The Schroeder has arrived

Hi Raul,

The "J" shaped 'Seikis have always intrigued me. I have an MA-505 Mk III (straight, removeable arm wand) which is on lone to a friend. Another friend has a MK I version of the arm which is indeed "J" shaped with removable headshell.

It's been on my mind to bring a Sumiko headshell I have lying around in my parts box to experiment with Azimuth adjustment for him.

The Sumiko headshell is quite nicely made - machined from a solid aluminum billet. It has a small hex screw which locks down a collet. When loosened, you can adjust the azimuth.

Considering its price of $40, I'd recommend that anyone with a universal headshell tonearm pick one of these up before Sumiko decides to stop making them (disclaimer - no affiliation or commercial interest ...). I've seen them for sale at the Needle Doctor.

Cheers,
Thom

Dear Thom: I have severals headshells and many of them wuth the azimuth adjustement, but no: I don't have the Sumiko.

If I can, this weekend I would like to try the J Micro tonearm. I let you know about.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

I have a new,latest for me,spin on our beloved little analog subject.I'm currently in wait,for a matched set(3 for my phono stage)of the LOWEST NOISE Siemens(grey getters)small signal tubes,that I have EVER seen.These appear to have been sourced from GOD's private stash.

I already have some "primo" phono tubes in circuit,however I am feeling pretty good about trying out these new babies.I've already tried 7 different types in my phono section,and will be ending my plight this weekend,hopefully.

PLEASE,don't anyone ask what I payed for these,I'm embarassed to say!!

Flyingred,do you feel then,that the Bacote tube best matches the Tranny?Also,how about the additional 3 gms offered up by the Jacaranda and Tiger Wood?Possibly ,still,a good match for the Tranny,with an eye/ear on the possibility of future,slightly heavier cartridges?What do you think?Thanks!!

Sirspeedy I don't think I'm qualified to advise you. However I went back to the spreadsheet and that cartridge in tigerwood/jacaranda gives a resonant frequency of 8.66 Hz. The ideal range "green zone" is 9 to 11 Hz, however on AJ Van den Hul's site, the 'yellow zone' is 8 to 12 Hz.

On that basis, I reckon either of those are viable.

I was tempted by bocote for my Reference but checking out the pics on Thom's site, I don't like the look of the wood. I also looked at the cartridges that it would allow me to run and, in reality, everything I would want to play with (Koetsus, DL-103 and Dyna XX-2) work better in a 15g armwand. I like the look of jacaranda over tigerwood, so that's what I'm getting.

You have to remember that it's not just the cartridge mass, but also the compliance that counts. Low compliance favors higher mass tonearms.

If you're thinking of buying a Schroeder, if you order now you'll be lucky to take delivery this year. I reckon that's far enough away for you to enjoy a state of the art tennis racket this season and still be able to pay for your arm when it's ready in the new year!

Put your order down, you know it makes sense! :-)
(Disclaimer: No commercial relationship with any of the above - just an impressionable audiophile).