Well Tempered or Teres .....

FWIW, I have also audtioned both the Vector and the 2.2 with a Shelter 501, 901, a Benz Ref 2 (Silver and Copper), and a Koetsu Urishi. These arm/cartridge combos were run on a Nottingham Spacedeck, Hyperspace, and an SME20. I did NOT find the Vector to be more dynamic than the 2.2 in any of those instances. In fact, it was one of the reasons (along with great ease of VTA, VTF, and azimuth settings - and the fact that Bob Graham is a prince to deal with), that I selected the 2.2 over the Basis arm for my Spacedeck. Now, the Spacedeck does not compete with the 340, to be sure, but the SME20 is clearly no slouch.

I think Doug is correct to say that the table may make a big difference in evaluating an arm/cartridge. Always best to listen whenever you can. I first heard a Vector on a Basis 2800 and if I had not heard it AND the 2.2 on my 'Not, I would have bought the Vector.

Did you buy a Teres, Dennis? Thought I heard you mention you did or were leaning toward... If it is only the Teres you're concerned with visa vis the Vector, I'd certainly trust Doug's ear.

Hey Yanx, yeh, I've had my Teres 240 for about 18 months, and the vector for maybe 4 months. I'm not one to mess with VTA much, but now that Teres has their adapter, I'm putting it on my wish list. RCM is first though, and that will come soon.

I was waffling between getting a used Graham and a new Vector. Believe it or not, the prices offered were about even. I went with the Vector, and compared to my Expressimo Rega, I was totally floored. I've told people and still believe that it was one of the most significant upgrades in sound for my system.

All is good for you then, Dennis. Congrats.

Doug
Nice writeup on arm differences. If you like the Schroeder sound, or lack thereof, but don't like the price, I'm with Topoxforddoc and highly recommend the model 2. For a little more than your OL, you'll get most of the way there.

I've had the arm for a good 6 months now, and it doesn't have the inner groove distortion which most gimbal arms have. As to dynamics, with the carbon fibre armwand, it is super fast.

Happy spinning.

Cmk,
Thanks for the tip. We're taking a close look at all Frank's models. It was indeed the lack of any sound attributable to the arm that was so stunning.

Interesting comment about gimballed arms being more susceptible to inner groove problems. I'd love to hear more, whether experiences or theories, about why you think so. (I'm not challenging, just curious.) Is it based on your experiences with several gimballed arms? Theory about bearing chatter? Or...?

As I mentioned above, we've had inner groove problems since our ears got smart enough to recognize them. We also have a bit of coloration across the record, more at some frequencies than others. Resonances are the obvious culprit, and I suppose bearing chatter excited by resonances could make a gimbal design more vulnerable. Am I getting close?