Wood armwand vs Metal armwand

But the wood arm can give you splinters!

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Jump on both!!

The trick here is you want to control resonance in the arm wand, such that it does not talk back or editorialize.

Most wood arm wands I have seen do not appear to be treated for resonance issues. Some might argue that they don't need that; they would be wrong. The better metal arm wands are indeed treated- less expensive ones are not and so seem to have more coloration.

Resonance is not the only issue. Effective mass with the cartridge also plays a role, which is part of mechanical resonance which is a different issue. I point this out to reduce confusion.

A metal arm wand can improve shielding, which may result in lower noise.

Here in Minnesota there can be another concern- humidity, which will not affect a metal arm wand, but will certainly affect a wooden one! I'd hate to have an expensive arm wand crack in dry humidity, or have it change dimension or warp. That seems like a problem not worth having to me.

Very good points Atmasphere! I live in Wisconsin and deal with the same weather related problems/obstacles with my cello as you would with a wooden tone arm.

There are techniques to make wood stable. Such as immersing it in a stablizing product, and applying a vacuum to draw the water out and the stablizer in. This replaces the water in the wood with a resin that will not be effected by humidity. Certain woods are much more stable than others as well.

Though I don't live in a very dry climate, the humidity indoors does get pretty low in the winter. I have had no issues with my Reed tonearms.