Great bass from a linear tracking arm?

Hey Matt,

So far its been fun trying something a little different,

I forgot to mention that the best tracking arm/cartridge will usually have subjectively less bass, this is one area (of many) where perfection can be a negative in the perceived sound of the music. All other things being equal, using test records is a must when deciding these things, so that you know where the "bass" is coming from.

back to the arm..

The "arm" isn't really an arm at all it is a module which holds the cartridge and laser assembly (where VTA and and pitch and yaw is monitored. Dual worm drives "drive" the module assembly along the grooves and a servo matrix controls or reacts to the feedback sent by the module.

What we are working on is the material that suspends the cartridge mount module from the control servos and thinking of ways to remove the Frankenstein cosmetics from the assembly. It was my idea but it has taken the great skills of others to even get as far as we have...I can build speakers and amplifiers not laser tracking tt arms. :)

Brizonbiovizier, you have an excellent table and I heard one with the Brinkmann arm. The linear tracker must take that table to the next level. I found that the Brinkmann arm just presented too much groove distortion for my liking and I've had a little fantasy about that table and a linear such as the Kuzma or Airtanget.
I'm green with envy...

Sounds like it wasnt setup properly - the brinkmann 10" arm should have very low distortion.

The airtangent not only had less bass but it was vague and lacking in detail solidity extension impact etc compared with the brinkmann arm - and the timing was not that great.

"The Air Tangent not only had less bass but it was vague and lacking in detail solidity extension impact etc".......Seriously,and I truly mean NO disrespect,but you have not heard a well set up Air Tangent.I have had two friends,who went to HUGE aftermarket compressors,to solve the pressure issue,as it relates to bass impact,and other performance areas.I have heard this arm compared to others,and if one is willing to go to the limit(I was not,and don't blame anyone for not wanting to,either)there is a level of "analog bliss" available here,that simply defies believability.The entire Mercury LP and RCA reviews,in TAS,were done using this heavily modded Air Tangent,and it is simply amazing.It has recently been replaced by a very popular unipivot,and the entire system,though still very good,lacks the "absolute magic"of the Air Tangent.Other fellow hobbyists,hearing the A.T.'s replacement are in mourning,like me!!-:)
Best!
BTW...virtually all these arms are fabulous possessions to own,so we all are sharing in analog's golden age revival.Right?To me,the really big breakthroughs,in vinyl,are being made with the NEW plethora of AMAZING cartridges coming out,seemingly every month or so.GREAT HOBBY!!!

For $11,500 the Air Tangent should come with a compressor that doesn't have pressure issues. One shouldn't have to 'tweak' an arm that costs this much.
In this respect the Kuzma Air Line seems to be a better design and to represent a better value.

sirspeedy70680@earthlink.net,
I enjoy reading your posts but you make it difficult to do so by omitting spaces after commas, periods, and other punctuation marks.