What makes a good tonearm?


I'm entering the world of decent analog and believe I understand why the turntable design is critical (e.g., vibration isolation, balance and speed stability) but am scratching my head a little about tonearms. What makes a good tonearm good and a great tonearm great? The resulting sound is always the key, but what design characteristics contribute to that sound? Tonearms are a big investment and can be tough to change later so I'd like to understand more about them before I buy anything. Thanks in advance.
ozfly
Ozfly, There are so many good AND bad tonearms, and tonearm designs. It will all come down to which compromises you are willing to contend with. Every tonearm design available ie: linear tracking, gimballed, unipivot, or laser have issues.

I'm providing you with a link to very good primer on essential design parameters and considerations from the theoretical aspect. It is basic, but provides the fundamentals of established design criteria and execution.

Details and complications such as fixed effective length affecting overhang, linear offset, and feeble attempts to attaining null radii, (in essence, trying to defeat the laws of physics and geometry), constantly fluctuating centers of gravity and azimuth alignments in unipivot designs, ultimately inducing resonances (which somehow need to be dampened), and having to tolerate the eccentricities of linear designed arms who's systems begin to become so complex, that these complexities begin to introduce an almost insurmountable amount of variables to the equation.

Anyway, try this for a starter:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/sorgenti/armdesign_e.html


Hope you enjoy, Ed.
Great articles! Now I know enough to be dangerous! Thank you for the great reads. My objective is to get a relatively maintenance free arm and these article pointed out some ways to do that. The Audiomeca parallel tracker was also interesting. Thanks.