Gimbal vs unipivot tonearms

@rauliruegas , you can't possibly agree with me! That will make you a marked man for sure. Everyone will think you are an arrogant SO who thinks he knows everything. You sure you want to do this?

No really, thanx for the support. Geniuses think alike:-)

Sounds like for most people, gimbal is the way to go, which is probably why the most practical company, Rega, uses that design exclusively for the best value in tonearms.

I never understood the appeal of the hard to handle, wobbly unipivot, but for some people it can sound better and is worth the trouble I guess. 

Like everything else in this hobby, it's a matter of what you're willing to do or spend to get the last couple % of improvement you perceive.  

A couple contributors here have written unipivot arms off, and I have also. Although my dream table is an SME, they don't mention gimbal or unipivot in their Series V arm description. I guess it is a modified unipivot?

Btw, this is the " down there " I’m talking about:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYE67fVny4c&list=RDCMUCMdOWi6nBZJ3Q0tHNQIOUVA&start_radio=1&rv=mYE67fVny4c&t=0

Don't go directly from the link but paste the link and then google it.

R.

Classic SME tonearms used a "knife-edge" bearing, which is definitely different from a unipivot but does allow for some "chatter".  Mijostyn mentioned this in responding to Elliot's erroneous suggestion that his older SME tonearm was a unipivot.  As I understand it, modern SME tonearms (like the IV and the V, maybe) have either done away with the knife-edge principle or have modified it to make it more stable, similar in philosophy to what Graham and Kuzma have done to stabilize the pivot bearing on tonearms that started out as unipivots.  I own a RS Labs RS-A1 tonearm that is a very crude unipivot, and 7 other tonearms that are gimbal type. Also, I used to own the British tonearm that used a mercury bath to establish electrical continuity between the arm wand and the base; I can't recall the brand name, but I am guessing Keith Monks.  With all its faults (and the danger of mercury exposure), that tonearm had a kind of airy quality that was pleasing.  So too does the RS Labs, which performs way above its very oddball design. However, I confess it is not in use at this time.

Dear @sokogear : "  they don't mention gimbal or unipivot in their Series V arm description.  ""

I think you are an analog newcomer .

This is the Agon ANALOG forum and other than the newcomers almost all are experienced hobbyst that know SME tonearm are not unipivot designs .

SME knows that's not need it to put in the tonearm description that's non unipivot design.

R.