Looking at the various threads on tonearms-and the 9" vs12" debate specifically, ( although this applies to other areas of the hobby as well). I question how so many of the conclusions that are floated about have actually anything to do with the piece under review. A turntable system (and that is exactly what it is- a system, IMHO) has so many variables when it comes to the SQ that one is going to hear, that I have to ask the question in the thread heading! How on earth are we supposed to truly accept that the findings of the 'golden eared' reviewer are at all accurate when we are talking about just one piece of that system..ie, the arm, the cartridge, the tonearm wiring ( which BTW, I personally believe can make more of a difference than the even the cartridge!) The set up, the loading and on and on. This is also true of all other parts of our system ( which only work together with everything else and not independently---amp, preamp, speakers, room, cabling, etc.)
On another forum, there is a poster who is wailing about how his new Linn Klimax LP12 does not sound good to his ears....he has tried everything to make it sound great, but to no avail; reason is, that he has failed to set it up correctly and doesn't have the experience necessary to do so. Yet, instead of realizing this, he blames the tool. On this forum, we have MF defending the 9" tonearms against the 12" versions. I happen to agree with him on his thinking, yet how do we really know that the arguments are valid...how is it possible to isolate the SAT tonearm on the table from other variables at work? Could it be that in his particular instance the SAT 9" works great on his Caliburn, but would work poorly on a SME 30/12 as an example ( I use this table as it was specifically designed for the longer length arms) and poorly on multiple other turntable designs that require a 12" arm to work as the manufacturer designed.. Thoughts...
On another forum, there is a poster who is wailing about how his new Linn Klimax LP12 does not sound good to his ears....he has tried everything to make it sound great, but to no avail; reason is, that he has failed to set it up correctly and doesn't have the experience necessary to do so. Yet, instead of realizing this, he blames the tool. On this forum, we have MF defending the 9" tonearms against the 12" versions. I happen to agree with him on his thinking, yet how do we really know that the arguments are valid...how is it possible to isolate the SAT tonearm on the table from other variables at work? Could it be that in his particular instance the SAT 9" works great on his Caliburn, but would work poorly on a SME 30/12 as an example ( I use this table as it was specifically designed for the longer length arms) and poorly on multiple other turntable designs that require a 12" arm to work as the manufacturer designed.. Thoughts...