Here is what you should know as basis for an arm decision
Absolute “must have” mechanical adjustments for a SOTA arm!
1) Micrometer arm height adjustment that has index marks for VTA/SRA.
Index marks are needed to ‘fine tune”, and go back to a previous
setting, when the last setting was better.
2) Fine azimuth adjustment with index marks. Azimuth is as important as VTA/SRA, for sound quality.
3) Internally damped arm tube, and adjustable external fluid arm damping.
4) Anti-skate adjustment, including no anti-skate option.
5) Fine tracking force adjustment with index marks. For ease of
adjustment, azimuth setting should not need to be reset when tracking
force is changed.
6) Adjustable head shell cartridge position (arm pivot-to-spindle
distance,and stylus contact angle) for desired horizontal alignment.
Straight non-pivot arms also need proper cartridge alignment (if off,
they will be off through out the entire record). They also may have
equal left-right channel sidewall force issues as the arm moves across
the record, depending on the type of arm movement mechanism, IMO.
Tuning the arm by ear is “subjective”! Set for the listener’s sonic taste, as to what playback sounds best!
Electronic amplification, and the cartridge, must be “settled in”
(warmed up) before adjustments are made. Play a few Lps before “fine
tuning” any adjustments. Keep the stylus clean.
Incremental, “very fine” adjustments, over long term listening, with many Lps is necessary.
The optimum setting is always within a very small “window”.
Certain settings affect, other settings, that may need to be re-adjusted.
Listen for sonic changes as you make incremental adjustments, back and forth, as “clues” for the best setting.
Optimal setting are not for one record, but for the “mean” of all your Lps IMO.
Stylus mounting position may be slightly off (even on the most expensive cartridge), and this needs to be taken into account.
Adjustment for each Lp is “madness’, time consuming, and interrupts the
enjoyment of repeated playing during long listening sessions IMO.
When all adjustments are complete 80% of your Lps will sound at their
best, the remainder very good IMO. I throw away bad recordings, why
waste time listening to crap?
Not every record is well recorded, or will sound great, even with the arm properly set up.
Cartridge suspension break-in and settling over time, and stylus wear, requires arm re-adjustment.
Resistor loading, arm cables, and step-up transformer, gain and
impedance (if used), are also big factors in getting best sonics.
Some VPI arms, Graham, and most all TriPlanar arms meet these requirements.
SME arms and many other arms do not, and are not SOTA IMO.
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Good job, Don. You, at least, give a basis for how to set up the arm/cartridge. Some of that information can only be gathered by someone who has actually done a good job at the set up. Earlier, someone quoted that bass below 100hz was mono. I had always thought or read it was lower(60 or 40hz?) |
Dear ct/chris: I know what you mean. I already experienced the Kuzma too and things for me does not changes yet.
I be staying with pivoting tonearms, for me that mechanical grounding makes a difference in the more important frequency range in a home audio system: bass range. In the other side seems to me that we need some kind of friction at the tonearm bearing to" fight " in better way against all the LP imperfections: excentricity, waves and the like. Just an opinion.
Air bearing TT are not better on that regards but here there are other variables.
Anyway, you was clear on the subject and I think that for me is enough about tangential tonearms, but that's only me.
Regards and enjoy the music,
R. |
mmakshak
Earlier, someone quoted that bass below 100hz was mono. I had always thought or read it was lower(60 or 40hz?) mmakshak That was a linked quote from Frank Schroeder. I took it to mean as a guideline. In talking with engineers this number will vary depending on the situation. Don_c55 imo - theory will only take you so far in this vinyl hobby. For me personally I have heard "lesser theory" designs outperform "better in theory" designs. Its comes down to personal knowledge and setup. Better designs have more potential. i.e. If we start with your first theory point. 1) Micrometer arm height adjustment that has index marks for VTA/SRA. Index marks are needed to ‘fine tune”, and go back to a previous setting, when the last setting was better. The last setting will always be better, if it was the one done with the cartridge alignment protractor. :^) We have already discussed here how all tonearms except one, will throw out the alignment with VTA/SRA changes.When making VTA/SRA changes you should reset alignment. Rauliruegas
In the other side seems to me that we need some kind of friction at the tonearm bearing to" fight " in better way against all the LP imperfections: excentricity, waves and the like. Just an opinion. Raul fwiw - there is a damping fluid trough which is used with a paddle. Regarding your comment on friction - one can adjust the arm so that there is some friction ....if that is what you want :^) During the arm setup you just offset the alignment a touch along the straight line. The limitation with the arm is if some one likes to play bad ass records. Severely eccentric records with runouts of greater than 1/8 inch. Nobody here is like that, right ? Even Bruce recommends in the manual to use a low mass pivoted arm if you like to play records like this. Happy listening |
Just now I read Raul’s invitation to add memories of his visit to San Diego. I don’t have any special qualifications for that other than possibly being the only one from that group who still participates on Audiogon.
We are fortunate here that we have an active club, the San Diego Music and Audio Guild. The MAG has provided a way to meet many other local hobbyists and with that, many solid friendships have been formed. It was one of those members who was instrumental in inviting Raul to visit us during a US tour, and to call together a smaller group of individuals to meet with him. As I recall there was a core group of about six of us.
Over the days of his visit we met at one another’s homes so had great exposure to a few very different systems and the opportunity to discuss our impressions of them. They varied from HE speakers driven by SET amps to multi-way floor standers driven by hundreds of watts. Both analog and digital sources were utilized. Also Raul brought along his newly developed preamp which we had the chance to audition in some of those systems in direct comparison with the owner’s preamp. My system was one of those, although it is completely different today.
My major point though are my impressions of Raul. As I’ve posted previously I found him to be a very considerate, knowledgeable, and polite gentleman. He was able to contribute many insightful comments on the various systems, always doing so in a constructive way. So I consider it unfortunate that so many harsh words have passed here in response to some of his posts.
Just the same, I believe I can understand some of this criticism. Many of Raul’s comments come off as condescending. I didn’t find that in our face to face discussions but some of his writing appears that way. So why is that? Again I’m not an expert, but I do have some suggestions. First, English is not his native language and I’ve read multiple times where his word choice or expressions may not convey what I think he may intend. Second, you need to understand his degree of enthusiasm and commitment to musical reproduction and enjoyment. I think that leads to over-long replies and posts. He easily gets carried away when a simpler statement or description might serve better. Third, I suspect he spends so much time with those lengthly posts that he does not take time to review and edit them before submitting. Otherwise he might shorten or clear up points which may be misconstrued. And fourth, it could be a matter of style. I found Raul to be open to learning, sharing, and not condescending, but I can see where some of his knowledge and enthusiasm to share that comes off in ways that many ’Goners find offensive.
And now, back to tonearms. ;^)
Peace. |
