Anyone try the replica B-60 Fidelity Research VTA?

The Ikeda Sound IT-VTA-06 is a modern version of the FR B-60 elevation base, and made by the same guys who made the original.

Although I have handled the IT-VTA-06, I haven't had the chance to try it out or compare it to the original. What I do know that the machinery that the IT-VTA-06 is made on is far more accurate than what FR had at their disposal back in the 1980s.

If what Nandric had problems with was the IT-VTA-06, I strongly recommend that he describes exactly what the problem is to the seller, so that feedback can be provided to the manufacturer and improvements can be made.

kind regards, jonathan

I am not sure how many of them were made and from whom. Once I had contact to someone who made them, he is living in Hawaii... are there another ones out there made in HK?

Dear Lew, there was some Japanese guy from Tahiti who
called him self Walter. He started the first production of
the replica B-60. I think he made the drawings and ordered
the manufacturing in Hong Kong. But he was not able to sell
them for more as $ 500 a piece while this was not sufficient
to cover his own cost. So he give up. I assume
that this manufacturer from Hong Kong started the second
trial. My only problem with this,say, Hong Kong produced
B-60 is the mentioned screw which is made from some soft
kind of metal. My idea is to order one made from the 'gun
matal' because I assume that this one will be better suited
to 'slide' against the internal steel collar.
I also think that the dimension of the pin in front of this screw
and along which the internal collar moves (up and down)
need to be exactly made. Without any play that is.
Otherwise the tonearm will also move sideways.
Meanwhile Ikeda san (re)introduced his original B-60.
I nearly ordered one but thought to be wise to first ask
for the price. Very wise indeed. I nearly got a heart attack
when I have seen the German price . The only importer
in Europe is in Germany.

Lewm,
Any movement in the arm pillar is not a glitch and is certainly more than an annoyance. The sideways movement, whether he means rotational or horizontal, it means that the arm pillar is not secure will result in smearing and loss of information and dynamics in a good system.
If that is the case you would be better off without the B60 and using the standard collet.
By the way, have you compared your FR64 to your Dynavector on the same turntable yet ? I have both the DV501 ( superior to the older 505 according to both my ears and the reviews in TAS ) and 2 FR64's and comparing them on the same TT ( Final Audio VTT1 ) the FR64's are much better in terms of transparency and accurate soundstage reproduction.

Dear Jonathan, In the first place I really hope that your
new IT-VTA-06 is much better as the old-fashioned made
B-60 so I can buy from you the old one(grin).In the second
place I even posted a picture of the 'incriminated part'
which is a small screw with a pin on its 'nose' to the seller
from whom I bought the replica. Despite my 3 added
emails I heard nothing from this seller while I also made
some suggestion how to improve this part. I am not sure
about my assertion but think that 'steel on steel' is not
the optimal combination for 'glide' purposes. I.e. the
internal collar need to move up and down along this pin.
I think that this screw with the pin in front should be
made from bronze or rather 'gun metal'.
As a brave Serbian warrior I am not afread to contradict
even J. Carr. But there are some old-fashioned machinist
who still swear by the old lathes and categorically claim
that the talent of the machinist is more imortant then the
used kind of lathe (grin).