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Should I keep my Well tempered tonearm?

I have had this arm for years. I am currently in the middle of getting an oracle Delphi MKIII. My alexandria it was on has had it, and its not logical to repair what needs replacement.

I have always had mistracking issues with this tonearm and whatever cartridge. I just sold a Grado Sonata, which may have been a mistake. I have tried multiple cartridges (read 4 different known good units) and never seem to get it right.

I ordered the protractor from stanalog because I am concerned that its incorrectly set overhang causing mistracking. When I say mistracking I mean sibalence.

I have played with every possible setting and never had it setup to my satisfaction.

Honestly, I am sick of screwing around with this arm. I am about ready to get rid of it and get something different.

The manual isn't all that great as far as installation instructions either. It lists that you mount the cart and set overhang by twisting the arm mounting until the stylus lines up with the overhang circle. This makes no sense to set overhang with an arbitrary cartridge mounting arrangement.

Sorry if this seems like a rant, but I am very frustrated and annoyed with this arm. I just want to listen to good sounding clean music. Not dirty sibalence.

Thanks guys, your input would be appreciated. I would likely have to buy an arm that is priced close to what the WTT is worth used because I won't have a ton of money left over.

Evan

BTW, I put a 10x5 on a thorens turntable and could listen to that all day compared to my setup.
240z4u
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,857 posts
 
I've owned the WTA arm for about 15 + years. Mine is the Black version with the dual weighting system. I use this arm on a Linn LP12 and it works like a charm.
I think the key with the arm is to set it up with about 2/3rds of the cup filled with silicone and let the paddle float just below the surface. OTOH, the azimuth adjustment is basically worthless! It will float through time and you can never get it set accurately. I re-adjust my azimuth frequently, the process is NOT fun and it's not repeatable. However, I do think this arm can and does shoot way above its rep. I have AB'ed it against an SME 1V and it was not discredited at all!
So, while the arm will work on suspended tables and does need to be set up correctly, it is like most gear out there.....great in some areas and poor in others..:0( However,you will need to spend a LOT more money to significantly better it though, IMO.
gvoth
32 posts
 
Try STP with the WT arm… I've used it for almost 20 years.

Bill Firebaugh says the arm already has some anti-skate built in so I always set my original WTT arm to zero. Even with my LP Labs Carbon Fiber arm upgrade, its Discovery cable wires are more thickly coated than the original Litz wiring and can influence the arm if not placed properly. I had some tracking error for a while until I noticed that the arm wires were flexing and causing too much anti-skate on the arm themselves.

Love these arms. I modded an original WT arm to the WT Simplex design esthetic and mounted it on a Neat Shield MO-19 idler. Fantastic sound. I'm now building a 12" carbon fiber WT version for the same table.
gvoth
32 posts
 
You perhaps need to replace your set screw… my azimuth also wavered until I got a replacement from Mike Pranka at Dynavector. He has a small cache of original WT small parts. Great guy.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
2,857 posts
 
Thanks Gvoth. However, I don't see how replacing the set screw...which I believe adjusts the VTA only and NOT the azimuth will help here. The basic problem that the WTA has is that the monofilament line can can adjust as the float changes position in the silicone fluid. Although, since I had my arm professionally set up by a great tech at the end of last year, I haven't touched the azimuth adjustment and it seems to be still spot on.
audio_candy
13 posts
 

It seems you have built up a prejudice for this tonearm (understandably so) I would sell it and get something else like a Jelco 750D and have no hassles. Then you can just enjoy the music
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