How to choose an upgraded tonearm.

Tonearms are a very attractive item to be used in a System, there is an allure about the device, to the point a LP Replay enthusiast can lose many hours observing the models available.

The Designs and Aesthetics commonly discovered can easily be described as quite a feat of engineering.

The Devise has to offer an extremely precise accuracy in its function and maintain the designed function, when met with many different environments, any changes to properties of materials used within the design, as a result of an environment, has the capability to impact on the performance in a detrimental manner.

Learning about a Tonearms Design Intent and how its consistency in unadulterated function has been the basis for the choosing engineering methods and material selection will be quite a valuable undertaking.

A very nice aesthetic, one that really shouts pride of ownership, is not a compensation for a design that is supplied with deficiencies in place where the engineering and used materials are not optimised. 

What really matters, is what is under the hood, what designs and materials are  being used at the concealed locations, it is quality of thought and work undertaken for the out of sight various interfaces that enables the the magic to happen.       

@skyscraper  : The Lyra cartridge M.Fremer used in his SAT review was not the Etna but the Atlas Lambda SL, go figure ! ! He used too another unique top cartridge that was the Ortofon Century.

R.

Pindac, that makes perfect sense. What's under the hood is what counts. 

Mike

I have been following this thread out of interest. I am not a perfectionist, never wanted to be a surgeon or dentist. From my point of view this has danger written all over it. A turntable not built with the idea of being a universal mount for different tone arms, having to carefully match the TT to arm, to cartridge. What could go wrong? This is me… completely. I have an audio dealer that loves working on turntables… obsessed really. I would not touch one.

If I did want to do this. I would trade my VPI (I owned one for 25 years) and get a table made for different arms… then get a known synergistic combination of arm and cartridge. Then work from there.

But for now I’ll stick with my Linn LP12 and the Ekos SE waiting at my dealer to upgrade from my current Akito tone arm. But of course that is me. I am not a competent at such stuff. The sound would be worse if I did it.

@skyscraper

If you keep your table and try the dual pivot, I have a simple, inexpensive tweak that really works. For $10, I’ll sell you a cut to size, adhesive film out of PEEK, ( the same material that’s in a 3D arm pivot cup.) to place on the arm mounting structure where the pivot point makes contact. The amount of noise reduced is easily heard on my Classic 3 Sig SE.