Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

@lewm     Have you ever read a negative review of ANYTHING?  Most publications rely on advertising revenue.  If an item doesn't cut it on review, it simply doesn't get published.  By the way, if you re-read my post you will see I am not bad-mouthing this product.  All I am saying is that like nearly all components, some will like the sound and some won't.

@atmasphere   I agree with your endorsement of the usual criterion that there must be a tightly engineered connection between platter and stylus.  I think the issue with the Viv is not the freestanding base - it weighs 2kg and if the underside is of a suitable material that does not slip, it is not going to move around on the top-plate of the turntable.  I think the slop problem arises because the liquid pivot allows too much movement.  Just a few microns will allow the stylus to change location relative to the platter and read signals that are not imparted by the groove.  I sometimes wonder whether conventional gimbal bearings are really good enough to give zero slop.

There is one simple fact that everyone seems to ignore out of politeness. I would rather rely on the physics of a mechanical situation than what anybody thinks they hear and I include myself in the anybody. The only accurate thing you can say about the Viv is that it is a silly design on several accounts and anybody who buys one has a poor understanding of the situation. Try this, intentionally twist your cartridge 5 degrees in the head shell and listen to what happens. If you hear nothing wrong either your system or your head does not image. It is the rare system that does image at the state of the art. It is the easiest aspect of HiFi performance to corrupt. 

@senza Well I am considering it. One thing I need to find is the arm mass for the various lengths. My goal is to find an arm I can use with my Ortofon MC2000 cartridges, and while my Dynavector can do it, I am a bit uneasy about all the mass that is located in the horizontal plane. Perhaps that is not a practical issue, but my mind would be more at ease if I could find what I think is a more appropriate match. 

If I was playing more conventional mid compliance cartridges exclusively, then the Dynavector is just fine for my needs. 

I think the slop problem arises because the liquid pivot allows too much movement.  Just a few microns will allow the stylus to change location relative to the platter and read signals that are not imparted by the groove.  I sometimes wonder whether conventional gimbal bearings are really good enough to give zero slop.

@clearthinker I was thinking the same thing. FWIW Triplanar uses the hardest metal bearings made worldwide to achieve 'zero slop'. To that end to my understanding they have a security clearance to obtain the bearings. 

@atmasphere    The hardness of the metal in the bearing is not the only issue.  The fineness of the machining is fundamental.

Another one I have thought about is my Simon Yorke Aeroarm.  This is a parallel tracking design, very lightweight with a distance from pivot centre to stylus of about 3 inches.  The arm has a round aperture sliding along a steel bar separated by an air bearing.  The clearance of the air bearing is 5mu centimetres.  The air pressure is 1.4 bar, held steady by a hospital grade compressor and control valving.  I have wondered what movement this might allow (if any) and noted such is likely to be in line with the arm and therefore the groove so not affecting azimuth.  I have never heard distortion of any kind on this rig which is my forever player and sounds simply wonderful with low-mass cartridges.