New tonearm: wish to upgrade from DV 505


Dear Audiogoners,
I would like to get your advice for the best actual upgrade from an old DV 505 (mounted on a PX 100 M direct drice). Within the last 20 years, many alternatives evolved. I appreciate any of your valuable proposals. Da Vinci? Schroeder SQ? FR? Any suggestions are welcome.
Best regards r walter
_r_walter
Price range? (It appears that you are willing to go high.) Cartridge preference will then be a determining factor. IMO, there is no such thing as THE best tonearm; it is all about synergy between table/tonearm/cartridge.
What is it about your system that you don't like ? The Dyna is still a great arm, so my feeling is that the limiting factor is the TT and perhaps the cartridge, not the arm. What type of music do you play ? You may want to look at the Avid TT's which I heard in Vegas some years ago. Myself I use a heavily modified Goldring GL75 after owning two Linn LP12's.
I couldn't be happier.
the cartridge is a Kiseki Agaat (retipped). The complete setup plays nicely. The question is whether a change of the arm could reveal even more information out of the vinyl.
Regards r_walter
Dear r_walter: IMHO ( till today, as Lemw point out. ) there are no best/king tonearms what we can find ( over time and testing several tonearms. ) is a a cartridge best tonearm matching.

Now, looking to your system and the Kiseki set-up on the DV-505 ( btw, very good DD unit that Onkyo, good. ) there are at least three things that you can try and that could/can change the quality performance of that rig:

first is to run the 505 in static balanced way setting the VTF through the counterweight instead the VTF dial, this makes that the tonearm counterweight goes nearer the pivot given ( between other things ) an improve in tracking, a little change in effective mass that affect the performance, and in this way you take out a possible point of resonance ( the VTF dinamically spring devices. ).

second, you can change the headshell and test the Kiseki with two or three other different weight and build material headshells till you find the one that makes the difference in quality performance you are looking for, the cartridge/headshell combination makes a huge difference in the sound perceived quality performance.

and third you can change not only the headshell wires but the tonearm internal wiring.

four, you can do/make these three suggestions.

Of course that you can make tests with different load impedance values, VTA/SRA changes and ( if the headshell permit ) Azymuth ones.

As you can see there are land to cover other than change the tonearm that always is an alternative.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.