Looking for tonearm inspiration

Dear @knollbrent  : "  FR64fx is one of my favorites too..." 

Along the other FR and the 345 you own all FR/ikeda are perhaps the worst qualituy performance tonearm design ever ( yes, it looks fine but at least me I don't buy because the " look ".), I owned both FR and Ikeda ones.

Problem is that those designs are undamped/way resonant and second are balanced designs and just rings as a " bell " using a non-adequated mechanism to set the VTF ( @billwojo . )

You said you own the Lustre GST 801 that it's a balanced design using a rigth mechanism to set the VTF, this has a name: engineering and knowledge levels that Ikeda just has not or forgot it.

You own good vintage tonearms ( but the FR/Ikeda ) but instead of that PUA-7 you need the Sony PUA-237/282 and you don't own yet the best vintage tonearm ever: MAX 237/282.

Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS,
R.

Dear @tomic601  : No where but with the lucky owners that bougth it. In the past we builded specially to custom order and were custom made.

You can listen ( up-graded version. ) at my place in México but you can't get it.

If my Essential 3180 been today in the market with competition as the top of the line coming from FM Acoustics , Boulder, D'angostino,  dartZeel or the 4 chasis CH ( set you back: 90K. The Boulder 60K. ) and I named these phonolinepreamps because the Essential is a real challenge for any of them then its price will comes around say 50K ( at least. ).

If you want it even for higher price I'm not sure to be involved again on the manufacture again.

Thank's to ask for.

R.

The FR-64fx was the last generation of Fidelity-Research tonearms. Japanese classics, designed by Isamu Ikeda.

Important new features of the 64fx model (and this is where it’s different from previous versions):

-the armtube is a mix of materials with higher damping,
-the anti-skating mechanism is different,
-headshell is different,
-tonearm base is much better,
-stock counterweight is light,

Heavy counterweight (FR W-250) is optional.

Tonearm stabilizer nut (FR N60) is optional.

Here is my spare New Old Stock FR-64fx in original box.

P.S. @knollbrent I prefer PUA-7 over earlier 237 model which I sold NOS few years ago.

Micro Seiki MAX series of tonearms are overpriced, they are going for insane price in used condition and it’s better to buy brand new Reed 3p "12 inch than those old Micro MAX series, because they are $5k+

There are much more fans of Ikeda and FR tonearms than Micro Seiki MAX.

Also I can’t remember any person on this forum who can criticize FR or Ikeda tonearms on this forum, except for one user.

But read below what @opus111 posted about Micro Seiki MAX 237 and 282 earlier here

"... Having owed both Max 282 and 237 multiple times, I’d say it is one of the worst sounding tonearms I have heard. Bright and sterile would be the right words to describe the sonic character. I would’ve still kept them if they sounded half as good as they looked.

FR-64 sounds 10X better at lower used price." 

-opus111 

Interesting? I bet

Things could be that you are a tube audiophile 

No, I select amplifiers based on their ability to drive  the particular speakers to be used and the consequential sound quality of the COMBINED PAIRING.
Nobody in their right mind would try and drive Scintillas with tubes.

For home use the anti-skating must be set up equal to tracking force (less for advanced profiles). At least this is a basic recommendation, following this advice, if the tracking force is 2g then the anti-skating is about 2g too. If the tracking force is 1g then anti-skating is also about 1g. The higher the tracking force the higher the anti-skating? No?

This is a dangerous and wrong assertion,

Generally, antiskating required is a little less than the tracking force, but it is non linear and very seldom, if ever, 1:1.

Antiskating is correct when the cantilever is parallel to the groove at the tangent when the record is playing.