New Schroeder linear tonearm, any thoughts?

And thankfully, a beautiful looking arm at last.
Makes the Kuzma 4 point appear as gross and ungainly as Quazimodo's goitre.
Pity Frank didn't include a detachable universal headshell?
I would have seriously considered this.....although if it has the same waiting time as Frank's other arms............?

Dear Dgad: I don't know which is that price but I would think that the price could goes with the tonearm advantages in this new design over other tonearms.

The tonearm quality performance level is the factor that justify a price other than marketing.

Anyway, till we don't experienced we can't have a grading on this " novel " tonearm design but knowing the very good job of this designer ( Frank. ) I assume this one will have very high quality performance and will has success.

Btw, the japanese tonearm in the link I posted is interesting too, it is a straight one from headshell to tonearm bearing that the designer say " there is no contact at all " and comes with universal removable headshell design as Halcro asked.

Good that the analog is growing up on something so important as tonearms with " fresh " ideas.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Larry, if you looked at that link I posted, you would have no questions.

Raul,

Very tempting, but when do I leave well enough alone? I have seen so
many great designs and Wally measured Tonearms a few years ago to
rotational inertia (the force needed by the groove to move the stylus)
across the LP. This basically would be demonstrated by the Tonearms
pulling back against the cartridge and produce excessive force on the
cantilever. Something that most of us take for granted. It was truly
educational. He mentioned some of the best arms he has tested we're the
SME, TW 10.5, and Breuer. He also showed some unconventional designs
to "stick" along portions of an LP. The reason I bring this up is
that my Schroder SQ obviously would excel in such a test beyond all arms
and might be why I am so enamored with its sound. I wonder if this new
design from Frank would have similar problems. I doubt any bearing that
traverses over a pivoting area would have as low friction - inertia. This can
honestly be tested. Franks claims to the contrary might be true and then we
have something special. I believe linear tracking arms of the true linear
variety all suffer from needing high forces against the cantilever to move
the stylus.

Looking at the photos, I assume that at the distal end of the arm wand there is a bearing of some kind (I have read elsewhere that it is not a string-type bearing) that must have lowest possible friction. How then does the mechanism in the base "know" that the tonearm is pivoting across the surface of the LP? Is there any sort of linkage between the two mechanisms, or does the moving pivot just move independently of the arm wand pivot? If the latter, then it would seem one must re-set the pivoting base each time. And what happens if one wishes to start listening at some cut in the middle of the LP? (Thus I think I have got it wrong; there has to be a link of some kind between the two pivots or maybe the rear of the arm wand is fixed such that the stylus movement must control the whole operation.)