Fremer says 9" arms are inherently superior?
- Thread starter Fsonicsmith
- Start date
I agree Francisco! We will not countenance aggressive or obnoxious anti-reviewer attitude here.
Thoughtful, measured, considered and intellectually defensible criticism is, of course, acceptable, but snarky, personal attacks will not be tolerated.
The analog world is full of "fake precisions" that sell all manner of nostrums on the notion that things can be micro managed beyond a horizon of convergent distortions where such claims are basically impossible. High end cartridges have no uniformity of manufacture, much less uniformity of design philosophy, yet you will read articles about azimuth precision making all the difference. It's a tower of babel of contradictory positions that evolve into sales religion.
Yes, we certainly can respect reviews which do not include component comparisons, but I do not think it is unfair to observe that comparative reviews are more interesting and helpful to some audiophiles, and that comparative reviews are more difficult to conduct and to write.
First of all who wants to be psychoanalyzed by a stranger/amateur? Not I. So if you want to discuss tone arms please refrain from characterizing me as you did. It’s lame.
I’m glad you retracted your misinformation about The Ypsilon phono preamp and the Ortofon PSU two of which I positively reviewed though neither is to my tastes. Doing so kind of shot to hell your psycho- thesis that I’m a conflicted enigma. I’m not.
My job is to describe what I hear not to tell people what to like.
Regarding 9” arms. I stated my OPINION based upon both theory and listening. Most tone arm manufacturers with whom I’ve spoken admit that they believe that considering all of the trade-offs, 9” arms are preferable for the reasons I cited in that review and that they manufacture longer arms because of customer demand not because they think they perform better dynamically in the groove.
That’s the position of Marc Gomez who has degrees in both materials sciences and mechanical engineering (one is a graduate degree). He now makes 12” arms to meet customer demand.
I am not an engineer but I listen well to those who are and I listen for myself of course. And in my opinion based on theory and listening I believe that 9” arms are preferable.
I go to audio shows around the world with 96/24 files of the same record recorded using a 9” SAT (or previously 9”
COBRA on the Continuum Caliburn that you ABSURDLY declared obsolete or outdated or whatever ridiculous and gratuitous assertion you made without any backup) and using a well designed tangential tracker. I use a symphonic recording that ends with a heavily modulated finale right where distortion maxes out ( Lofgren not Stevenson) and I ask people to say which is which. NO ONE has ever heard a distinctive difference in terms of distortion.
Tracking error ( with proper set-up and BTW set up errors are greatly magnified on longer arms) is an overstated issue IMO. The rest of your system will produce more distortion. Marc Gomez’s 9” arm proved that to me. BTW: I have owned a few tangential trackers (ET 1 and 2 and Rockport) so I’ve been there and again the trade offs were not worth it IMO. Most so called “tangential trackers” are anything but.
I never force my opinions on others. I offer them. Perhaps that’s why I’ve been successful at this for 30 years and have appreciative fans around the world.
And I’ve never been concerned about what others prefer. Or how many of what have sold. That’s hardly an argument.
Finally your gratuitous comment about me getting accommodation pricing, for me explains the tone and substance of much of your original post: resentment and perhaps jealousy. I can’t help you with that.
Finally to the guy who claimed I was wrong stating the Kuzma 9” is “compatible” with the LP 12: I suggest he look up the definition of compatible. Liking or not liking the combo is not the definition. That it fits the ‘table and is weight compatible makes it compatible not whether or not someone likes how the combination sounds.
That’s it from me for now.
argh, it means the music retains its "soul" without undue influence.
Last edited:
. . .
As to the aggressive anti-reviewer attitude, oh please!! When we have reviewers who think they are above everyone else...can we say All hail King Peter; then what the heck!
I disagree with these sentiments. I consider the senior reviewers and writers at Stereophile, The Absolute Sound, some of the British and other countries' magazines (I am not familiar with them, but I mean people like Ken Kessler) to be professional reviewers. I think the writings and opinions of such people deserve respect and deserve a presumption of knowledge, experience, correct subjective evaluations, integrity and deference.
I also think that some of these presumptions are rebuttable. In my personal view the ethical problems of "long-term loans" make some of these presumptions rebuttable for me personally. Michael Fremer buys his major equipment components.
I think that professional reviewers should hold the view that their writings and opinions deserve to be held in higher esteem than the writings and opinions of the walking public -- just as would be the case in any professional endeavor. I might not agree with a professional's pronouncement but I certainly accord it greater weight and deference than the opinion of some random person.
I think a political science professor [fill in any professional in any field] who has devoted his or her entire life to the study of some narrow subject deserves greater deference and respect than the opinion of a member of the walking public who writes a letter to the editor. I think this concept of deference and respect applies to professional high-end audio reviewers as well.
Michael, welcome to WBF! Thank you for participating on this thread!
We are honored to have you here!
We are honored to have you here!
Of course we would; we all grew up with turntables and LPs and we're all from the same age bracket.
We have more in common than the King and Queen from Kathmandu.
"I think the writings and opinions of such people deserve respect and deserve a presumption of knowledge, experience, correct subjective evaluations, integrity and deference.
"
Sure, but it is loosey-goosey expertise imbedded in heavy marketing forces. Do you really think that if the marketing forces weren't there, the nature of the discourse would not change almost entirely?
"
Sure, but it is loosey-goosey expertise imbedded in heavy marketing forces. Do you really think that if the marketing forces weren't there, the nature of the discourse would not change almost entirely?
+1
We are a scary bunch @ times, with no direction home.
I want to see the best here, the best people in audio music reproduction, the best audio writers, reviewers, designers, artists, musicians, scientists, mathematicians, the smartest people on the planet.
Good point, comparison is good for the equilibrium, the brain, the pursuit of healthy happiness.
I do not think the expertise is loosey-goosey; the expertise is still there. But I believe that the reviewing/writing philosophy of The Absolute Sound has evolved since the early days of Harry Pearson to a reviewing/writing philosophy today which is imbued with more commercial sensitivities.
I think being a reviewer is a thankless job. I commend those that have the patience to put their observations/experiences with various audio equipment into words for all to read.
how do you know what you are listening to is devoid of coloration and is exactly as the musician's intended ? To be sure, you would have to have been present during the recording session. One man's accuracy is another's coloration...
Surely the magazine has evolved as you say. But have you read the last ten issues of TAS or are you just writing an opinion based on posts collected in audio forums and the free reviews and articles in the TAS site? TAS has a large number of reviewers and its subscribers, such as me - I sometimes even get requests for printscreens of reviews from some WBF members ... - can see that the magazine sensitivity is much broader and open minded than we could grasp from net opinions. And yes, I only read about 5% of what I get, but usually also quick around all the issue.
Similar threads
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Co-Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |