Schroder Tonearms - where do I purchase? are there authorized sellers in US?


I now own a Sota Cosmos Eclipse w/ vacuum after a 30 year hiatus from vinyl.  On this forum, I mostly read other posts absorbing valuable info, especially from the relative few with decades of meaningful experience.  I know a Kuzma 4Point9 and the Schroder CB or LT would be a good match for the Sota.  However, given what appears to be a "who's on first" situation in how to confidently purchase a Schroder product, I am becoming increasingly inclined to just go with the Kuzma out of sheer practicality and convenience.  There must be reputable analog shops in the US who are knowledgable and trusted concerning the Schroder product??  I have no desire to struggle to reach one of Frank's grunt guys (does he have any) in Germany.  

jymc

@cfarrow my 911 is an 06 C4S manual. What are you driving?

@jymc I also own a Cosmos Eclipse Vacuum! On it is a Schroder CB. Artisan Fidelity is a good choice. Sota has now installed CBs on it's turntables and will make you a tonearm board drilled for the CB. You have to drill two holes and one of them has to be threaded. There is one problem with the CB you should be aware of. It does not have a tonearm rest. Frank does not like anything that can vibrate on his arms. He expects you to leave it on the lift. The problem with this on a SOTA is if someone jiggles the turntable and gets the suspension bouncing the arm goes flying with potentially fatal results. I also do not like working on an arm that is not completely secured. I made myself a locking tonearm rest out of walnut and mounted it to the plinth. You can see it if you go to my virtual system page. If it is not something you are comfortable doing message me. There are very few arms that are better than the CB and of all the arms out there there are only two that interest to me, the Schroder LT and the Reed 5T. Both will not fit on a Cosmos. I also highly recommend a WallySkater to set antiskate on the CB. 

Another thing you should know is that the only CBs that are readily available are the Thrax manufactured carbon fiber version. Only Frank makes the rosewood ones and I have been waiting for mine for almost a year. The one I have now is the Thrax version which is perfectly fine other than not being hand made by the man.

One more issue is the arm does not have a finger lift, but I can not use an arm without one and they are easy to fashion. You can also see one on my Virtual System page.

Another recommendation for Steve Dobbins at XactAudio,  I worked with Steve to get the Schroeder Ref 11" arm to play with the Triangle Art (TA) Turntable.    See picture in my system.

Steve machined a custom wood arm board to attach atop the TA arm tower.  He explained subtle differences between wood types, head shell materials, etc.  And he shared many tips and advice for setup. Follow-on phone discussions for last minute setup tweaking and optimization helped to pull it all together. The end result has been very impressive.  Customer service does not get better than this.

FYI - Steve builds the LT arms for US customers.

John

@jafox 1+ I should note that @jymc needs a tonearm board specifically for his Sota that takes into account the weight of the Schroder arm. Suspended turntables always need the tonearm/tonearm board weight to be within a specific range or the resonance frequency of the suspension might get too high. Sota knows the weight of all these arms and can make matching tonearm boards. A lighter arm will require a heavier board. I wooden arm board will not be heavy enough. Sota also knows the pivot to spindle distances for all these arms and can drill the boards without having the arm.

I recommend Thom Mackris at Galibier Design.  He really knows everything Schroder.  He offers a custom arm rest for the tonearm and various tuning devices.  I have the arm rest on my Thrax Yatrus, and it is wonderful.