Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

Is the tonearm base attached to the slate? Or does it rest upon it but not bolted down?

I'd call it a pod if it isn't bolted down, but I mean no disrespect by that term. I remain impressed by your commitment to testing rather than theorising.

Based on all other writings on the subject of “pod”, I define a pod as a separate base or stand or support structure used for the sole purpose of supporting a tonearm mounted outboard of the plinth, never on the plinth. The truncated conical structure seen in your photo IS an inseparable part of the tonearm housing the pivot, a well filled with magnetic oil, the cueing device, and the RCA jacks with ground lug. It is heavily weighted to the tune of ~2 lbs, probably by a lead slug incorporated into the base. It sits directly on top of the 65 lb slate plinth that houses the Lenco. You could sit the Viv on a true pod outboard of the TT, but I would not.

Incidentally, I don’t consider adopting the Viv to have been a courageous act, as it has already received many very favorable reviews with no exceptions that I have found on the internet. This is notwithstanding the negative comments by some who’ve posted on this thread without ever having seen much less heard this tonearm. If there had been a lot of negativity among actual reviewers, I probably wouldn’t have bothered.

Very cool.  All the cartridges you have tried have "advanced" styli (I think) which may require more fastidious alignment to sound their best. At least in a traditional overhung tonearm. In this tonearm, you align the cartridge straight ahead and underhung? Is VTA or azimuth easy to adjust? Are the differences between cartridges the same as you remember from your previous uses or are the differences between them blunted in the Vivid?

Viv (not "vivid") supply a mounting template which is an L-shaped piece of plastic into which a hole is drilled for the spindle. You then place the template over the spindle and align the arm wand to be in line with the other leg of the "L", and set it up so the stylus falls into a tiny hole at the junction between the two legs of the L. Very, very simple in practice if not in my description. This sets the tonearm so that the single null point is about at the middle of the playing surface of a typical LP. Thus the stylus tip will underhang the spindle by the distance from the center of the spindle to the middle of the playing surface.  I gather that some do use an outboard pod in order to achieve the proper VTA, because the pod can be set up to be as short as you want so as to permit the needed min 45mm clearance.

Azimuth is fully adjustable by loosening a screw near the pivot end of the arm wand and then rotating the arm wand with respect to the pivot. I described my one issue with VTA. In order to achieve a level parallel to the LP surface, the distance from the arm wand to the bottom of the base of the tonearm has to be at least 45mm. (More distance is no problem, as you can raise the pivot off its base and then use a set screw to keep it in place.) On my Lenco, in order to achieve the minimum 45mm, I have to use my Boston Audio Mat2, which is 5mm thick, on the Lenco platter and then also shim the cartridge in the headshell, using a 3mm shim.

Correction: the stylus underhangs the spindle by the distance of the spindle from the arc described by the stylus once it is set to produce a single null point at the center of the playing surface. Not quite what I wrote above.