Tonearm ranking

DasguteOhr

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Sep 26, 2013
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Hello,

1. Acoustical Systems-Axiom the One and Only with VTF on the Fly,
seperate SRA and VTA Adjustment cool.
2.TW-Acustic 10.5 the Best VTA Adjustment and Dynamic Monster
3.Graham Phantom II /AAA-Forum Prototype 12"
4.FR-64S the best Vintage Arm

My Choise of Tonearms....
 

XV-1

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May 24, 2010
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My recently purchased Thales Simplicity II has been a relevation on my TW Acustic AC-3 table.

Seems having a maximum tracking error of 0.0006 has real sonic benefits.

Easy to mount, a bit of a pita to set the tracking weight due to the dual counterweight system, azimuth adjustment is easy and vta is pretty easy, if not as easy as the Graham.

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Last edited:

rockitman

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Sep 20, 2011
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This is an exercise fraught with problems. There is no way to make reasonably accurate subjective comments about which arm is best without comparing each arm on the same table, same cart, same phono stage ect. This is a nearly impossible task.
 
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FrantzM

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This is an exercise fraught with problems. There is no way to make reasonably accurate subjective comments about which arm is best without comparing each arm on the same table, same cart, same phono stage ect. This is a nearly impossible task.

+1
 

DasguteOhr

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No mention of any SME products?

Hi Tom,

a SME 309 with a VDH Frog is a Mega Combination;)

My Nummer 2+3+4 all of them Same Table,Phonostage and Cart Vienna VTF 2,30g.

TD124x.jpg
 

microstrip

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This is an exercise fraught with problems. There is no way to make reasonably accurate subjective comments about which arm is best without comparing each arm on the same table, same cart, same phono stage ect. This is a nearly impossible task.

Christian,

IMHO this is a reductionist view of this thread. We all know that the ranking is not absolute, but we expect people to report their experience and preference, and in case we have different opinions debate it.

I have a somewhat different opinion from you - when we try to compare we should consider the performance of the tonearm in a turntable that allows it to give the best performance - perhaps in the same league of price to avoid distorting the conditions too much.
 

microstrip

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No mention of any SME products?

The SME V is a fabulous tonearm in an SME turntable - my only reserve is that it does not have adjustable azimuth. Although most of the cartridges I have owned have perfectly oriented stylus and did not need twisting the shell, as few needed between -1 and +2.5 degree rotation.

Surely 99,5% of users will not be affected by this feature. But having owned the great Eminent Technology ETII tonearm for a long time I become addicted to azimuth adjustment.
 

mikem

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Mar 11, 2014
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1.: Sat
2.: Sat
3.: Sat

1. Sound - Another vote for the SAT. In my experience, no tonearm has made such a dramatic improvement over its predecessors.
2. Ease of Installation - I didn't find that much difference in this among the tonearms I've owned (Graham Phantom, Kuzma 4Point, ClearAudio Universal, SAT). I much prefer 3rd party protractors to the ones provided with any of those arms, the Acoustical System being the best I've used.
3. Adjustability - I liked the Kuzma 4Point in this. It had all of the capabilities, and the VTA and particularly the azimuth were easiest to operate precisely. (What a tonearm for the price and from a company with great service.)

You don't know what's in those grooves unless you've heard this thing on a good system.
Macro- as well as microdynamics are vastly improved compared to the Graham. Never hearf my AFO like this before. Mikey did not exagerate when he wrote about his experience with the SAT.
I would go as far as to say that whoever has the dough to buy an expensive TT like the TechDAS ows it to himself to at least cosider this arm as an alernative to what is generally used. This thing is truly SotA, period.

The SAT does seem to make a convincing case to those who have heard it.
 

Folsom

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Oct 25, 2015
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No azimuth is a 100% deal breaker for me.

How do you judge? I guess you'd need a set of rules about what makes a tone arm good or bad so you could rate them on. Are heavy or light arms better? Super rigid or more ply? Why two arms to the same cartridge? I honestly haven't thought enough about this stuff to know for sure. Some day maybe I'll develop one, but I'm not there yet.
 

bonzo75

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1. Sound - Another vote for the SAT. In my experience, no tonearm has made such a dramatic improvement over its predecessors.
2. Ease of Installation - I didn't find that much difference in this among the tonearms I've owned (Graham Phantom, Kuzma 4Point, ClearAudio Universal, SAT). I much prefer 3rd party protractors to the ones provided with any of those arms, the Acoustical System being the best I've used.
3. Adjustability - I liked the Kuzma 4Point in this. It had all of the capabilities, and the VTA and particularly the azimuth were easiest to operate precisely. (What a tonearm for the price and from a company with great service.)



The SAT does seem to make a convincing case to those who have heard it.

Mike, thanks. What differences did you find between the Kuzma and the Graham and with which carts? Was your Kuzma the 14 inch?
 

Audiophile Bill

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Mar 23, 2015
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This is an exercise fraught with problems. There is no way to make reasonably accurate subjective comments about which arm is best without comparing each arm on the same table, same cart, same phono stage ect. This is a nearly impossible task.

I am totally with you, Christian. Best way would be for someone to pick a turntable first and then ask which tonearm works best with it and the cart.
 

bonzo75

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I am totally with you, Christian. Best way would be for someone to pick a turntable first and then ask which tonearm works best with it and the cart.

Then you misunderstood the question. See first post
 

Audiophile Bill

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Mar 23, 2015
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Then you misunderstood the question. See first post

No Bonz:

Part 1 of the question pertaining to sonics for classical with neutral cart is very much *turntable* dependent! This is the essence of the scientific method lol.

Part 2 of your question relating to turntable mounting is again very much *turntable* dependent also.

Part 3 of your question can be answered independently of turntable I agree.

So 1/3rd of question is okay :p
 

Audiophile Bill

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No Bonz:

Part 1 of the question pertaining to sonics for classical with neutral cart is very much *turntable* dependent! This is the essence of the scientific method lol.

Part 2 of your question relating to turntable mounting is again very much *turntable* dependent also.

Part 3 of your question can be answered independently of turntable I agree.

So 1/3rd of question is okay :p

In fact the random and multifarious recommendations on this thread is testament to the lack of validity of part 1.

I know I have said this before, but ideally you really need to think about TT / arm / cart as a unit rather than discrete components.

Your short list of TT's (micro seiki, linn lp12, schopper thorens, ptp lenco) will not be optimised with the same arm / cart. In fact, could sound awful with certain choices.
 

Mike Lavigne

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I am totally with you, Christian. Best way would be for someone to pick a turntable first and then ask which tonearm works best with it and the cart.

the only issue to try and consider ahead of time is how flexible in length of tone arm (or even, in some cases, the weight of the tone arm base) that a turntable might be able to properly accommodate. just common sense. sometimes there is an 'ideal' spot with best performance, and then a secondary more flexible spot with less optimal performance.

having listened to arm boards of various designs and materials, and realized how that can influence the ultimate performance of a tone arm, these can be important considerations. and as one finds more and more precise tone arms they get more revealing of ancillary gear. your arm board can become the limiting factor in performance. of course; you may never even know it unless you have the opportunity to compare it directly to alternatives.
 

Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
the only issue to try and consider ahead of time is how flexible in length of tone arm (or even, in some cases, the weight of the tone arm base) that a turntable might be able to properly accommodate. just common sense. sometimes there is an 'ideal' spot with best performance, and then a secondary more flexible spot with less optimal performance.

having listened to arm boards of various designs and materials, and realized how that can influence the ultimate performance of a tone arm, these can be important considerations. and as one finds more and more precise tone arms they get more revealing of ancillary gear. your arm board can become the limiting factor in performance. of course; you may never even know it unless you have the opportunity to compare it directly to alternatives.

I can't disagree with that Mike having heard your sapphire tone arm and recently at the Hong Kong audio show where Nishikawa San was demoing his soon to be released AF1 Premium which had his new titanium arm board.

Lastly Mike one also has to compare platters in the mix. Having heard the TechDas stainless steel platter, duralumin and now his titanium platter they all sound different so throw a tone arm into the mix and as you said there are many ancillary factors at work as well
 

Audiophile Bill

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I can't disagree with that Mike having heard your sapphire tone arm and recently at the Hong Kong audio show where Nishikawa San was demoing his soon to be released AF1 Premium which had his new titanium arm board.

Lastly Mike one also has to compare platters in the mix. Having heard the TechDas stainless steel platter, duralumin and now his titanium platter they all sound different so throw a tone arm into the mix and as you said there are many ancillary factors at work as well

Agree Steve if you have an AF1 (lucky git) and can tune with platter choice.
 

Audiophile Bill

Well-Known Member
Mar 23, 2015
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the only issue to try and consider ahead of time is how flexible in length of tone arm (or even, in some cases, the weight of the tone arm base) that a turntable might be able to properly accommodate. just common sense. sometimes there is an 'ideal' spot with best performance, and then a secondary more flexible spot with less optimal performance.

having listened to arm boards of various designs and materials, and realized how that can influence the ultimate performance of a tone arm, these can be important considerations. and as one finds more and more precise tone arms they get more revealing of ancillary gear. your arm board can become the limiting factor in performance. of course; you may never even know it unless you have the opportunity to compare it directly to alternatives.

Hi Mike,

Not thought too much about arm boards per se before since my turntables have always been ones where you buy one cut for your arm and produced by manufacturer. So for example, if I wanted to move to a 4 point on my Kuzma (from my triplanar), then the arm board is identical from Kuzma only drilled differently. It is a steel/acrylic sandwich of same design irrespective of arm. I know this is not true of all TT's and / or arms.

That said, everything on a TT impacts the sound IMHO. I am certain even using different materials for screws on your arm board would have an impact.
 

theophile

Well-Known Member
I can't disagree with that Mike having heard your sapphire tone arm and recently at the Hong Kong audio show where Nishikawa San was demoing his soon to be released AF1 Premium which had his new titanium arm board.

Lastly Mike one also has to compare platters in the mix. Having heard the TechDas stainless steel platter, duralumin and now his titanium platter they all sound different so throw a tone arm into the mix and as you said there are many ancillary factors at work as well
There is an aftermarket supplier of 16.5 Kg stainless steel platters for Yamaha GT 2000 turntables in Japan. I would love to lay my hands upon one because I suspect that it would sound better than the much vaunted, very expensive Yamaha 18 Kg gunmetal platter.
 

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