New 55,000 Euro tonearm

Thanks Mike but the Glanz MH-124S Premium is priced at $26 500 retail! I was looking in the 5-10 k range. Being retired if the wife found out I spent over 25k for a tonearm I'd probably be 7" shorter 😉

If you were 7” shorter you’d be more rigid. Your wife might like that.

!2" arms are like a bad joke. They fail on any number of levels.

The FCL arm is another bad joke. How many of you have played with wooden dowels? Hint, they are very easy to bend, even resin loaded. A tonearm should have no sound of it's own. Anything added is distortion, euphonic or not. 

@rsf507 , There are many great arms selling for reasonable prices including the 4 Point 9, the Reed 2G, the Schroder CB (which I own), the SME V and the Tri Planar. My all time favorite arm is the Schroder LT. It costs $12,000. In other words there is no excuse for spending more than $12,000 on an arm. The only expensive arm that gets my attention is the Reed 5T, but the Schroder LT does exactly the samething in a less complicated more elegant fashion.

Mijo, you’re criticizing the FCL because the wand is made of wood? If I’m correct, then what about Schroeder and Reed? Both of which brands you seem to approve. I like them too. History suggests wood tonearms deserve to be evaluated on a case by case basis, just as one would do for any other type.

@lewm, yes, I am because that particular design is a horrible application for wood. It is too long, thin and is the same diameter all along the shaft. Wood's major advantage is that it is intrinsically well dampened. In the case of the Schroder and Reed arms the wood is resin impregnated, the wooden section is relatively short and the shaft is tapered. All this makes the arm much stiffer. The FCL has other serious issues also.