Dear Halcro: The main FR tonearm subject is something not system dependent, geometry dependent, set-up dependent and the like.
The main subject is that resonances/distortions on the steel build material of those tonearms. Those distortions not only exist ( a fact ) but are worst than in other tonearms.
Dertonarm that is a wise guy knows that steel bad resonances/distortions but if anyone read to its posts he not oly does not speaks in a precise manner on the subject but he put and made a lot of noise/dust around ( he put like a smoke curtain. ) " trying " to distract the attention from that main subject and that's why he always is talking ( making noise ) about: Sea Cliff, his beloved friends, Cotter, telling hystories etc, etc.
He preach ( somewhere ) about neutrality like a goal in TT and tonearms but he defend a non-neutral tonearm due to the Mr. Ikeda choosen build material ( undamped steel. ). There is no coherence here and he knows.
Now, he says ( somewhere ) that through his hands already pass something like 60 FR tonearms where the majority were for sale. He is a wise man and IMHO he has a " private " interest in preserve the FR-64/66 myth.
I'm not using anymore those FR tonearms ( I own the FR especial base for the VTA on the fly that match the FR and Ikeda tonearms if any one is interested on it please email me because I don't need it anymore. ) due to its inherent distortions ( I repeat again and again due to that steel build material. ) and this is the main subject that he does not like to speak.
Maybe in reallity your ears are totally equalized to those FR heavy distortions and if is in that way it could be a frustation can't discern other superior and great alternatives to enjoy the music.
Daniel please no more noise/dust on the subject or go a head and take the " bull by its horns ".
Btw, Dertonarm of course that almost any person with the right experiences and knowing how an audio items sounds can has an opinion on an audio system only through the system description, I'm sure you can do it: that you don't want to do it does not means you can't or any one can't do it.
Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.
