SAEC Making Tonearms Again!

Dear @neonknight : When I said " stay away from SAECs " I'm not saying is a bad arm but against the 250 seems to me looks as an inferior performer.

Knife-edge tonearm bearing is the exeption and ask you why the 99% of tonearm designers choosed a different bearing design than knife-edge.

As I said the 407/506/8000 are extremely well made with a very high quality excecution, no doubt about and are second to none in this regards but this build quality does not means the tonearm is a " stellar " one because it's not.

@l, I don't think SAEC made any changes because they already had evrything to build it as the original but exist the posibility that they did it. As you said we have to wait. Now, the SAEC problem is not about its choosed alignment parameters, its problem is deeper than that. As you know you can make any kind alignment you choose with any tonearm.l

R.

The real downside of the SAEC tonearms is the ceramic headshell which must be the absolute worst choice of headshell material ever imagined....
Though they still command outrageous prices (if you can find one).....this work of the 'devil' will make every cartridge sound like fingernails being dragged down a classroom blackboard.
If you have a wood-bodied cartridge like the Clearaudio Virtuoso.....you can just about listen without feeling discomfort.

It's easy to eliminate this problem by simply selling the ceramic shell and using a good after-market headshell like the Yamamoto HS-4 Carbon Fiber.
It's easy to twist the cartridge in the headshell to re-set for any geometry one chooses.

Those beliefs are reasonable Lewm...

@rauliruegas  I wonder why our experienced member and collector of the tonearms posted this:  

The SAEC 506/30 was designed to be used with 10" and singles only. It’s geometry does reflect it. 
-Dertonarm   

As far as i know SAEC 506/30 is a professional tonearm, so what i tried to explain is why in the professional industry (radio broadcast) singles ("7 inch vinyl and "12 inch EPs) are more inportant than LPs. 

 

Dear @chakster : "  so what i tried to explain is why in the professional industry (radio broadcast) singles ("7 inch vinyl and "12 inch EPs) are more inportant than LPs. "

whom said is more important?. It's not, for an audiophile LP are the important subject.

Radio stations needs are way different than a home audio system at our  places.  As audiophiles we are looking always for " the best " the best quality performance levels when in a radio station they are looking to other issues: why the Denon 103 for broadcasting? it's a rugged cartridge spherical  stylus tip because they do not needs more quality level they only need that can sounds at decent level and that's all. Sp-10s were designed for broadcasting: they needed fast star up and fast stop too, speed stability, etc. but they did not needs a special plinth to avoid resonances/vibrations as we need in a home system. Different needs that's all.

Broadcasting is not the reference for we audiophiles as in the same manner recording engineers can't be a reference for audiophiles and only if they are true audiophiles we can take it as reference.

R.

@rauliruegas you’re right, but the SAEC 506/30 is a professional tonearm, audiophiles are not a part of the pro industry, professional used to be meant for broadcast in the 80s. In the broadcast industry nobody cares about LPs, singles are made especially for radio deejays and for promotion of the upcoming LP albums. Making professional tonearms SAEC or any other respected manufacturers must take in count the media format of the PRO industry and no wonder that special geometry applied for this specific format of the records (they are smaller than LPs). I think this is what our member (dertonarm) pointed in his comment many years ago.

Maybe SAEC 506/30 consumers in the 80s were not the hi-fi enthusiasts (private individuals), but the professional broadcast studios (special market) ?

For example here is Technics SL1000 MKII P ("P" = Professional)
There is a build-in balanced preamp Technics SH-10U
professional version of the EPA-100 tonearm (EPA-100P) or even the best EPA-100mkII as an option.

The cabinet is definitely not the best, but the whole concept reminds me EMT turntables, i think they are highly regarded among the audiophiles and price for them reflect it pretty well. Same about Denon broadcast decks.