Lew, others: There is no hidden level of complexity: Frank's genius created a design of exquisitely elegant simplicity. There's an explanation of the geometry in a post on another forum, not sure if the mods will allow the reference but here goes: previous post on diyaudio check post #222 for the geometry. |
Dave (Intactaudio), Totally concur with your last post. Patents are like locks: they help generally honest people remain honest by imposing barriers to temptation. They will not deter a determined burglar (or a deep-pocketed competitor). *** I'm with Johnnyb53 on the question of learned listening techniques vs. aural acuity (i.e. bat's ears). My hearing is less acute today at nearly 60 (yikes!) than it was at 20 or 30. Yet my ability to hear and understand music and sonics is greater and it continues to improve. Example: fifteen years ago I couldn't adjust SRA by ear, even in my own system. Today I can adjust SRA by ear in a resolving but unfamiliar system, even with an LP I've never heard before... in 2 minutes or less. My aging ears aren't growing more bat-like, my brain has learned what to listen for. The Sherlock Holmes metaphor was quite apt, IMO. In, 'The Sign of Four' (the first Holmes story), Holmes explains to Watson that he was quite consciously training his mind to improve specific skills needed for his chosen profession. In particular, he was honing his powers of observation and deduction by acquiring two things: 1. awareness of phenonomena he was likely to encounter at a crime scene; 2. knowledge of the sources of such phenomena. While Sherlock Holmes raw intellect was presumably well above average, it required specific training to make him a great detective. Contemporaries of equal or even greater intellect (e.g., his brother Mycroft) were inferior detectives because they had not developed and practiced the necessary skills. Another example would be the reputed 100 names for snow used by Inuits vs. the few names used by people who don't need such depth of knowledge about the stuff. The Inuits' senses are presumably no more or less acute than yours or mine, but they've trained their brains to a profound level of skill in an area of particular interest and concern. Likewise, the dedicated audiophile. |
Mark is right about the design's "exquisitely elegant simplicity." And this picture gives you all the clues on the design of its tangential guiding mechanism. _______ |
I finally found some real world comparison from a fellow member Atif, with permission: "I have both the Schroeder SQ for my mono setup and the Schroeder LT for my stereo. Both arms are excellent. Very dynamic and naturalsounding. Tonally perfect and airy and 3-dimentional. The LT has more weight and authority in the base. It also does everything at least a little better than the Sq especially in the inner grooves of a record. I've been a happy longtime customer of Mr. Schroeder." |
