Are linear tracking arms better than pivoted arms?

Darkmoebius "Seems to me that the highest end has gotten more expensive, larger, and not much easier to use. Some of the components at the link above don't seem too easy to setup or use."

Agreed. I used to enjoy ogling ultra expensive gears, much like pornography to audiophiles. But I no longer get that kind of pleasure anymore and much of what I see is vulgar and decadent. If a piece of gear is art, I still see it as functional art that should still serve a purpose, much like a well designed architecture. But I am seeing less of the functional part and much like a jumble of expensive parts put together to impress than to express. Very soon we will have a paper plate manufactured by Tiffany.

I don't have problem with people enjoying them much like people looking at luxury car magazines. And once a while there are few products that are innovative and really have something to say and keep my interest. For the most part, I don't even have the urge to go to a dealer to check it out in person. And not to mention confronting the snobbery of most dealers. Again, it's just me. Maybe I am getting old...

Sorry to be so off topic. My apologies.

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Their list of amps is incomplete :)

It does seem as if a lot of 'advances' in technology are a sort of race to the bottom: mp3, and CDs to name a couple we are all familiar with. Many of the changes I saw in 'hifi' receivers over the years (I used to run a service shop) were changes made simply to reduce shipping and assembly costs.

Other technologies are moves forward, like when overhead valves supplanted side valve (flathead) technology in internal combustion engines.

Dear Darkmoebius, in teh early 1930ies you could order from H.H.Scott a "Quaranta". If you did so - and included all possible features including your own recording device with cutting lathe... - it would have cost you US$5000+ in the early 1930ies.
Compared in status and buying power of the day it surpasses anything that is marketing today just to fulfill the demand of some east asian audio collectors to show off their wealth within their peer group.
There were always options to spend real big money on audio. You could get AEG/Telefunken/Siemens or ERPI WE Mirrorphonic to built and set-up a cinema-like audio set-up in your private home. Things like these were done both sides of the Atlantic in the years between the 2 big wars and they did cost more than any of us could possibly imagine.
The world was there before any of us - there is nothing new today - just more hype, less seriousness (in design - not in talking about...), less education and less background in audio.

We oldsters were so lucky to have dynakit, KLH and so on to give us a taste of what the rich had with McIntosh,Bozak,Marantz........
We also got lucky with stereo as a standard, with tons of recordings already available (on tape) in the format prior to the development of stereo records. Stereo on a five or seven channel home theater setup sounds confused and less than inspiring. I watch DVD concerts on occasion, but generally finish with the CD copy in my audio room. We need to convert a Steve Jobs to quality audio recording. Perhaps we could send Dave Wilson.
But then again, I am preaching to the choir.

03-18-10: Dertonarm
Dear Darkmoebius, in teh early 1930ies you could order from H.H.Scott a "Quaranta". If you did so - and included all possible features including your own recording device with cutting lathe... - it would have cost you US$5000+ in the early 1930ies.

Yowsa, that's a few mill in today's dollars!

There were always options to spend real big money on audio. You could get AEG/Telefunken/Siemens or ERPI WE Mirrorphonic to built and set-up a cinema-like audio set-up in your private home.

Bet that cost a few nickels, back in the day.