Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

Viv Labs accept the overhang is incorrect and there will be more distortion.  But they claim that other beneficial factors outweigh the effect of this disadvantage.

First that there is less resonance; but this does not seem to arise from the incorrect effective length; rather from the fact the arm base is not fixed to the turntable.

Second they claim there is benefit from reducing required anti-skating force.  Surely the best way of achieving this is a parallel tracking design (eliminates it).

My take on all this is the company is being different for the sake of being different.  They believe that by distinguishing themselves from all the other pivoted arm manufacturers they will garner more sales than they could be competing directly; that although their science is questionable (to say the least) enough buyers will ignore this..

This doesn't make the design right or better.  We will not be able to reach consensus because there will be those who think it sounds better and those who think it sounds worse.  This is the central problem of uncontrolled listening evaluations.

@alan60 I use a Tonearm design that as a end product is a not too common design encountered.

I have always sought out opportunities to experience devices in use, and have learnt over the years some devices are able to really impress.

Your very clearly made known liking for the the Viv Labs Tonearm, along with the  the assessment, being it has proven for yourself, to be a more attractive arm in use that the ones you have mentioned, is quite a parallel with my own experience of a different Tonearm.

I have no longer any real intention to use the owned Tonearm Brands such as SME IV, or AudioMods Series Five.

Additionally after demonstrations, I know others who have departed from much more valuable Tonearms than the ones I have owned to give the priority place in the system to the same arm I am now using.

There are on occasions, a discovery made, that are requiring a ' Sat in Front Off' experience only, no amount of discussion (non experience) is able to show how the extremely positive impression is able to be made, and is able to impact on a person, changing with immediacy their long held views on what is right devices for themselves.   

Clearthinker, once in a while you don’t live up to your chosen moniker. But disregarding clarity of your thinking, have you found a single negative review of the Viv?

 @lewms arguments are correct. What follows is just an opinion. As for what sounds better or as for the Viv arm sounding OK or any other arm sounding OK for that matter has more to do with the sensitivity of our hearing which relative to the best lab equipment, stinks. You could also argue that what sounds good has nothing to do with distortion measurements until they are patently ridiculous. At any rate, viewing equipment changes as a natural progression, the Viv arm, and arms like it are not a step in my natural progression. The next step for me would be either the Reed 5A or the Schroder LT (once I have a turntable they will fit on). I think they both represent a much better solution to the problem. The only design issue with these arms is the vertical bearing can not be lowered to the surface of the record as there is not enough room in the vertical axis of these arms. If you have a turntable with vacuum clamping this is not and issue because all records become perfectly flat except for the very rare one that is severely warped. The genius of these arms is that they use the force generated by friction in the groove to power their mechanisms just as skating is powered in offset arms. As the Reed is a surface mount arm I just might be able to mount it on my table sans dust cover but I lean towards the Schroder as I think it is a more elegant solution.  

As best I can make out from their website, the Viv breaks a fundamental rule of tonearm design (other than the tracking angle thing).

That rule is that there must be profound coupling between the surface of the platter and the mount of the cartridge. To this effect, there can be no slop in the platter bearings or arm bearings. In addition, the arm must be rigidly mounted to the plinth (and the plinth must be both dead and very rigid) such that any vibration that might occur at the platter will be in the same plane as that of the cartridge mount.

If there are any differences (or decoupling) between the plinth and the arm, it will be interpreted by the cartridge and perceived as a coloration.

The mechanical engineering problem here is very much like that of an automobile steering and suspension. Any slop that is present between the wheel and the steering wheel will result in obvious handling problems and can be dangerous. The stylus is doing much the same as the wheel on a car does as it is the interface between the mechanism and the media. It must be kept in perfect contact with the media and the arm can't be vibrating or moving in any way above the locus of the stylus, otherwise that motion will generate a signal.