Tonearm adjustments on the fly

Thanks for your response on Durand, Mike. I recall reading the Durand website back when their only product was the Talea. This was right around the time that I heard the Talea for the first time. I was particularly taken by Joel’s background in both music and engineering, in part because one of our sons is a UW alum. I guess one can admire a developer with an open mind that stays open; once he decided on a particular wood, he apparently did not close his mind to other possibly better ideas. Back then there were some who disparaged wood per se because of the potential for warping. I didn’t and still don’t agree that warping is an insurmountable problem, if the maker knows what they re doing, and I have liked the Talea, the Reed tonearms, and Schroeder tonearms very much, all with wood arm wands.  And a tonearm is not going to be in an environment that is unstable as to temperature and humidity, which might tend to encourage warping.

atmasphere

... This allows the bearings to be adjusted so there is zero play, something you can't do with a jeweled bearing (lest it crack). So it has the least chatter and sticktion (I made that word up but you know what I mean) ...

Stiction is a real word. (There's no 'k'.) It means just what you think it means.

It is, but also features the hardest metal bearings used in any tonearm made worldwide. This allows the bearings to be adjusted so there is zero play, something you can't do with a jeweled bearing (lest it crack). So it has the least chatter and sticktion (I made that word up but you know what I mean) of any arm made. So while it might not win any beauty contests, it does get the job done. Of any arm I've tried and used it comes the closest to sounding like my master tapes.

From Reed.lt :

"Another Reed 3Ps innovation is its bearing system. Although tonearm bearing system can be considered as gimbal, it acts like unipivot one. However, major difference from unipivot system is that instead of a single pivot three pivots and both vertical and horizontal axis’ magnetic stabilizers are used. Such bearing system is as rigid as gimbal, but its friction coefficient is as low as in unipivot." 

** Personally I'm not sure if I can detect the difference in bearings between several super high quality tonearms. 

Someone earlier mentioned the Victor UA 7045 and UA 7082 tonearms with the adjustable VTA. It also has adjustable anti skating with a simple twist of a knob on the top and can be adjusted on the fly.
To set the VTA there is a large knurled lock ring that has a nicely machined collet underneath. Simply loosen the knurled ring after setting the fine VTA adjustment ring to the zero mark and slide the tonearm up or down to get the headshell dead level. Now tighten the knurled ring and use the fine adjust ring to raise or lower the tonearm + or - 3 mm. The fine adjust knurled ring is clearly calibrated with widely spaced markings for every 0.5 mm increment. Easy to estimate 0.1 mm changes or less if so desired. This uses a large helical screw that feels like using the focus adjustment on a fine camera lens. This fine adjustment is also done on the fly.
There is no perceptible play or looseness in any part of this tonearm assembly and the machine work is high end camera quality. The pivot bearings are actually miniature ball bearing assembly’s, no pointy screws in a divot with loose balls. The bearing layout for both vertical and horizontal movement is a true gimbal design unlike most tonearms. The tonearm tube is internally damped with a strip of felt and the SME type removable headshell is gripped by a collet arrangement.
There is no azimuth adjustment but a headshell with azimuth adjustment takes care of that.
It’s very obvious the Victor spent considerable time engineering these fine tonearms and they were found on Victors highest end models.
I find it the easiest tonearm to setup and adjust and have several of them.
BillWojo

Well I would say that environmental impact on the wood is just one of several potential problems. Perhaps even more significant is the issue of consistency of the material. Variations in grain, density, etc also could be questioned. Again I dont truly know but my guess is a major reason for using wood could be the fact that this medium is very easy to work and shape.