a couple of points to consider- while it is true that linear designs are technically superior in reducing tracking errors than a pivoted arm,they also tend to be more complex to fully implement,are generally less reliable and typically more expensive to produce than a pivoted design.The reason pivoted arms permeate the market is that they can produce excellent results reliably and at reasonable cost.Success with a pivoted design is closely tied to the skill and accuracy of setup and if tracking errors are heard ,it is far more likely that those are from inadequate cartridge installation, less than precise alignment and deficiencies of the cartridge itself.
for lou-not a blast but to call the Rega arms lo-fi is a mistake.It is the most successful tonearm in its category for good reason: it plays music well and offers exceptional value.The reason that there are so few tonearms available at its pricepoints is because its superiority effectively crushed nearly all the competition for nearly 2 decades.The VTA issue is the result of Rega's long standing belief that stability and rigidity are more important than convenience.You may choose to agree with this stance or not.The downside is that this approach of using machined spacers to accomodate varying cartridge heights and VTA results in fairly large steps. The rigid nature of this approach,while paying off in musical and sonic benefits is less than adequate for use with certain fineline profile stylus profiles and there fore will limit the number of optimal cartridge choices.Obviously the Rega cartridges will perform ideally in the Rega arms as will less VTA fussy
units such as the Dynavectors.The aftermarket VTA adjusters should go a long ways to addressing the more VTA persnickety cartridge options.
for lou-not a blast but to call the Rega arms lo-fi is a mistake.It is the most successful tonearm in its category for good reason: it plays music well and offers exceptional value.The reason that there are so few tonearms available at its pricepoints is because its superiority effectively crushed nearly all the competition for nearly 2 decades.The VTA issue is the result of Rega's long standing belief that stability and rigidity are more important than convenience.You may choose to agree with this stance or not.The downside is that this approach of using machined spacers to accomodate varying cartridge heights and VTA results in fairly large steps. The rigid nature of this approach,while paying off in musical and sonic benefits is less than adequate for use with certain fineline profile stylus profiles and there fore will limit the number of optimal cartridge choices.Obviously the Rega cartridges will perform ideally in the Rega arms as will less VTA fussy
units such as the Dynavectors.The aftermarket VTA adjusters should go a long ways to addressing the more VTA persnickety cartridge options.