Long and Short Arms. YOU KNOW THEY FIT a Luxman PD444.


Tonearms for Luxman PD444

Suggestions, warnings, known incompatibilities, great low cost ….?

My friend just bought a Luxman PD444. No arms.

Coming with two arm boards,

a. small hole looks like star washer. TP-LH I think. (diameter of hole___MM?)

b. big hole, SME size hole. TP-LS I think. (diameter of hole___MM?)

Note: Long arm must go on the left rear side. That will be the primary arm.

’Normal’ right side arm will be alternate cartridges, primarily MONO ready to go, alternate MM and MC cartridges. Thus long arm can have less/different features, not in a rush to make decisions, so lets make the long arm part two, later.

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First: short arm, right side, desired features:

1. removable headshell

2. height adjustment

2a. VTA on the Fly, OR

2b. EASY to see/reach/loosen/tighten, i.e. knurled/slotted gizmos (not allen screw(s)

3. azimuth adjustment. preferred in OEM headshell (some use clamp allowing re-positioning the fitting in the end of the arm, so any OEM or other headshell works. Non-oem headshell, but prefer OEM solves it.

4. integral arm rest/lock (not separately mounted stick)

5. din or rca below the plinth

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So far, hifi shark, $1,500 max I have found:

1. Acos Lustre GST-801 (my rear arm). VTA/FLY. has 1,2a,3,4,5 and unique magnetic tracking and anti-skate. Always check to verify the vta/fly base is included, some alternate mounts exist.

mount: bigger hole, big heavy ’counterweight’ fastened below. I see one on Chakster’s PD444, he got it on, normally, or by some trick.

2. Micro Seiki MA-505 VTA/FLY 505S silver wire; SII, MK3 (other variations ___?) has 1,2a,3,4,5 variations desirable features???

28mm hole, 3 screws from below, nut below

3. Fidelity Research FR-64 Fx. 2b pair of knurled/slotted rods for height

Hole ____mm? nut below

4. Audio-Craft variations: AC-300c; AC400C; AC-3000mc, others? 2b knurled/slotted rod

5. SAEC WE-308SX. 2b knurled/slotted rod

6. Graham 1.5 Tonearm, FIXED HEADSHELL, unipivot (upside down) micrometer azimuth, vta, tracking, anti-skate, Fits SME cutouts i.e. Luxman TP-LS big hole???

7. Pioneer PA-1000 ,Carbon arm, carbon headshell, 2b small 21mm hole

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I got tired down around $1,025, went to bed

Suggestions, warnings, known incompatibilities, great low cost ….?

counterweight rod: anyone know maximum length/clearance from centerline of arm trough to inside of dust cover ____mm?

 

 

 

 

 

elliottbnewcombjr

Elliot, IMH if you are looking for the best sound you are barking up the wrong tree.

On the bright side you can make anything fit if you are clever. I do not like 12" arms. The faults which have been discussed in many threads far outweigh any benefit of a reduced tracking angle error. 

There should be one wire from cartridge pin to to the phono stage and only two contacts at the cartridge and at the phono stage. As far as head shells go the two arms that get it right are the Kuzmas and the Schroders. If you have a nice small needle nosed pliers it is a breeze to deal with the clips. Allen screws with nylon plus under the screws are the best way to deal with adjustments. You never torque them hard. Lightly is all you need. You are not setting up a jack hammer. 

Adjustable VTA is a fad and totally unnecessary. Any play violates the function of the arm. You set VTA at 92 degrees and forget about it. Still some great arms have it like the Kuzma 4 Point 11 and 14. The 9 is the best arm he makes and it does not have it. You just get it direct wired and you are in business. Next up would be the Schroder CB which you can get in 12 " if you want and the Reed 2G which has a removable arm wand, the reason I went with the Schroder. The Tri Planar is also an excellent arm. If price is an issue Rega sells its arms separately and they are great arms for the money. 

Good luck with the Luxman. They are built like a battle ship and as long as the bearing has not been harmed it should last you your lifetime. The only thing you need to do to get it very close to the state of the art is put it on a good isolation stand. Any good stand will have to be ordered for the weight of your table. If they do not care about the turntable's weight forget it and look elsewhere. 

“Adjustable VTA is a fad”?????

You can’t be serious. If you had written that VTA on the fly is a marketing ploy, I’d have agreed, but in this day and at our age, would you really be willing to set VTA with a set screw whilst holding the tonearm at the desired height using you other hand? Not me, keemosabe. And as I’m sure you know, SRA is commonly set at 92 degrees, not VTA.

mijostyn

This is about the second arm, right side, 9", for mono and alternate cartridges, MM and MC. It will be purchased and installed first, SOON! The criteria has been considered, desired features have been clearly stated.

I am asking for help: who personally knows what fits, who has had good, bad, found tricky solutions to mount ....

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The left rear arm, without doubt, will be a long one, it will be part two, later, more money acquired, more time for research, 

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My preference, after searching other maker's two arm tables, those OEM arms, ... many makers, using the desired features:

a pair of Micro Seiki MA-505, short now on right side, long one later. 

Micro Seiki MA-505 Experiences, Concerns, questions to ask while buying???

 

 

VTA/FLY, or Very Easy Height Adjustment is a dream come true. I really don’t care about adjusting while listening, I care about the absolute ease of getting it right.

My Acos Lustre GST-801 VTA/FLY base is superbly made. (Micro Seiki MA-505 has the identical base) It’s movement, tolerances, remind me of my Thorens TD124 bearing (it was incredible tolerances).

 

 

Technics VTA/FLY EPA-B500 base is terrific, I just installed one for my friend’s SP-15

It is big, custom shaped hole, I prefer the GST/Micro base, IF it's larger diameter hole can be accomodated.

 

 

@elliottbnewcombjr , like I said, you can make any arm fit. Send me the arm board and the specs of the arm and I will make it fit no charge.

My comments are for your information. The intent s not to make you angry. A 911 is a better handling car than a Lincoln. More people will go for the Lincoln because they do not want a stiff, noisy car. 

Get a Kuzma 4 point 9. It is a Cayman.