Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

Dear @dogberry : "" The question that should be central to all of this is which is the greater sin: TAE or added anti-skate force? ""

Perhaps for you and other gentlemans that could think like you because for me it’s ( as always ) what is right or wrong and the why’s about. Your question came with out facts/why’s.

The main issue/subject for any cartridge/pivoted tonearm/LT is to pick up " all " the recorded audio signal in those LP groove modulations.

That means that before any other questions it need it to pick up that signal as nearer is posible and after that comes several set up parameters as : SRA, VTA, AZ, AS, Zenith , ideal resonance FR and the like.

As you I can ask: which is more important AS or VTA or tonearm damping or aluminum vs boron cantilevers or kind of tonearm bearing or tonearm build materials, ? ? ? 

Analog is not as " easy " as your question, never is. Full of imperfections that when you want to fix one of those imperfections you " touch " almost all other in a bad way.

Please use common sense about.

R.

@dogberry I am suggesting there is a obvious difference of how the Mechanical Interfaces function on the 'Viv' design, in comparison to other more conventional designs.

It also seems from the literature, materials chosen have a secondary contribution, as energy produced is specifically transferred into the material for dissipation.

I am not suggesting the material selected is solely responsible, but the difference as a Mechanical Interfaces function, which is not Typical as a Interface, can be producing a change to the sonic, that has a noticeable attraction to the end user.   

I found a video on Youtube that shows the pivot mechanism in action, totally removed from the shroud that otherwise makes it impossible to see it. The problem is there is only one view and no narrative. Just go to Youtube and search on "Viv Float tonearm", and you can find the video. The arm wand appears to be mounted on a rectangular platform that floats on the magnetic oil bath. Lateral motion of the platform appears to be prohibited by a raised lip around the edges of the circular oil bath. This physical arrangement conforms to my findings with pulling, pushing, or twisting the arm wand; it’s quite stable and quite low in friction. (I also found a video of an interview (in Japanese) with the designer, Akimoto-san.  It seems that ultra-low friction was a major design goal.  He does not say anything about geometry.) But to me, that is all beside the point. The point for me is the underhung geometry. Of course, it is impossible to separate the two oddities of this tonearm when assessing its sonic virtues.

Perhaps for you and other gentlemans that could think like you

It was a question, not an opinion.

Your question came with out facts/why’s

Questions, honestly asked, tend to do so.

you " touch " almost all other in a bad way.

Careful. It is apparent you are not an English speaker, and you don't understand what you have just intimated!

You might be surprised to hear that I do understand analog reproduction is complicated. I'd be grateful if you weren't so condescending in your assumptions that you know better than anyone else. You might even try to answer my question, directly. Is tracking angle error a worse thing to hear than the effects of anti-skate? None of us can have an opinion, if we are honest, unless we have compared an underhung tonearm with a conventional one. That was my point. I cannot answer it, so I asked. Likely you cannot either, in which case please avoid insulting me.

@pindac Was that a 'yes' or a 'no' to my question to you - that you referred to the floating oil bearing? Mysterious "Mechanical Interfaces function" isn't quite explicit.