Which geometry do you prefer, Loefgren A, Loefgren B, Baerwald, Stevenson, Unidin? And why.

[scot]

Hi everyone

I’ve noticed that many members on this website use Acoustical Systems Smartractors. Which tonearm geometry do you prefer and why? Have you tried Deitrich Brakemeier’s own Uni-Din? If so how did it compare to the other options? Loefgren A, Loefgren B, Baerwald, Stevenson, Uni-Din? Thank you for your opinions.

Best regards
Scot

 

[Shuggie]

That is difficult to pin down, but having tried all but Stevenson (the SMARTractor does not do Stevenson) there is something about UNI-DIN that does seem to make better music, to my ears anyway, so that's what I now use by choice.

But, whichever alignment geometry is 'best' is always secondary to choosing one and then aligning the cartridge accurately to it - there are no 'rights' nor 'wrongs' but instead just different balances of compromises. Accurate alignment is where the SMARTractor pays for itself with ease; also Analog Magik is a real education in showing how further fine adjustments in cartridge setup really do pay big dividends. Clearly audible dividends.

I have often wondered why Deitrich Brakemeier did not include Stevenson on the SMARTractor - it would certainly be easier to sell if it was more 'complete' in this respect; but maybe he simply cannot understand why anyone would wish to trade Stevenson's lower inner and outer groove distortion for much higher average distortion across the bulk of the LP. If those are his thoughts, then I'm with him, and it's UNI-Din for me.

 

[kodomo]

I prefer Löfgren B - IEC, I use smartractor to align.

 

[tima]

Here's the classic graph from Wally Malewicz that shows the tradeoffs:

But, whichever alignment geometry is 'best' is always secondary to choosing one and then aligning the cartridge accurately to it - there are no 'rights' nor 'wrongs' but instead just different balances of compromises.

I agree. I use Logren-B and occasionally UNI-DIN. I"ve used many different protractors and Dertonarm's UNI-Pro since the first edition came out in 2011. Sure, others can work, though the UNI-Pro gives me confidence in using it and in the results I get.

 

[XV-1]

I prefer the alignment curve that the manufacturer has used in designing his tonearm.

I have the original Dietrich universal alignment guage. Uni - din is ok, but not preferred by myself on any of my tonearms.

 

[jfrech]

Scot, I'll get back to you here. For years my dealer used one alignment method and we recently switched to a new one, that I like better. Let' me get the details and I'll post again. I did this before I changed arms recently. The cartridge sits differently in the headshell, surprisingly so.

 

[djsina2]

I’d like to know why the crude single point underhung alignment of the ViV tonearm, with its high distortion, sounds better to me than using a traditional arm and any of the popular geometries.