On his web page Analog Planet, I read that MF is NOT a fan of 12" arms....posting as follows: "The cons include a higher moment of inertia and thus a slower response warps, as well as the magnification of tracking error should you not do a spot-on set up. Also rigidity may be compromised depending on the construction of the longer tube.
My opinion is that all things being equal, 9" arms hit the 'sweet spot' and if you set one up correctly the amount of tracking error distortion will be lower than that of the rest of your system and thus become essentially irrelevant. That's just an opinion!"
OTOH, it would certainly seem that most high end arm manufacturers are going the 12" route and most analog devotees are buying into the 12" arm. Since I'm contemplating a new analog front end and a 12" arm was high on my must listen to priorities, i thought I would ask what's your opinion....is MF onto something or is he just plain wrong?
My opinion is that all things being equal, 9" arms hit the 'sweet spot' and if you set one up correctly the amount of tracking error distortion will be lower than that of the rest of your system and thus become essentially irrelevant. That's just an opinion!"
OTOH, it would certainly seem that most high end arm manufacturers are going the 12" route and most analog devotees are buying into the 12" arm. Since I'm contemplating a new analog front end and a 12" arm was high on my must listen to priorities, i thought I would ask what's your opinion....is MF onto something or is he just plain wrong?