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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
ct0517's avatar
ct0517
2,041 posts
 
Fleib - The benefit of eliminating solder joints is overrated IMO.

Again an opinion with no cards showing.  Fleib this Poker Game is no fun when you show no cards. I like to learn. A shot of your table - top view (would be nice) along with the room showing speaker placement. Unless like the OP you listen with headphones. Then you don't need to show the room pic.

Someone pls let me know when Fleib decides to post a virtual system for us, so we can understand and learn why he says why he says.     

hasta la vista - you can find me on the speaker forum.
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
The different alignment jigs are design choices.

Do you want minimum error at the inner grooves, with slightly more overall?

Do you want the "minimum average" across the whole side with sections of the Lp slightly greater?

What error curve across the Lp do you want?

NO ALIGNMENT WILL SATISFY EVERYONE!

fleib
1,124 posts
 

Ct0517,

About the James Bond Maneuvers theme song, is it Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"?

I have 6 tables and 7 arms in various states of modification and functionality. All the arms are conventionally wired and the cables are shielded, so there's nothing to see.  When I rewired my Sonus Formula 4 I made the same choice as Griffithds. It has a 5 pin DIN on the bottom of the pillar. I don't use the original cable.

Nice exit, BTW.

Regards,

griffithds
852 posts
 
Flieb,

To answer your question as to how the arm re-wired by Discovery Cable is working out.  I honestly could not be happier.  It was discovered (no pun intended), that the Lustre had been re-wired by a home DIY'er with poor soldering skills.  Big improvement in soundstage depth and 'air'.  Removed the Silver wire and went with his ofc wire.  Biggest surprise of all was that it was done in a 1 week turnaround.  Also made a few small changes that I requested and did it for no charge.  Highly recommenced!
Regards,
fleib
1,124 posts
 

Griff,

Glad it's working out. Any thoughts on its relative quality, or too soon for that?  I know you like the Victor 7045.  What other arms, if any, do you favor?

In the late '80s/early '90s my ex business partner had a Goldmund Reference.  I spent a lot of time at his house. Fabulous table, and he designed a set-up jig for the arm, but I think the arm was outperformed by the ET. The Souther, later bought by Clearaudio, seemed better with MCs than it should. It was often paired with the Veritas cart and I suspected the low frequency resonance reinforced the bass. Synergistic distortion?  Never heard the Trans Fi or other air bearings.

Soldering tonearm internal wire can be challenging. It's easy to mess up. Hell, stripping the wire can be a challenge. Some techs burn it off and clean the carbon residue. Feasibility depends on insulation type.  The Sonus now has 1877 OFC. My tech did the rewire job. He's a lot better at soldering.  The Sonus is an interesting arm. It looks like a Mayware Formula 4 on steroids.  Stock, it's 4.1g eff mass. I have a custom headshell that takes it a little past 5g. 

Regards,


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