Fidelity Research FR-64x

@lewm

Nelson Pass is one of the greats in modern audio design; I have long had curiosity about his First Watt products, but none of those amplifiers were powerful enough to run my Sound Lab speakers.

My situation is totally different, his F2J current source power amp was designed only for full range drivers and with my 101db Zu Audio Druid i have so much power that i use only10-20% of the volume control on First Watt B1 passive preamp. F2J has only 5 watt at 8 ohm, but my speakers are 16 ohm, so i think i have only 3-4 watts power with them. It’s nice to realize that with my speakers i can live with 3 watts or even lower. Class A circuits (no feedback), he made only 100 units.

@sampsa55

Good to hear you’re enjoying it. Have you tried other cartridges? How do you like it compared to other tonearms?

I think it’s a great combination, what i’ve noticed is the Stevenson alignment of FR-7f on FR-64fx tonearm when i set up pivot to spindle distance with Feickert protracktor on my LUX 444. I’m gonna play with it for a few weeks, then i’m gonna swap my FR-7f with Ortofon SPU Royal G mkII with Replicant 100, they are almost identical in settings of the arm. But i can not use any lighter carts on my FR-64fx, because i have one one counterweight (w-250) designed for superheavy cartridges (30-32g). I think i prefer this FR tonearm compared to Lustre GST-801 which was also very good.

Last night i decided to remove Luxman SUT and ZYX Headamp from the chain and connected FR-7f directly to my JLTi phono stage. I enjoyed the quality and with this combo i can turn the volume up a bit on my passive pre, i think my ex low power tube push-pull amp was not right for this combo. So with First Watt gear i can use very low output cartridges without thinking of the volume pot (when it was too high on tube amp).

I realized 1000k ohm loading was more pleasant for FR-7f than 100 Ohm or 47k Ohm. But i need more time to play with it.

@nandric 

The conclusion of them both was , in short, that FR-64 FX is a '' poor man FR-64 S ''.

poor me :)) 
appart from this review we know nothing about comparison between two models, beside the fact that FX is more flexible in term of effective mass and can be lighter when needed (but still can accommodate FR-7f or SPU). 

I just snagged the FR64S with original B-60 base. I hope its bearings/etc are in good condition. I’ve had my FR64fx for years on a SOTA, and it certainly doesn’t feel like a "poor man’s" version anything -- just a fabulous arm with Koetsu stones and the Ortofon Cadenza Bronze (it’s lower compliance than the higher-end Ortofons, which I think makes it a perfect match for the FR64fx). That said, I had to scratch that 64S itch because of its reputation with Koetsu. I’ll be pairing this with my Coralstone and Clearaudio Master Innovation.

For those with FR64* experience, what the heck headshells do you guys like? It seems difficult to find a top quality headshell that meets all the requirements (e.g. the Clearaudio one doesn’t seem to have a finger-lift??). I’ve got 3 original FR headshells, and they look cool but seem mediocre at best.

Also, what kind of alignment curves do you guys like? I have a Mint LP for FR64, but it was made for the SOTA and I cracked it trying to fit on the Innovation spindle (I know, I know). Also I’ll have the headache of getting an arm board made for that B60 base, getting the right spindle-pivot distance, etc...ugh!

poor man is ok with me ......with my FR 64 fx  I used a Grado cartridge that the guy I bought the arm from had mounted and what did I know.....not sure what Grado...black body with the JR logo. Thinking I paid $100 for it and new it would have been $200.
Many moons ago. I had a Hafler dh100 pre amp with phono.
A Hafler dh 220 amp driving Quad 57s that I bought for $700 from,as it turns out,Roy Harris   aka mr tennis .  According to my true audiophile cousin-of my- wife from whom I got the Haflers......I was 
very lucky that everything matched up. Not much more enlightened
today but have learned a little .....but what music I heard from it all
......a Pink Triangle turntable I got for $150....all this I'm repeating from earlier in this thread.....the arm was $150 .  Luck was with me.
   so now I spin cds happily on an Eastern Electric cdp, and my Pink and  Fidelity Research wait for the time I finally get up and get back
to spinning  records......one of these days. I am the op,so i thought I should jump in, but I'm keeping
a low profile in fear that my lack of knowledge and expertise will be exposed......and much respect to those here with the tech savvy ,
   I'm green with envy but it appears to be my lot in life. I never let it
stop me from enjoying the music .....  Hoping the response here will
give me analog inspiration once again . Lots of lps I'd love to hear again.