Well Tempered Classic or Technics SP10Mk2

>>06-05-10: Lewm
Dear Audiofeil, Did anyone here say that the EPA100 is the "best arm ever made"? I don't want to re-read all the posts, but I don't recollect that anyone made that claim.<<

If you're too lazy to read 22 posts, don't ask the question.

Macrojack said above;

The EPA-100 is a genuine contender for best arm ever made.

not that i, in any way, agree with MacroJack's statement.

i've not done the comparative listening to the better vintage arms in direct comparision to the best of today's arms; but as i've been in the market for a vintage arm (as my 5th arm) i have closely investigated this issue and i'm told that the best current arms are a few levels refinement better than any of the vintage arms by trusted friends. those 'latest design' arms are not cheap, especially in comparison to the better vintage arms.

i want a less expensive arm to use with some of the inexpensive cartridges i've accumulated.

Thanks, Mike.
Macrojack's statement does not quite make the claim that Audiofeil wants to debunk, but it is likely to be the one he had in mind. The real question is why is Audiofeil so angry?

As regards vintage tonearms, whatever anyone tells you is just his or her opinion. A few years ago, most of us were convinced that vintage idler- and direct-drive turntables, and even the ideas behind these drive mechanisms, were inferior and passe'. My feelings are quite different now. (And of course you were ahead of the game with your Rockport table.) Likewise, I personally have had an epiphany as regards the merits of vintage MM and MI cartridges. (Pause while Audiofeil cranks up another insult....) So I am keeping an open mind on tonearms. While the engineering of many of them may seem dated, the quality of construction is often very high, higher than that of some of the current crop. I haven't heard them all, but think of the vintage SME, Ortofon, Lustre, Stax, SEAC, and older Dynavector products, as well as the Technics vintage arms.

Mike,
Like you plan, I got the EPA 500 system to utilize some of my extra and less expensive cartridges. I honestly didn't expect the performance I'm getting. You may be surprised with a vintage arm. When my Soundsmith retipped 90x shows up I'll mount it on one of my a501gs. I expect it to be another eye opener. Currently, I have the XV-1s mono on an EPA 250 arm and I really don't know how it could work better.

Lew,

my mind is open. until i actually have a high quality vintage arm side by side in my system along with some of these 'giant killer' cartridges i won't know.

regarding the arms specifically; my preliminary view is that the technology and build quality of the best vintage arms is right up there or maybe even better than current arms as likely the R&D budgets that produced those arms was relatively unlimited compared to the much more 'small time' development of the current leading edge arms. OTOH the improvement in refinement and overall performance of vinyl playback in general allows for greater development of the best current arms.

even though 30-40 year old tt's drive systems are competitive with better current tt's; to get that performance we do need to 'package' them in current tech plinths and messaging. i'm not sure vintage arms are able to be improved similarly.

we'll see how my perspective plays out.

this weekend Joel Durand installed my new Talea tonearm. so i have the Rockport, 2 Reed arms on my Technics, and the Talea on my Garrard. if a vintage arm can hold it's own in that company then it will really open my eyes.