Comparison of sonic qualities of some tonearms

Dear @rauliruegas

To address your points:

I presently have at least 5 MC cartridges. I enjoy each of them, and each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and I do have a favorite, but that’s for another thread.

The SAT and Safir seem to have the best reviews overall, but not many have heard them enough to validly compare to more common tonearms.

I have the Helix One, which I would think would sound very similar to the Helix Two, but those who have A-B’d both say that the Helix One sounds much better. . .how much better, and in what ways? I don’t know. . .but again, that discussion can be reserved for another thread.

I was simply asking about the Viv tonearm because a couple commented about their ownership, so it would be interesting to hear two different perspectives on the tonearm, with respect to timbre of various instruments, sound stage, evenness of sound, etc. . .

I’m content with my system, but I started this thread in the interest of hearing other peoples’ experiences with their different tonearms.

.Thanks. 

@pindac The Blackbird is a brilliant design. I think calling it a sideways unipivot is somewhat derogatory. It is a braced pendulum bearing pivoting on a horizontal thrust bearing. The mechanism is not obvious looking at the arm and it is hard to explain in words. I am not fond of the string finger lift. I prefer the old fashioned kind. Otherwise I see no reason why it should not be a grand performer. It is ugly as h-ll, but that would not stop me. 

@drbond I have a reasonable amount of experience with the Saphir and none with the SAT. Neither tonearm interests me in the least. I do not think either arm offers anything over arms that cost significantly less and are even better designs. Yes, a lot of people are impressed with these arms and I would say they are being swayed by expectation bias.  I'm still waiting for Dohmann to put a vacuum plater on the Helix, but had I one I would put either a Reed 5T, a Schroder LT or both on it. They offer the benefit of extremely low tracking error and no skating with similar effective mass in both directions. This is more than enough to separate them from the pack including both the SAT and Kuzma arms. 

@mijostyn

While at recognize that the linear tracking tonearms would theoretically offer a better soundstage, experience can occasionally defy theory…which is why I won’t dismiss others’ experiences, even though it may defy logic and theory, especially when the theory isn’t proven law.

Well, I just tried to post a long and thoughtful response, including experimental data plots, but it was blocked. No good deed as they say.

Suffice it to say, you are right to ask a very good question. Don’t fall for the bland assertions made by those who cannot conceive of a universe in which their intuitions and tastes are not laws of nature. Sapphire can sound good - I’ve made one. But I can make a better one from natural fibre composites. Panzerholz too is very good - just as good as it measures - see my virtual system - no, better not, it’s ugly as h-ll.

Ebony, by the way, measures so badly that it should never be considered. IMO.

Is that not the irony, Talk Measurements to death and disregard all data at the expense of aesthetic. 

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but some beauty is the outward expression and not the coating that is seen. 

P'holz has oodles of outward expression 😍