Choosing a new turntable

mijostyn

 

"@elliottbnewcombjr I hate to pop your bubble,

You are not popping my or anyone’s bubble, just exposing your different beliefs/preferences.

My preferences:

"but one great tonearm is way better than two cheap ones"."

NO one said CHEAP Tonearms. However, the arm with REMOVABLE Headshell is the one for MONO Cartridge AND Alternates. The main arm, preferably long, can be fixed or removable.

3 Tonearms, one dedicated to MONO, that arm does not need to be ’superior’ relative to the others, just a respected arm to have a MONO cartridge ready to play mono lp’s in seconds. FAR better than a single arm, playing Mono LP’s with a Fixed Stereo Cartridge, even if your Preamp has Mono Mode. Easily heard by anyone.

"Dust covers should be isolated and hinged so they can be used during play. A good thick acrylic dust cover can attenuate sound up to 10 dB at some frequencies further isolating the cartridge from sound."

Who in their right mind would want to 'attenuate' SOME frequencies by 10db? Attenuate various frequencies to various extent????

Right? Wrong? MANY people say ’dust cover off’, to avoid reflected microphonics. No way do I believe a dustcover down is either proper or better. How many of these crazy looking expensive turntables of great renown even have dust covers? And if the do, they are custom monster ’surrounds’, certainly not hinged. Not played when on, actually impossible to start an LP and put those monster ’surrounds’ in place.

 

"Removable head shells are a terrible thing to do to a cartridge and it’s meager signal. Every contact degrades the signal just a little."

Soooooo many great highly respected tonearms have removable headshells, this argument is theoretical, ’purist’ in nature, not evidenced by those many hi-end makers. In another thread, a quick look at hifishark tonearms for sale: I listed a long list of ’famous’ tonearm makers with removable headshells. The current batch of mid-priced TTs with arms with fixed cartridges do a dis-service to their owners IMO.

"The right way to wire a tonearm is a single cable cartridge clips to RCAs or XLRs at the phono stage end. The Schroder CB is an example of such an arm."

Yes perhaps, at least ’purist’ thinking: but no way are the MAJORITY going to purchase the limitations that involves. I had wires soldered to phono cable, a total pain, and when re-wired to VPI mini-din junction box, I heard no degradation.

I seriously doubt two absolutely identical setups, totally revealing: the only difference not having a joint in-line that a difference could be heard. Even by a bat.

"The Thorens TD 1600 is a turntable with an isolated dust cover done the right way. The dust cover is mounted to the plinth not the chassis carrying the tonearm and platter."

I would lift it off for play, hope the hinges are the drop in type.

Following one other discussion re dust covers, there was an informal poll here, and most of us declared a preference for no dust cover. To a novice I’d say try it both ways and choose for yourself. It’s easy to do.

As to headshell or no headshell, in theory it’s obvious a straight shot from cartridge to phono input is best. In practice I don’t hear a difference for higher output cartridges but perhaps it makes a small difference for the very lowest output cartridges. Difficult to say because you’re never doing it both ways with the very same tonearm. If there is an audible difference it’s so close I don’t fret over it.

A search on hishark

The following arm makers have models with removable headshells, some removable plates secured by only 1 screw

Hifishark 3-16-24 tonearms with removable headshells

SME

Technics, all the beloved 1200’s, S arm for BP-500 Base

Thorens

Micro- seiki

SAEC

Fidelity Research

EAT

Glanz

Ikeda

Ortofon

Dynavector

Garrard

EMT

Audiocraft

Reed, detatchable plate, (several others have detachable plates, allowing pre-mounting of cartridge, then secured, often by a single screw).

Schroder: separate plate attached with one screw

Pro-Ject Signature 12”

Sumiko

……………………….

Others? I stopped looking

Not that I want to perpetuate an argument about head shells, but I always thought Reed and Schroeder tone arms are in a group that have non-detachable head shells. At least that applies to my own Reed tonearm, and any Schroeder tonearm I have ever seen in person. And your list is largely a chronological one. There was a time in pre-CD history when every tone arm had a detachable headshell, except maybe the Triplanar (late 1980s) might have been the first to have a non-detachable head shell. Since the turn of this century, there are many newer tone arms that have non-detachable head shells. That anti-feature seems more likely in the most expensive examples, oddly enough. Not that I care either way.

I think what you see on the Schroeder, the single screw, allows for adjustment of headshell offset angle, not for headshell removal. Same for Reed.

Add Kuzma to arms with removable headshells.