My setup isn't quite as beautiful to gaze upon as John's.
But I've been able to get it to track an entire LP successfully. If you like to tweek, this arm assembly will give you plenty of opportunity.
To answer Kitch29's question, My suspended IIX was affected by the cantilevered design of the MG-1. Because of the horizontal arms that extend forward, my suspension was heavily weighted towards the front with the MG-1 installed. I had to increase the damping factor of the front suspension springs in order to get it leveled. Don't know if that is optimum for isolating the playing environment from outside influences. But I am still working towards the optimum balance because whenever I make miniscule changes, it affects the leveling overall in other areas. I'm also using a heavy aftermarket record clamp and an Oracle Mat which also adds mass to the sprung weight. So in my case, the stock suspension wasn't designed to control this much mass hanging over the front edge. It is a challenge that I will have to address in the future. But I've been able to reach a compromise setup that works for now. The arm itself doesn't seem to be affected by suspension bobbing. It is much more prone to suspension action that takes the arm out of level.
I am having problems with static electricity and possibly grounding. The manufacturer has given me detailed instructions on some possible solutions which I will try this weekend.
My impressions so far? Even without the optimized setup, the soundstage really opened up. My speakers are producing sounds that are perceived to be bigger than the actual room size. I guess you can say that the soundstage has expanded dramatically. Instruments decay gives the impression of placement and space in between musicians. Another thing I noticed is absolute silence inbetween tracks on my pristine LPs. I'm still fiddling with VTF and some of the grounding issues. I think I will need a more accurate VTF gauge.
However, I am impressed with the improvement created by the MG-1 so far. For the price, it is an acceptable gamble that will allow mid-fi enthusiasts like myself to experiment with technology that was only available to the big boys with unlimited resources.
