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The Schroeder has arrived

My Schroeder Reference arrived over the holiday weekend. It has been a long wait but looks to be well worth it. The fit and finish on this tonearm is a work of art. The adjustments are actually very simple compared to many arms. Most adjustments are just a slight turn of a set screw. The arm sounds incredible. I have heard others say effortless. That seems pretty good to me as words really cannot describe how good this sounds in my system. I am still in the process of fine tuning and the wire is still breaking in so I guess it will probably sound even better. I am using a Shelter 901 on it and that seems to match up well. BTW, if anyone is looking to buy a Schroeder I would strongly suggest working with Thom at Galibier Design. He kept in contact with me throughout the lengthy waiting period and was excellent with the delivery and setup. I would though be interested to hear from any others that may have this tonearm and their thoughts on some of the cartridges that are a good match.
128x128dmailer
4yanx
1,576 posts
 
May I ask how lengthy is lengthy?
cmk
397 posts
 
Dmailer
The wait is certainly worthwhile. I think the simplicity of the design in great - everything you need is there, but the implimentation is form following function. What is the rest of your system?

I'd suggest you experiment with the gap between the magnets. I thought the 2 card guide a bit too little and ended up slightly higher but sounding more "relaxed".

Thom's site has a link to the "suggested" cart matches which Frank posted some time ago on VA. I personally think it will match with virtually any cart so long as its within the 8-12hz arm/cart resonance range. But if you really must have a "best" match, then I'd say try an Allaerts.

Did Thom suggest using any dampening oil for the wire?
cello
645 posts
 
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Dmailer,
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The ZYX Airy2, Airy3 and UNIverse would all be great matches for the Schroder Reference with the UNIverse leading the pack by a large margin.
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The Airy3 is superior to the Airy2 in many ways, but the Airy3 can be a bit bright in some systems and depending on your taste. If you budget allows, the UNIverese is a no brainer and would be magical with the Reference and great value for the money.
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Read Doug Deacon's review of the UNIverse and his reviews of the Airy2 and Airy3
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UNIverse = http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ranlg&1117141508&read&keyw&zzuniverse

Airy 2 & Airy 3 Reviews = http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ranlg&1104115011&read&keyw&zzuniverse
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Rgds
Larry
dmailer's avatar
dmailer OP
235 posts
 
In my case lengthy was 7 months. Apparently Frank had some issues with Incognito, his termination source which relocated from Europe to Canada during the time my arm was ready for termination. This just added to what was already a rather long lead time. Regardless the arm is worth the wait. My system is currently an early Redpoint/Galibier Testa Rosa with an aluminum/teflon platter. I am using Bent Audio's S&B stepups and a Hagerman Trumpet phono. This is going into Lamm's L2 line stage and ML1 monoblocks. Speakers are Rick Reimer's Tetons. I have experimented with the damping adjustment and it does have a major effect. If you are careful you can make this adjustment while the record is playing which makes detecting the difference even easier. I too seem to prefer the damping not quite as low which results in a more open sound. I have heard alot of good things about the ZYX cartridges. My concern may be the lower ouput level and the match with my electonics more then the match with the tonearm. I will check out Doug's ZYX reviews. My Shelter 901 sounds very good in my system so I have also thought of maybe upgrading to the 90X. I guess at these levels personal preference and system matching is the key.
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