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FR66s vs Ikeda IT-407 CR tonearms

Has anyone compared the FR66s to the newer Ikeda IT-407 CR1 tonearm? Any thoughts? In previous years, the Ikeda was available with either copper or silver internal wiring but the recent models don't mention anything about the tonearm wiring. Can anyone comment what type of wiring is used in the latest editions? It would seem intuitive that the later Ikeda IT407 should be a better performer than the FR66s having improved material and bearings over the FR66s but the proof is in the hearing.
ddriveman
syntax's avatar
syntax
2,193 posts
 
I made the comparison 2012 with the recent IT-407 model. I can't say anything about quality differences....but who knows. Gordon Holt (founder of Stereophile) said a remarkable sentence in an Interview some few years ago:
J. Gordon Holt 2007

No audio product has ever succeeded because it was better, only because it was cheaper, smaller, or easier to use.

The 66s was outstanding expensive, sold in low numbers compared to other Arms and even after 20 years it is hard to get one and when someone looks for a full Box, he has to pay thousands of $ in auctions. That Arm (and the FR-64s) passed the test of time.
lewm
13,520 posts
 
Most people who have heard both would tend to agree with Syntax. As to the wiring, whether it is copper or silver in the Ikeda, I think it is explicitly sold according to the internal wiring chosen; the silver wire version is more expensive than the copper one.
ddriveman OP
171 posts
 
Thanks Lewm and Syntax. Guess I will just stick with my FR66s then. BTW, has anyone rewired their FR66s? I did mine and it sounds better.
halcro's avatar
halcro
2,664 posts
 
Sometimes an instrument is designed which is well-nigh perfect and is hard to improve upon.....see Stradivarius violins...😎
The FR-64s/66s tone arms are possible examples of this phenomenon...❓😘
The price for a 35 year-old FR-66s has doubled in the last five years to $9,000 and above....yet every one which appears on the market (and fewer and fewer are doing so) is snapped up...👀
As Syntax says....the test of time has been passed...👍
ddriveman OP
171 posts
 
Halcro,

Thanks for chipping in and agree with your comments. Everytime I see your TT-101, I get sorely tempted to hunt one down in Japan. I did see a TT-801 on sale but could not pull the trigger because I already have too many audio projects on hand. I had a SEAC WE-8000/ST too. I traded it in for a Micro Seiki MAX237. One of those things you wished you did not sell. Even rarer to find the SEAC WE-8000/ST than a FR66s. Where did you find yours?
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