Tonearm recommendation

Raul - you are correct in your comments about the dynamic balance mechanism ( which is a coiled spring ) used for setting the vertical tracking force. I have removed the dynamic balance mechanism from some tonearms and you can hear a cleaner sound with less distortion. Removal is hazardous and not for the faint hearted as it is imperative that the bearings are not disturbed.

I have a couple of FR64S’s - here are a few tips that may apply to the FR66 as well -
I use a combination of dynamic and static balance to set tracking force. Basically what I am doing is putting a minimal amount of dynamic force to load the spring to reduce noise in the mechanism and then use the counterweight to set tracking force ( static ). Typically for my Koetsu I would dial up between 0.5 and 1g of dynamic balance and then adjust the counterweight to bring the tracking force up to 1.9gm or whatever.

Optimising the counterweight ( I have multiple counterweights for the FR64S, each of different mass ) is also an effective tool with the FR64S. Optimising the counterweight/reducing the headshell mass and using a combination of static and dynamic balance can improve the resolution and speed of this arm quite substantially in my experience.

I have also made a metal jig to ensure that the FR64S's that I use are installed with a 231.5mm pivot to spindle distance. It is accurate to 0.1mm and this pivot to stylus distance recommended by Dertonam makes for a considerable audible improvement over the factory recommended 230mm.

The other tip I found quite by accident. My Final Audio VTT1 only has facility for 1 tonearm, and having owned a Platine Verdier as a second deck I decided to sell it as the performance of the Platine Verdier was so far below the Final Audio I never used the Platine in practise. So I made a cantilevered pod to mount a second arm on the Final. This was constructed from a laminated crosscut bamboo block and a panzerholz arm board. I chose these materials simply because I had them in my workshop and they are easy to machine at home. The main arm pod on the Final is a gunmetal cylinder and gunmetal arm board. When I mounted my FR64S on the panzerholz/bamboo pod the upper midrange sharpness was gone. There appeared to be no downsides. Previously I had mounted the FR64S on the gunmetal pod and the upper mid sharpness is exposed. With the removal of this resonance peak I can hear more into the midrange and seemingly more depth to the soundstage.

The only other comments I would make is that the headshell leads, headshell, arm board material, cable & setup make a massive difference in the perceived performance of these arms. I agree with ct0517 that the Dynavector ( I also own a Dynavector 501 ) is a flatter and more even response with most cartridges but the bass issues that he alludes to is his post with the FR64S can be easily dialled out with careful set up.

As others have noted in the thread there are better arms - I personally prefer my Eminent Technology ET2 linear tracker and Naim Aro unipivot but the FR64S is a very good match with the Koetsu range in my experience and "the best arm" can be variable depending on cartridge. For example the Naim Aro destroys the both the FR64S and Dynavector 501 with my Dynavector Karat Nova 13D ( medium compliance LOMC ). On the other hand the Koetsu’s sound fragile on the Naim Aro and I prefer the FR64S with the Koetsu even though I lose a little speed and resolution through the midrange.

In my view the FR’s design goal is to provide a stable platform for the the FR7 low compliance cartridges and Ikeda cantilever-less cartridges. I also own an Ikeda Kiwame - you need an arm with exceptional gimbal bearings and structural stability to get the best performance out of this cartridge. The designer has chosen to trade off other parameters such as high effective mass and in the case of the FR7 a suboptimal alignment in order to achieve the stability he requires for his cartridges. Isamu Ikeda eschews the use of unipivots and jewelled bearings for this reason.

Well, Raul is still writing his ringing nonsense like a broken record. The usual pain for brain. Old men never learn anything I guess. Buy some better electronics. You are not a perfectionist. You love yourself. That's the difference you never got. A time waster who never got the ability to combine the strengths of different designs. Stop declaring yourself as an expert. It is a slap into the face of everyone who tries to push the sonic curtain.

Syntax, I’m a bit more relaxed around Rauls posts. At the end of the day opinions are only in the context of the rest of the system and how well the gear is set up. I like the "distortions" in my system...I try to get them close to the distortions I hear at our local concert hall, not quite the poise and balance of the magnificient Berlin Philharmonie hall, but not too bad.
As far as the FR's go - I have found the set ups recommended by yourself and Dertonam been invaluable. The FR's are capable of going from 0 to 100 very much depending on how well they are setup. This is probably true of other much maligned gear - it is unfortunately a common audio hazard.

Dear syntax: It’s obvious that with your audio system you can cause impact to audiophiles that could think that a 300K-500K system must performs with the higher quality level ever we can dream.

I experienced not one time but four different times audio systems in that price range and at least in one the quality perfromance did not honored that high price.
In the other side I experienced in dozens of audio systems coming from as low 35K that belive it or not beats that megabucks systems and many of them are very near of those high price systems.

Dover, posted something very important: """ system and how well the gear is set up ... """ and I can add that if the system right set up is important it’s more important the right choices on each single link in the audio chain and this means the right knowledge audio/music level.

IMHO, if you use an all metal non damped tonearm in the analog rig it does not matters how and with which audio chain that tonearm is surrounded. The overall quality performance of that system will be poor due to that weak link.

The same is valid on each audio system link. TTs no exception and you like heavy impressive/good looking weight TT as many audiophiles but you forget that if it’s true that heavy platters helps in BD system to mantain in easy way spinning the platter we have to remember that that heavy metal platter ( it does not matters if it’s air bearing design. ) at the very first time it starts to spin that static mass is coverted in dynamic mass and starts to " vibrates " at micro levels but the cartridge is a very sensitive " microphone "/ vibrations detector and even if we don’t know it the cartridge knows about those vibrations generated in that heavy mass platters in any TT.

As this " phenomenon/curiosity " are all what I posted here and elsewhere that makes distortions.

That you like it is fine with me. I learned and you will sooner or latter. Knowledge level and not the money is what counts to have the best the audio system quality performance.

Knowledge level, skills, set up and some kind of money. In that order.

I know for sure the kind of distortions you like it ( your system speaks it self, I don’t need to listen it ) that are worst than mines.

Anyway, I still learned from this thread including your post. As I said, a thread is not a contest in between participants and exist no challenge or challengers but people like me trying to learn. Got it????


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Ps:  " I hope you can learn on what Dover posted:

"""" you are correct in your comments about the dynamic balance mechanism ( which is a coiled spring ) used for setting the vertical tracking force.... """, these are tghe kind of distortions you loved, good!. 

Dear dover: """   I like the "distortions" in my system..."""

I think that everyone likes " the distortions in each one system ". Now and trying to be constructive: in this thread and the one spéaking of tonearms longer than 12" I posted almost all my first hand experiences on the kind of distortions generated by those long tonearms or non-damped tonearms, I talked about specific distortions that today I can detect and I can discriminate between those distortions and music information.

The kind of distortions you are accustom or Syntax or Halcro or other gentlemans here I was accustomed for many years and is extremely dificult to " let it goes ".
I had and have success doing that when I learned to detect/discriminate the diferent type of distortions and very critical issue was that I gave enough time ( lñistening. ) to my brain to LISTEN  music with out ( well mantainning at minimum. ) those distortions.
For time I mean months of continuous listening daily sessions and in between making tests with the " old ditortions " till I was sure that those distortions were distortions. This long experiences makes that today I listen to lower distortions and more music information.

If you can't recognise some kind of distotions then you can't do anything about. Btw, it's more easy to do it with SS electronics that with tubes but I don't want to open an additional window for discussion on this topic.

The subject is not: I like my system distortions " but to know how those distortions sounds and if you like your system performance quality level with those detected distortions rthat is another matters.

I think that in this thread Dgarretson posted that he detected the tonearm distortions I'm talking about along the same type of sound through his SS electronics experiences.
The important subject is that " he KNOWS " and he accepted that likes those distortions. I think that he needs to give a longer time to the listenning with out those distortions.

Anyway, as you said mine is only an additional opinion.


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.