2. analog
  3. 1287172116

Schroder sq and the new talea

I heard there was to be a fun time of learning and comparing of these two arms at the rmaf. Since the talea is relatively new, it still has to stand the test of time with comparisons on other tables, other systems and the selective and subjective tastes of discerning audiophiles! There is to be a comparison in one of the rooms at the rmaf this year, which i wasnt able to make. I would be curious to hear some judicial, diplomatic, friendly talk about how they compared to each other in the same system and room. I currently own the origin live silver mk3 with a jan allaerts mc1bmk2 and am enjoying this combo but have become curious about the more popular "superarms" Hats off to both frank and joel.

I hope this thread draws more light rather than heat. If someone preferred one arm over the other it would be OK. With all the variables it doesnt mean that much to me. What matters to me is what it sounds like to me and in my room. With that said...

What was your bias? was it for the schroder or the talea?

cheers!...
vertigo
thom_at_galibier_design's avatar
thom_at_galibier_design
729 posts
 
Thanks Brad,

Yes, that was in my opening comments, and also, remember Frank's comments about 70% certainty in his introductory comments.

Even with all of these preambles, you'd be amazed at the amount of criticism (most of it constructive), that I've received offline.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,089 posts
 
I also find it odd that the Triplanar is not mentioned, if for no other reason that with a casual glance at the Talea, you see the trademark VTA tower and tunable weight system of the Triplanar. Its kind of hard to miss.

The Triplanar uses a bearing that is harder than either of the arms in this discussion. When Herb was working with the bearings in the arm, he found that while many bearing worked well, in time the points tended to get flattened from very minor treatment of the arm. So he did his research and found the hardest bearings made. They are not a common bearing, and are made to order. Triplanar got investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, because they are using more of these bearings than Boeing is.

In short, just because it has had the various problems in an arm design worked out longer than the competition has is no reason to write it off!
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
Bravo to you for making the effort to allow two top tonearm designers to put on a well-considered and highly anticipated display of analog reproduction prowess

Yes, specially the "Top Tonearm Designers" brought tears in my eyes. Thank you. The world is so good. A piece of wood is all you need. That gives me hope, because I found a bone from an old Mammoth, I will drill it because I think, its earthy sound will be a sonic revolution....stay tuned...
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
I too would like to add, that between the Schroeder and the Talea it is not a choice between two but three contenders.
Atmasphere is right - if one really knows how to get the best out of the Triplanar (I in fact always liked the name "The Wheaton" - as we called him in the late 1980ies and early 1990ies - better), it is the sonic equal of most any pivot tonearm available today.
It is just very tricky and demands in deep knowledge as well as some skill to get the very best out of it ....
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
If one looks just a second longer, one will see that the Talea's VTA tower is much different than the Triplanar. The Talea VTA tower itself is not round, but faceted which gives a much larger surface area for the pinch clamp. The clamp of the Talea is also very different from, and IMO superior to, the locking mechanism of the Triplanar. The Talea and Triplanar both have offset bearings, but the Triplanar uses a gimbal bearing and the Talea uses a pivot and jewel bearing. The Talea has a single arm wand from which the counter weights hang, the Triplanar has a stub that the weights hang from and a separate arm wand. The Talea's anti-skate mechanism is completely different from the moveable dog-leg of the Triplanar. Obviously, the Talea's AZ adjustment is patented and very different from the Triplanar.

But, yeah, other than all that, I guess they look like they have some similarities. :-) I own a Triplanar as well so I know how it sounds and I know how the Talea sounds.
More to discover