Continuation of my Thread on VPI, Basis, Origin...

Zaikesman, there is some information from Rwd's previous threads, that is at play here. He is having a problem with the JMW and the Helikon, as a combo. The Benz is not a problem, as I see it. From his previous threads, he has identified the JMW/Helikon matchup to be less than ideal. Apparently, he would rather switch arms, than the cartridge. So this is what this discussion is revolving around. The latest discussion on TTs, relates to a new question he posed about whether he might change TTs also, when he is making this move. I think he needs as much input as possible, because this is a major move for him, and alot of money is at stake. This is the time to strike at the heart of the matter, so he can get the best combo, the first time out.

RWD, as I mentioned before, I am also using a Helikon with a JWM-10.5 on an Aries. While I also had trouble tracking the same antiskate bands on the HiFi News test record, I honestly have no desire to switch arms or cartridges. I couldn't be happier with the sound of the Helikon. For that matter I am also fond of the JMW -- particularly since swapping arm tubes, and thus cartridges, is so easily accomplished. I also have a mono Helikon, which is an absolutely amazing cartridge. By far, I get the best sound in my listening room when playing mono records with the mono Helikon. That I can so easily swap between cartridges is a HUGE plus.

I understand that you can swap arm tubes easily enough with the Graham as well. I am not sure if you can do so with the non-unipivot arms. If your listening tastes lean heavily towards classical, jazz, or 60's rock, then you may want to consider leaving yourself open to swap cartriges in the future.

It is my understanding that true mono cartridges, such as the mono Helikon, will soon be available from other manufacturers. I believe that you can now special order a true mono version of Grado cartridges from the Sonata model on up. Benz will also be coming out with one -- possibly a mono ACE.

Jumping back to the stereo Helikon -- prior to acquiring that cartridge I used two different Clearaudio cartridges; first the $1200 Sigma and then the $1600 Clearaudio Victory. Both tracked the HiFi News LP antiskate tracks better than my stereo Helikon -- and yet neither approached the Helkon's ability to get out of the way of the music.

IMHO I think there are better places that you can spend your money on than a new arm or table. The first thing that comes to mind is a Vibraplane (makes a HUGE difference) -- and from there a second arm tube and a Helikon mono.

That's just my two cents. I hope it helps.

Ken

Hi All...sorry for a brief delay (busy at work)...I would like to answer all...Zaikesman.....you make some very good and valid points! I am quite happy with the "sound" of my Benz m2 and Helikon cartridges. However, I began to notice some inconsistencies with my 10.5 arm and the Helikon...so see my posts below.....

OK...I just spent 2 hours with a very knowledgeable technician trying to figure out why my new (2 months old) Helikon (regular) runs in on the lead in groove on some records. My arm is a VPI 10.5 and the tech is quite good at set up and VTA etc. We tried playing with the tonearm cable on the VPI (this is the cable connected to arm tube and the rear arm connection and is also used for anti-skate). We checked the weight, VTA, and still on some records (yes some older Mer's) even newer records..it runs in for a few revolutions or grooves. It is very annoying but does not happen at the end of the record and it plays quit nicely overall. This should be a good question for Helikon/VPI arm 'goners.

Thanks for your help!
Rwd  (Threads | Answers)
03-10-02

.....and so I believe I began to notice a problem with the anit-skate. I did some twisting of my arm cable (this is the looped cable form the arm to the junction bos for the JMW arm....and the problem was solved.
Then I switched to my Benz cartridge. When I switch cartridges I remove the complete arm wand witch also contains the counter weight and that arm cable I referred to above....so you see...the arm twist position is now gone and has to be reset. The next problem I noticed was when I viewed a Thread by Sidssp....it addressed poor anti-skate problems with the JWM arm.....see below.....

11-19-02: Rwd
Sid, I just received my Hi-Fi teat record yesterday. I will test it on my Aries/VPI 10.5/Benz M2 and then my Helikon. I will report back.

TWL...your advice clearly seems as though you have great experience in this area. We all (vinyl lovers) thank you for your candid and straight forward remarks (although we sometimes don't want to hear the truth).
Let me check my cartridges out and get back to all.
Rwd  (Threads | Answers)

Finally....TWL has been very helpful.......I am happy with the should I am getting now, but if I can IMPROVE the sound with a better tracking cartridge/arm/table........??? Why not? If the JMW arm sounds fine with bad anit-skate.....what would a Graham or Origin or Vector arm sound like??????

(I hope you can follow the older threads that I cut and pasted into this one....)

Rwd, I think that looking at your situation the way that you are is very commendable. You are looking at moving toward the best sound that you can get, without "clinging" to any one particular item. This is the way to get the best out of your system. If I found another TT, arm, or cart that I could afford, that gave me better performance than what I have, I'd jump on it in a New York second. And then I'd tell everybody on here about it.

I recognize that there are different opinions on what you should do. I am only offering my opinion based upon what I know. There is more than one way to "skin a cat". The things I recommend are from my point of view, on the best sound that I know of. But, certain things are "written in stone" also. If you have a good working knowledge of the "written in stone" things, you can make your own judgments based on the good foundation. I tried to make some of these available to you so you could be as informed as possible on the subject. Ultimately it is your decision on what you do.

My personal belief is that tonearm stability is of paramount importance with low-compliance cartridges. Also cartridge/arm mass matchup is critical. Sufficient lateral mass is crucial. Rigidity, anti-resonance, and bearing precision is vital. Without ALL of these factors properly matched, you will not achieve maximum performance from a low-compliance cartridge. Yes, they will work if not perfectly matched, which you have found out, but they will not work as intended, and that is where alot of discussion comes into play, because some people think that just because a cartridge is working in their arm and sounds good, that it is doing all it can. This is clearly not the case. Much closer attention to all the particulars is required to extract the full extent of the arm/cartridge capabilities. And this is where we are at, isn't it? So you must be diligent in pursuing all the data possible to arrive at the best combination. Only then can you determine which cartridge sounds best, or which arm, or which combinations. Without that, you are making decisions based on a somewhat reduced sonic performance level, that is provided by a less-than-ideal matchup, and thus the conclusions will be flawed. I am of the opinion at this time, that you aren't yet aware of just how much that Helikon is capable of. It hasn't been allowed to perform at its best. To hear it at its best, you must put it into the proper carriage, which is what we are looking at.

In addition, you must remember, that an arm can only provide what the TT will allow, and there is room above the Aries for improvement, so even if you get the perfect arm for the Helikon, you will still not be hearing it at its maximum. All aspects must be considered as individual parts, and as a total system. The Helikon is good enough to be sitting on the world's best TTs, and be quite at home there. As you improve your TT, you will hear even more from your Helikon, that you didn't even know was available from it. If it is in the right arm.

Thanks Rwd and Twl for your clarifications. Let me just state for the you-know-what, that I personally find Harry Weisfeld's (VPI) advocacy of the supposed non-necessity for a proper anti-skate control to be, shall we say, non-convincing (as a point of theory, that is, never having used the VPI 'arm). To my mind, he should either: A) Declare that in his philosophy of record playback, anti-skating is a spurious concern, which he will not be addressing in his designs, period; or B) Acknowledge that skating is a real force which needs to dealt with in a predictable manner, and provide a calibrated control to allow this adjustment to be performed in the normal fashion. But simply opining that skating is a spurious concern - and therefore superfluous to correct for (or that the cure is worse than the disease) - but then turning around and saying that if you wish, you can accomplish the adjustment equally as well by futzing with the twist and the angle of the tonearm leadout wires, strikes this groove-surfer as a decidedly disingenuous and unsatisfactory solution. And it seems obvious one that doesn't work very well. So whatever other virtures his design may possess, or however good it may sound, if I were in the market for an 'arm in this range (and here is where I have to admit my de facto disqualification from being taken too seriously in this debate!), I would be looking elsewhere. But that's just me. :-)