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.
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Is there a case for coming up with a TT's "compliance" figure and taking that into account? That would be acceptable for a suspended TT -- but rather nebulous in other cases I guess...:( OTOH, mass of the TT's moving parts probably play a role too, in the cartridge-tonearm combo's performance.

Is there a mechanical engineer out there who could consider the case?
Frank,
A friend with much experience with the Denon 103 family believes the 5cu spec is for vertical compliance only. His measurements indicate a lateral compliance of about 10cu, much closer to the mainstream of cartrdiges. Does that tally with your experiments?

On the whole I'm with Raul on this topic. Science has only gone so far, and it's not far enough to provide all the answers. While gross mismatches should probably be avoided - unless you own 15 arms, 30 cartridges and love to experiment! - it is a waste of time trying to predict musical performance from mass and compliance numbers. There are other factors, not published in anyone's specs, that effect how any arm/cartridge combo will sound.
George,sorry,I don't want to come off as a snob.Your question was a compliment.For that,thanks.You may know some of my BKLYN pals,though.Do you know Sid Marks,or Dave Nemzer?
Hi Doug, Raul ...

I wonder if I am doing a disservice by publishing the mass/compliance chart. I think some explanatory notes should be added and I will do so.

This all goes back to listening being the final arbiter of "goodness". I need to put some sort of advisory on the spreadsheet to the effect that treating the numbers as being an instant recipe for success is just not possible.

The idea was keep people from starting off with completely wacky combinations like a Shure with an SME 3012R. Now, some have reported success with weird combinations, and I'm not saying that it isn't possible If you were a gambling man however, it wouldn't be the smart place to start, unless (through lists like this) you hear reports of special combinations making magik.

If people get out of this that once you "run the numbers", you are done, they will likely be stopping short of the finish line.

As both of you have wisely observed, the numbers are only the beginning of the story. As you have no doubt have experimented, two different combinations resulting in the same res. freq. can result in one combination sounding at or near its best, with the other one sounding ... er ... suboptimal.

The Benzes seem to be one example of it being dangerous to go too low - below 8 or 9 Hz (as observed - not calculated). OTOH, Denons and Dynavectors for example are quite happy down in that range - at least on unsuspended decks.

Cheers,
Thom
Dear Thom: The mass/compliance chart is a great service to all. It is the best advise to start about and I agree with you to " put some sort of advisory ..".

Well done.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.