Reed tonearm w/ Raven One table-how's the match ?

Here's what Steve sent me on the eff. mass:

The hardwoods add effective mass and tend to favor lower compliance carts, although only slightly. In any case, don't get hung up on wood choice. It matters very little in sonics and cart choice, unlike most other arms. There are SO many more factors involved in arm/cart matching than effective mass.

I don't have the A-90 any longer so unfortunately I can't make the comparison to the Kansui in the Reed. The Kansui was more natural and solid than the A-90 in my previous VPI 12.5 though.

"The Kansui was more natural and solid...". That sounds fine with me. Thanks.

Jarrett, I assume your Kansui cartridge is a Miyajima.
I just heard it with Reed Cocobolo wand. Great sounding cartridge that matches better with Reed than TW Acoustic Raven arm.

If I get a second Reed arm, (may be in the next year or two, hopefully), I definitely am thinking about Red Cedar as well. I think that with Red Cedar and Cocobolo, The two should cover almost all the cartridges available that I might consider.

***I've had very good results with adjustment despite the fixed azimuth of the SME, and have been able to hit that sweet spot with some regularity by attending to other adjustments.***

Or so you think.

Without experiment you cant say with any authority that it is in fact in the quintessential sweet spot.

This isnt a confrontational statement but just a observation based on reason and deduction.

You want to BELIEVE your azimuth is perfect but you take that by faith not by proof.

As i laboured.

Todays "sweet spot" isn't "tomorrows sweet spot."

Are you open?

From one audiophile "beggar" to another...experiment with your azimuth adjustment.

Take it to the next level and remove that question mark from the equation.

Do you want to progress or do you just want to chat?

Though the headshell is fixed on my SME, I have been able to loosen the screws at the arm's base and get some limited azimuth adjustment with the arm. Resting a small, very light bubble level on the top front portion of the arm has also helped. Beyond these measures and the others already mentioned, I don't know that there's much else to rely on except my ears. I can certainly hear significant differences while in the process of making the various kinds of adjustments. Let's put it this way: I may or may not get things "perfect", but I'm typically able to get the sound to where I am very satisfied with it. Otherwise, it would be nice to have an arm that provides for greater ease of adjustment in a variety of parameters. This is one of the reasons I'm looking to acquire one that does offer such conveniences. And, it just might bring me a bit closer to that "perfect"(I really don't like that word.)sound.