$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Twl,

Perhaps you might consider doing a column for one of the audio magazines. I learn so much more from your posts here than from my subscriptions to TAS and Stereophile. Once I finish setting up my system, I plan to cancel my subscription to both.

“Nobody can tell you what is "right for you," except you. We can only make suggestions based on what our past experiences have been, and we don't have your system and listening environment here at our homes.”

This statement is perhaps the most enlightened audio observation I have ever seen. Nearly all the audio dealers I have met over the past 30 years and most of the people who write for the audio press are so opinionated, arrogant, argumentative, and hackneyed in their stance on what sounds good and on what equipment others should buy and own it goes way beyond disheartening. It’s nice to know that I have the freedom to choose what’s right for me and my tastes in music without having to worry about what others might think or how the self-appointed audio critics might react to my audio selections. It’s really refreshing to read your posts, Twl; it makes being an audiophile really fun and exciting.

Artar,

I agree with yr assessment of Twl's posts. I have learned a lot on this thread alone! The quote of his you posted above is exactly it, I have been made to feel that information has been offered and that I am on the right track to try it myself and see how it works in my own situation, no dogmatism, no ego. As we have mentioned before this is the basis of a true dialectic. So rare these days......

I am going back to college to work towards my Doctorate in Philosophy. I have a BA in Liberal Arts(Philosophy and Mathematics) and have decided to leave software alone and get back to things I really love, reading books and discussing them with others. I have written on art and music in the past and would like to do so in a more academic setting. So I nail down what I can with my system and then starve for a few years. I have thousands of records and CD's to keep me busy when things are lean. I'm sure I will continue to collect what I can here and there but the financial emphasis will be on getting through the program, knock out the dissertation and teach and write. Hopefully to contribute something lasting along the way.
We'll see, now if I can just decide on a tonearm......oh the travails of tonearm philosophy!, which way to go???.....

Chris

Dear Artar1,
"The Schroeder is a well-respected arm. If you have your heart set on it, you might as well get it. But it does look a little temperamental and perhaps somewhat difficult to install. For me the price is a major barrier."
Just to give me some insight as to how people perceive my products: What gives you the feeling that my arms(or where you referring to the Reference only)are difficult to install?
It takes just two holes(M4-tapped, if you´re using a metal or acrylic board, 3,5-4mm woodscrew, if your tt has a wooden mounting board). The other model are no challenge either(21-25mm hole, one or three mounting screws required). No elongated holes or any need to get underneath the turntable.
As for the set up, Chris Brady can attest to the ease of set up once you´ve under stood how the arms work(no rocket science, hehe). BTW, one of the reasons I discontinued the No.1 arm is that it did require more time to get the set up spot on.
Pricing, yes, this gives me a headache too, but the weak $ is something that is beyond my influence(scary if I had any ;-)). I promise that as soon as the $ goes up again the prices will be adjusted...
None of the above is to say that one shouldn´t go for what one feels most comfortable with(sound, operation, looks).
Whichever arm you´re choosing, if you put it on a Teres or a Galibier, you´ve come alot closer to the "final" recordplayer.

Best,

Frank Schröder

From my trial and error experimentation I've come to the same conclusion as TWL and Dougdeacon. Unsuspended turntables don't sound good with spongy isolation beneath them. Now that doesn't mean you can't use some form of vibration damping or isolation - just don't use spongy stuff.

I would love to build a seismic sink (aka sand box), but my situation doesn't allow it. Here's what I improvised, and it works great for me:

http://home.att.net/~ptmconsulting/wsb/html/view.cgi-photo.html--SiteID-664443.html

TT on a maple butcher block, with DIY rollerblocks underneath. My kids can run through the room without skipping the needle. And the sound is quick and detailed and musical.

Enjoy,
Bob

Much like Goldilocks, I'm looking for "just right".

Good analogy. Aren't we all?!

Paul and I are currently reviewing two ZYX cartridges, the Airy2 and Airy3, with a third model possibly to follow. Without spilling the beans I can say that in one sonic particular we'd both occasionally prefer something in between, at least for certain records.

Paul said he'd like a 2.7, I'd prefer a 2.8! ;-)

Seriously enough, this small difference shows that individual preferences do matter. Oddly, if we'd tried to predict in advance which direction each of us would lean, we both would have predicted the opposite direction from the one I just joked about. Try as we all do to communicate our musical and sonic impressions in words, there's no substitute for hearing.

The Schroeder is a well-respected arm. If you have your heart set on it, you might as well get it. But it does look a little temperamental and perhaps somewhat difficult to install.

The Reference is certainly no more difficult to install than any other arm. You have to fine tune the adjustments of course, as with any good arm, but once set up it looked perfectly stable to me. I didn't perceive anything "tempermental" about it.

It does have a certain delicacy that takes getting used to. There's no finger lift or armtube lock! It's not an arm for the fumble-fingered or careless. The arm itself is robust enough but cantilevers are not. Since the arm is not locked when sitting on the armrest, I'd keep the stylus guard on at all times. That's about the only risk I could see.