver Sonic Red Wave.

I think all of us can agree that this is a high resolution system capable of laying bare any differences in source material. In addition, I have a record collection that MF would probably cut his right arm off for. All the usual high quality re-issue stuff, plus approx 800 or so albums that are called " under 20 cuts ", all of which are one of the first 20 pressings off of the first stamper. Doesn't get any better. So, basically, the only limiting factors here are my ears or my brain ( and they are just that ).

Let's start with Raul's assertion that I had an ulterior motive and was not really seeking advice. Nothing could be further from the truth.

While my ears told me the FR66s was very superior to the Jelco, and to the JMW-10 I used to own, I still hadn't heard any modern tonearms to compare. My question was genuine, and I wanted to know the experiences of those who may have been fortunate to compare and could relate their experiences. So thank you to those ( Halcro and fleib ) who offered their unbiased opinions. Truly appreciated.

Raul, I'm sorry, but your IMHO stuff just doesn't cut it with the way you present it. Some of your opinions may have some merit ( can't say for sure, as I'm no EXPERT LIKE YOU, though I do have a pretty good set of ears ), but your attitude of " I know everything and everyone else is wrong " simply puts people off. I see absolutely nothing at all HUMBLE about your attitudes or your opinions. In fact, quite the opposite. So please stifle it and don't post anything else on this thread. Your attitude is destructive, not constructive. I won't speak for anyone else, but I, for one, don't want to hear any more very biased unsubstantiated nonsense from you.

I asked for some empirical data because I was hoping that it actually existed. Frankly, I'm a little surprised it doesn't. It would have been nice to see if certain tonearms did actually exhibit higher distortion mechanisms or frequency response aberrations due to material resonances.

If anyone else has anything positive to throw in the mix, please, let's have it. While I'm strongly leaning towards keeping the FR66s  and selling the Jelco, hell, you never know.

Last, quite a while back I remember a thread that I think was titled " Old Skool Tonearms ". It's gone now, but if I remember correctly it was a treasure trove of truly useful info that I would dearly love to lay my hands on. I printed it out once back then, but I can't find it. Anyone got it house who would be willing to forward it my way. I'd be glad to make you some CD's for your trouble. I've got a lot of really good music on my hard drive.

As Raul is wont to say ( and this is not being sarcastic, as I agree with him completely )

Cheers, and Enjoy The Music !!

Crazy Bill

Fleib,
Raul and Detonarm had almost constant disagreements about tonearms and cartridge geometry years ago.
Raul had proudly announced he had designed a new tonearm which was to debut at CES 2013.....we are still waiting.
Detonarm (Deitrich Brakemeier) has since gone on to start Acoustical Systems which produces cartridge alignment jigs and products used by Reviewers and professionals the world over, as well as ingenious headshells, tonearms and cartridges.
They have just released images of a new state of the art turntable costing 1/2 million dollars....😱
So while one True Expert Audiophile has gone on to acclaimed success on the back of his undisputed knowledge....the other pretender wallows in ignorant self-adulation....🙈💩

Halcro,

Thanks for the update.  I have enjoyed this thread.

You're welcome Bob,
By the way wrm.....I've listened to that very Denon cartridge
http://i.imgur.com/G7J76w5.jpg
with the FR-66s
http://i.imgur.com/FLmn1Jx.jpg
and as Fleib suggests.....it is a sweet combination..😎

Dear fleib: That Audio magazine review ( and exist many similars. ) tell us the importance to have a well damped tonearm because with the Technics " disconected " damping mechanism Pisha listen tracking problems/distortions and was till he " switch on " that mechanism when he was surprised the effectiveness about and where the cartridge shows it at its best.

I think that you have a misunderstood on what I'm  explain it here or I did not explain it in the right way.

Forgeret about that resonance frequency theory and analize only the facts on  playback.

" It does not matters " the cartridge compliance and tonearm effective mass if you have a well damped tonearm design.

Btw, I have to rectify on the Micro Seiki 237/282 because is not all metal design, is not 12" but shorter ( its flag  ship model in japan was the 237 not the 282. ) and is well damped. Good design against the " terrible " SAECs and FRs.

In those all times when some one in japan ask to a japanese audiophile which was his preference and why between SAEC and MS tonearms the audiophiles gone through the SAEC because they said " is more alive ".
That " alive " touch are in reality not music information but the distortion touch of the SAEC bad damped and ringing bearings against the the MS with lower distortions.

problem with persons like you and many many other is that are not trained ( self trained ) to discriminate  those additional subtle distortions exited and out of control because those undamped heavy metal tonearms and that " alive/power " are not but distortions and not  real music information.

In the last 36 hours I received  several emails asking why to bother about low frequencies that we can't hear and that almost all audio systems can't reproduce:

well, any resonance has fundamental frequency where happen that resonance ( it does not matters where it comes. ) and that means that at the same time that is happenuing are created its harmonics exactly as the harmonics in the music and that's why those " distortions " always affect all the listening frequency spectrum and we have to take in count that those " distortions " happen all over the frequency range not only at 8 hz or 20 hz but at 3 khz too ( for whatever reasons. .

Non damped tonearms only increase that minute to minute " phenomenon ".

Got it ?


Fleib, any thread is not a contest so please don't try to beat me because a thread is a whole opportunity for all of us to learn. A thread is not who is right but what we can learn.

Appreciated your attitude about. We need your contribution and if your contribution was what is in those posts, that's ok. for me.


Btw, I know exactly what I'm talking about. Is very dificult for any one of us to have a dialogue when exist diferent levels of ignorance in between persons. My level is high and I know it.

regards and enjoy the music,
R.