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Top 5 Tonearms Newer or Vintage Under 2500 That Will Beat anything above/below 2.5k?

From all your tonearm experiences trials errors comparisons etc is there a Top 5 tonearm list that are known for their musical superlatives in all music ranges and genres? including finer detail nuances feeling, 3d sound but also deep bass and midbass, basspunch. Airy highs. And importantly long hours listening without fatigue.
The criteria also to be met are easy setups for all angles vta vfa azimuth anti skating etc 
The Tonearm must also the ability to use more than just one or two cartridge compatibility.

Probable Turntables to be Used: Garrard 301/401, Lenco, Linn, Thorens 124, Technics 1100 1200 10 or 15. 

Heres the list i compiled of ToneArms to pick from.
Feel free to mention others.

  • Tw Raven, D Talea, Graham 2.2/phantom, Moerch, Origin Live, Vpi, 
  • AudioMods

  • Clear Audio, Stax, Rega, Technics 500/1000, Sumiko, Alphason, Black Widow, One unipivot, Saec, Clear Audio, Basis Vector, Triplanar

  • Origin Silver, Rega 9, Linn Ittok, Project, Technics 500/1000,
  •  Alphason, Audio Technica, Dynavector 507

    Grace, Mission, Grado, Ortofon, EMT, Thorens Tp,
  • ESL, Sme 3012, Sme 3009, Sme V, IV,

  • Schroeder, Kuzma, Eminent, Ikeda, Breuer, 
    Stax, Kenwood 007 arm, Sonys top Arm, Artemis
vinny55
lewm
13,107 posts
 
I think Raul is trying to say that the tonearm, per se, does not create these specific sonic qualities, that the tonearm always has to be considered in concert with the cartridge.  So, the better question is whether tonearm X can get the best possible performance out of cartridge Y.  (And of course, the table is the major determinant of rhythm, timing, and pace.)

Since this properly phrased question immediately tells us that there are hundreds if not thousands of combinations to be considered, the question itself seems open ended.  But I agree with Raul if he means to say that it is folly to describe a tonearm per se in the terms suggested by the OP.
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

Dear Lew, This is not the first time that you try to explain ''what

Raul is trying to say''.  Either Raul is no capable to explain what

he thinks or you know better what he thinks than himself.

However by ascribing some thoughts to him it is not clear what

your own are. Have you chosen your tonearms ''in concert with

peculiar carts'' or based on all kinds of sources available to you?

We usually assume many things as known because explicit

enumeration of ''arguments'' would be boring.

I already mentioned that this thread was confusing and used

the opposition between numerical (5) and universal quantors

as example. As is usual the case we got the chance to name and

praise our ''old beloved stuff''' + the new stuff. Raul used this

occasion to point out who according to him  is stupid and ignorant.

I assume that you wanted to save his...  as usual.



Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas
13,088 posts
 
Dear @lewm : Of course only a stupid does not understand that and follows posting. . My very first post in this thread I ask to the OP to disclose his home audio system with no answer yet.

Btw, what is a stupid person and an ignorant one ( at least for me. ): an ignorant person is whom in a specific subject has no knowledge about, I’m ignorant in several audio subjects.
A stupid person is some one that not only is ignorant but that not only " likes " to shows his ignorance levels but that does not has the " brain " to understand why he does not understand in that " subject " and follows showing his stupidity level: is a stupid person that’s different from an ignorant one like me.

The OP is not a stupid person but only a gentleman that has not yet the knowledge levles in the subject.

@ct0517 , please read the lewm post.

R.
folkfreak's avatar
folkfreak
1,349 posts
 
@2channel8 i used to own a Wand+. It’s a great sounding tonearm for the money and in my system outperformed an SME-IV. It definitely has a unipivot zip and liveliness that was what I was looking for. As with any unipivot it takes some attention to get the setup right and errors in setup will be very audible. I think the + model is the sweet spot in the line and the 10.5” length is also a great fit with most turntables. I swapped it out for a Talea when one came up used and that’s not really a fair comparison but at least tonally the Wand and the Talea share much of the same DNA
fleschler
2,012 posts
 
I am lucky to have had my SME-IV modified by the late Brooks Berdan.  He retrofitted the interior wiring with the then best Cardas wire and shot a closed cell foam into the arm wand to eliminate vibration.  Those two steps eliminated the mid-bass bump, making the sound linear from top to bottom.  Also, the horrible SME Din was replaced with an RCA junction box where I fit the finest low capacitance Grover Huffman phono cables to a Audio Interface SUT.   So, I vote for an SME-IV modified as being a top notch arm for the price.
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