10 Inch Tonearms

It’s even possible to use a 12 inch tone arm on a Thorens TD 160 or a Linn LP 12. So would that be a reason to mount a 12 inch tonearm on these tables, because you can? I’m inclined to believe there would be a difference in sound between a 9 inch and a 10 inch arm on a Thorens. I would even make the radical assumption that cartridge matching would have it’s benefits too. Really, no need to check brain in at the door.

What table do you have and what tonearm were you considering?  

Even Micheal Fremer says there is very little differrence between a 12'" and a 9" arm in how well they can sound, as long as they are a high quality arm to begin with. Just enjoy what you have, unless it makes you unhappy.

If so, upgrade to whatever strikes your fancy. I consider it more important how well your tonearm/cartridge is set up.

Enjoy, Dan

Why I like10 inch tonearms:
- 10 inch has more eff mass than 9 but still not so much as 12. I can always use heavier headshell if needed.
- bigger distance from spindle compared with 9 inch less vibration etc. Also 10 inch is very easy to transfer as it fits most of turntables.
-  12 makes a problem with closing of lid sometimes. Fiddling/setting if wall is close to turntable can be less convenient with 12 inch.
 

My questioning stems from choosing to use or not to use anti-skate. It seems that setting up a cartridge is as much an art as it is a science. An inch seems like a small adjustment where it pertains to making a mounting plate and installing a tonearm but a lot where it pertains to the cartridge alignment and getting good tracking along with a fluid sonic signature. Looking at an alignment tool, there's little margin of error when aligning the stylus so adding or subtracting an inch to the tonearm may make a difference or maybe not?
I've been modifying this Thorens TD160 Mk1 for some time and have upgraded the overall sound by a noticeable margin. The original TP16 arm is all-right with a mono cartridge but I was wanting to upgrade the cartridge at some point and doing that only makes sense with a better tonearm. I've seen Jelco arms on the used market, some of them 12 inch, some of them 10 inch and some of them 9 inch. It just seems like a good idea to understand what I'm in for if a nice 10 inch arm comes along and opt to take on that project.