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
dover: """   do you have right now on hand the 505?

If yes just try Baerwald or Löfgren alignment changing the P2S distance from Stevenson. Then listen and listen in between ( B, L and S alignments. ) and return here to share your experiences there.

If not, your post is useless and futile this time. """

That's what I posted and ask to you looking for your in focus/precise answer or answers and this is what you answered:


"""  You are wrong again.
I own a Dynavector DV501 ....."""


I can't see why I'm wrong because I'm not saying you don't own a Dyna tonearm and things are that you own the 501 that shares exactly the same geometry design than the 505. Where is the problem because my question was very specific for the 505 or the 501 that is similar.

Instead to give a in focus answer your first sentence was trying to disregards ( as always with no single real contribution. ) mine but things are that in that same sentence who is wrong is you. Go figure!

Now, instead to say something in direct reference to my questioning post you followed your starting sentences with a " history/tale " that has no apparent reason to do it other that try to justify your self in some way ( what did you try to justify with that " tale "?. ). Has no sense to me that history that I really don't care because don't gives  any " light " in my questioning to you.

Never mind, I really don't care about your answers about because you have no real and serious answers.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
chakster, with apologies to the OP for this sidetrack I will offer arm suggestions specifically for high compliance cartridges as all were introduced during their peak popularity (no particular order).
-  Infinity/ADC
-  Mayware Formula IV or others in this series (I adapted one to an AR-XA table)
-  SME 3009 Series III

Dear kirkus: I agree on the STAX build quality level. 

I never like me the cartridge quality level performance using the manufacturer alignment specs and if I remember I used Baerwald with better results.

Something in your post that hold my attention was and is:

"""  and it also sounds great with an integrated-style headshell for B&O cartridges (MMC20CL .... """


I respect your opinion and I never mounted my same cartridge sample by B&O in the STAX but I did it in at least other 4-5 arms and always with a degraded sound quality level against the same cartridge mounted directly in a universal headshell.
That plastic headshel type used with the 20CL is more or less the same concept for some of the Acutex models and I experienced the same disappointment with: sound degraded quality level.

Good that you share same opinion about the critical importance of accuracy on tonearm and cartridge set up alignments.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.





Dear fleib:  """   It's good you gave opinions on some arms. """

I already gave my opinion about tonearms for wrm0325. What other kind of tonearm opinion you are refering to?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.


Dear analogluvr: I posted that it will be useful to know which cartridges and which audio system to evaluate quality bass response.

It's desired that for that overall system bass management evaluation one of the audio system links be a pair of active subwoofers wired in true stereo fashion, that the system electronics link be SS using cartridges with not only flat frequency response but very good trackers and natural tone and wide separation between channels with no bias to any frequency band preferences and with very well damped tonearms and TT.
Yes, sounds as we need the " perfect " system but we really don't need a perfect one but one that at least goes in that " road ". We need an overall low distortions system.

In the other side that the tracks used for the evaluation we choosed ( between other things. ) because we own the digital counterpart too. IMHO to evaluate bass quality level a digital counterpart is a must to have.

Of those tonearms you named I don't know nothing of the SME 3: I own/owned the IV/V/3009/3012. The unipivot for this evaluation is no real contender ( at least that model. ). The one I heard but never did that bass evaluation was the MS that is a good vintage tonearm.

As you can see it's not easy for any of us try to make bass management evaluation and probably the hardest frequency band to evaluate.

Btw, I already posted that the ET-2 is an audio icon in the audio industry history. Good, for you.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.