Why Linear Tracking never took off?

Tbg...I got mine about 1980. Not all Sony linear tracking tables had the "Biotracer" servo controlled arm, and not all "Biotracer" arms were linear tracking. Being an Engineer, I naturally had to get the service manual and see how this thing worked. Holy smokes! Working with balistic missile guidance systems I have seen a lot of schematics and block diagrams, but this Sony design is about as complex as anything I have seen. In fact, that is my only criticism.

As a have mentioned before, I became a convert to linear tracking after attending a High End seminar about the design and setup of pivoting arms. I concluded that there was no practical way to get all those forces and angles right across the recorded area. True, as you say, linear tracking arms have their own set of problems, but I think that I found one that did not have them.

I just stumbled on this thread. I guess I need to pull out my PS X 800 table and try it out again after all these years. If I recall correctly the "Biotracer" technology included active resonance supression in addition to servo tracking of the arm.

I bought mine around 1983. My biggest recollection is how great the inner third of LPs sounded in comparison to other tables at the time.

Of course, this was during my mid-fi period. I wonder what I'll think of it now?

Sean,

Being a Sota owner, how does it stack up to the others? Which arm and cart?

Oh yes. Linear tracking. Every vinyl audiophile's dream. The
idea is right, but most executions of the idea had flaws. For
example, the "buzz-buzz-buzz" of the Rabco as it tried to
maintain tangency with its servos. The nightmare of setups,
the big pops and poor cueing that sometimes flipped the
cartridge in strange ways, and on and on, not to mention
hum. All of these problems are solvable, but not with the
pocketbook of the average audiophile in mind. I would like
to try the new "megabuck" linear arms when my rich uncle
leaves me enough greenbacks. C. Miller, Columbus, OH

I gave up on my Sony psx 800 some time ago. When you push the start button instead of going to the edge of the record and setting the arm down it just keeps on moving the arm til it's all the way across the record. You can get it to play by hitting the on button and then immediately hitting the stop and then manually cueing it to the record. The light that shines up through the slots in the table to sense record size failed as well and I thought the bulb must have burned out. Replaced the bulb and it still didn't light. The whole thing made me suspicious enough about the table that I stopped using it. I'm a bit surprised by all the buzz here regarding this table. I found it's sound disappointing by comparison to the Rabco I had owned previously.

Now I have a Goldmund Studio with the T3 arm.

By the way I think the "correct" term is tangential tracking.