Hi Raul,
Thanks for your thoughts on the widespread use of ABEC9. Of great interest is the fact that that there are buyers who wish to supersede the Technics tonearm (excellent quality) on the new SL1200 with {insert as applicable} tonearm? Vandalism! :)
Sometimes, with gimballed, it came down to bearing quality and alignment. (Remember the Breuer arm?)
http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/03/12/2013/the-breuer-dynamic-type-5a-pickup-arm/
Moving on, it’s very common to see Forum questions such
as, “Is Product A Better Than Product B?”.
On this thread I’ve argued both merits and demerits of both
sets of products/methods. Examples of the above question could include “Is MM
Better Than MC?” or “Is Direct Drive Better Than Belt Drive?” or “Should MCs Be
Damped or Undamped?”. In each case there is no outright winner or global resolution,
much though everyone would appreciate that to be the case. Life would be simple
if it were.
I can understand that those engaged in the above topics sometimes
misguidedly expect a “winner”, as indeed they might do in this thread, but as you have
seen in the past it is not happening. The result is what we politely and affectionately
refer to as “debate”. ;^)
Gimballed tonearms have been in manufacture a long time to
the extent that they might be seen as the truer “soft option”.
To me, folk suggesting unipivot design/manufacture is “easier”
than gimballed is rather like saying that designing a pushbike is harder than
designing a gimballed tonearm because the pushbike has both gimballed bearings
and gears(!) ;^)
It’s meaningless because those concerned are trying to find their
own unique solution to a set of design problems.
In fact, many manufacturers will sub-contract the bearing
design and manufacture to an agency (Japanese companies are historically good
at this, as you indicated) after which it becomes an item on an assembly “tick
list”.
Who needs to pre-load and align bearings when you can get
someone better at it to do it for you? (to balance things up, Unipivot bearing
manufacturers can also get help if they need it.)
Being a Devil’s Advocate is hard work. ;^)
Best regards,
Bill
