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FR64S tonearm overhaul

I just bought a nice Fidelity Research FR64S tonearm off Ebay to have a second vintage arm for my SPUs and maybe a few FR cartridges in the future. The arm is in great condition but still has the original copper wiring.

I am looking to refurbish the arm myself and was thinking about rewiring it with Ikeda silver and a new Cardas DIN plug. Does anyone have experience with the sonics of silver vs. copper wiring in the FR arms? What other things should be replaced and where can I source the parts?
latinsamba1
nandric's avatar
nandric
4,086 posts
 

One need to first remove the round covering plate on the VTF

adjuster to get access to the inside of the arm. Then the aluminum

scale on the arm shaft need to be removed in order to get access

to the 3 screws one of which holds the Din 5 connector. Ikeda used

some kind of ''weak glue'' for both but the aluminum scale is more

easy to remove than the mentioned covering plate. Scratches on

the covering plate are easylly made while those reduce the value

of the arm. This work should be done by an expert like ''our''

Dertonarm . Alas he was ''priceless'' before in metaphorical sense

but will be at present  in literal sense (grin).

luisma31
516 posts
 
Sorry to resurrect this old post but maybe someone can provide some advice on which cable I could get for the FR64s phono interconnect? any advice on a specific one? shielded? type of DIN connector? etc.
lewm
13,108 posts
 
To mate with the DIN connector on the base of the tone arm, I would advise just getting the phono cable you like best. And there is no limit on how much to spend on that cable, because in my opinion the tonearm is that good. If your phono stage permits balanced operation, then this is the time to select a cable that has the DIN connector on one end and an XLR connector on the other end, and be sure that inside you have two separate conductors for signal, one for the positive phase and one for the negative phase of the signal. There would be a third conductor for ground. In this way you can connect your cartridge to your phono stage in true balanced mode, and your balanced phono stage will operate best that way. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
Sorry to resurrect this old post but maybe someone can provide some advice on which cable I could get for the FR64s phono interconnect? any advice on a specific one? shielded? type of DIN connector? etc.

Luis, check this if you want something ready to go. You can return any Zu Audio product, so that’s the best.

Another advice is to replace the armlift with a new one (stainless steel) if your original is not perfect. You will get 12 EUR VAT refund since you’re not in EU (just ask the seller), so the price is EUR 58 + shipping, check the link:
http://www.audiosilente.com/inox-steel-lift-for-fr-tonearms.html

luisma31
516 posts
 
If your phono stage permits balanced operation

Touche, MP1
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