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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
jazdoc
365 posts
 
Well...I would never state that the Talea is unequivocally better for every turntable and cartridge combination. I can only comment on those systems I've actually HEARD.

More to the point, the only combination that matters to ME are the cartridges I use (or am likely to use in the foreseeable future) in my system.

As to the comparison between the Triplanar and Talea, in MY experience, on systems I've actually HEARD... Well let me preface by saying that the Triplanar is a terrific tonearm and I remain a very happy Triplanar owner. That said, the Talea plays in a different league and that for ME the Talea is well worth the price differential.

I can not make a judgment for anyone else, but unreservedly recommend auditioning both (among others) if you are assembling a high quality analog system.
peterayer
1,382 posts
 
Dertonarm,
I understand your arm design will be on the market in about a year. Do you care to tell us here on Audiogon anything about it?

Raul,
What is happening with your tone arm design? Is it as you say a "universal" type design? When will it be on the market?

I demoed the Talea at a friend's house with the A90 on a Teres table. I much preferred it to his Kuzma airline arm during a four hour listening session. It seemed to recover more information from the record grooves or tracked the LP better, or damped the resonances better, I'm not really sure. I am certain, however, that I enjoyed the music much more and it sounded more real to me. It was also easily adjustable and seemed to be well made.

I gather from this forum that each of you is familiar with the Schroder arm, but has either of you ever heard the Talea? If you have, what are your impressions?
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
12,128 posts
 
The Talea uses a counterweight system similar to the Triplanar- three weights (the last of which is threaded and very small for exacting adjustment).

I point this out because it is possible to have either arm set up in a way that does not favor the cartridge installed. This weight system allows you to adjust the effective mass of the system which is not possible with a single counterbalance weight.

So if the tracking weight is right, but the effective mass is not, the cartridge will not show its best! This is how you can get really divergent results using the same arm and cartridge. My own experience suggests that if the effective mass is also optimized, one will hear far less differences with the cartridges.
sebastian
24 posts
 
Halcro, Raul: I am fully agreed that synergy is very important to get the optimum result. I wish I have the ZYX with the DaVinci.

I have spent many hours with the DaVinci using with different kind of cart, more than the Talea. I think I have grown to know its basic characteristic and it is so easy for me to decide which tonearm that I want to live with or without.
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
Lew, you're right about the DV1s weighing more than the Universe (just by feel....I have only a mass of 12.6 gm for the Dyna but nothing for the ZYX), but why did you guess heavier rather than lighter?
And yes......I was commenting on cartridge/arm matching rather than the respective merits of the 2 cartridges.

Raul's point about the difficulty of designing a truly 'universal' tonearm is well taken.
Of my 3 tonearms on the Raven AC-3, the Copperhead arm came 2nd (although by the smallest of margins), with both the Universe and the DV1s. The DaVinci was best with the Universe whilst the Phantom II won with the DV1s.
When high compliance MM cartridges were installed however, the Copperhead won with every single example.
So trade-offs are inevitable I think if the aim really IS to design a 'universal' arm, and don't forget, the arm designers usually use one or two cartridges to 'voice' their tone-arm designs so synergy with those selected cartridges may necessarily compromise the synergy with others?
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