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Tonearm recommendation

Hello all,
Recently procured a Feickert Blackbird w/ the Jelco 12 inch tonearm.
The table is really good, and its a keeper. The Jelco is also very good, but not as good as my Fidelity Research FR66s. So the Jelco will eventually hit Ebay, and the question remains do I keep the FR66s or sell that and buy something modern in the 5-6 K range. My only point of reference is my old JMW-10 on my Aries MK1, so I don't know how the FR66s would compare to a modern arm. So I'd like to rely on the collective knowledge and experience of this group for a recommendation.

Keep the FR66s, or go modern in the 5-6K range, say a Moerch DP8 or maybe an SME.

Any and all thoughts and opinions are of course much appreciated.

Cheers,      Crazy Bill
wrm0325
lewm
12,845 posts
 
Dear Raul,
I am deliberately trying to stay out of the "debate".  (Perhaps you prefer that word to "argument".)  I take no sides.  I am just trying to figure out how one could shed some light on the discussion by actual experimentation.  Therefore, do not assume that I disagree with you or that you need to convince me of anything.  I think both sides have valid points, which is what makes this interesting. (There I go again; I used the word "sides", which implies argument.  But it does seem that there is at least disagreement here.)

Several more knowledgeable engineer types have urged me to invest in a sound card that is compatible with my computer, rather than to buy a stand-alone spectrum analyzer.  I am shopping now.
lewm
12,845 posts
 
Fleib, I've got one of Dertonearm's UNItractors.  With it, I got him to make me a template for aligning my FR64S. I am aware also that he recommends 231.5mm for P2S.  What I don't readily understand is why the difference between 230mm and 231.5mm would make such a difference to performance, assuming that both afford two null points on the surface of an LP, which is the best anyone can do, regardless of geometry.

dover
2,229 posts
 
Fleib - 
There was a discussion on FR64 geometry earlier in this forum. I use Dertonams recommended geometry outlined here -
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/the-pivoted-arm-experiment-is-over
There is also a valuable discussion on geometry at it relates to various arms and records here -
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/uni-protractor-set-tonearm-alignment
Both these threads are well worth reading.
The general consensus from FR64S owners was that Dertonams recommendation of 231.5mm pivot to spindle was beneficial. If I recall you would expect a reduction in tracking error; I think that his theory was also based on a reduction in break torque.

Dertonam has created his own nulls (UNIDIN) based on the records in his collection. They are available with his Acoustical Systems Smartractor alignment tools.  As you would know the optimum null points in an ideal world would be chosen based on your record collection. eg. a classical collection from the 50's/60's with a small runout groove vs a vintage jazz collection with a longer run out groove.

As I don't have the Smartractor I am using his recommended 231.5 pivot to stylus distance and the Dennesen protractor which uses Baerwald. This was Dertonams recommended protractor prior to his own.

I have compared the 2 P2S alignments with several cartridges in the FR64S including the Dynavector Karat Nova 13D, Koetsu Black, Victor X1 (original with beryllium cantilever/shibata tip, Denon 103D, Ikeda and in all instances I get a more natural sound, much larger soundstage and increased transparency within the soundstageusing the 231.5 P2S.


     


fleib
1,124 posts
 

Lewm, Dover, I assume this is the UNI-DIN alignment I read about (Fremer?). Nulls at 66.3 and 112.5mm. If you hunt down the article you'll see the curves for alignment error. It looks pretty good. I'm reluctant to call alignment error, distortion. Unless/until someone correlates alignment error with a master type source and a distortion analyzer, I think the use of the term distortion is misleading. Some people throw this word around who clearly don't know what they're talking about.

I don't have an FR arm and I haven't read the past threads.  It's a little hard to imagine how or why increasing mounting distance 1.5mm would make a significant difference. The only thing I could come up with is a miniscule reduction in offset angle. I believe perception of differences is sometimes fueled by anticipation and expectations, although I'm not saying that is the case here. It could be that Jupiter aligned with Mars and Dertonearm is the 7th son of a 7th son born on a blood moon (whatever that is).  Don't take offense here, I'm a sarcastic type.

It's interesting to note, the factory nulls minimize inner groove problems with that null being close to the run out groove. The outer null is close to Baerwald.  UNI-DIN moves the inner null out near Baerwald, and 112.5 puts the outer null in closer than Loefgren(B). I think this minimizes error in the center of the grooves where error is highest.

Dover, VE has a free protractor called Chpratz. It's just a calibrated straight line. With it, you could experiment with different alignments, although it's not easy to set up like a Dennesen.

Regards,

Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas
13,002 posts
 
Dear shubert: México.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
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