My question is directed to
mtemur:
I am interested to know how what, and why, you find the Thales arms mediocre. What are arm are you using? What cartridges have you heard them with. Listen all high dollar arms arm are full of strengths and weakness, most are not worth the $$$ they command but that a different issue. I am interested in detailed observations. Would that be possible?
I’ll explain why I find the Thales arms mediocre. In fact, when something sounds mediocre, it just does—but I’ll outline the reasons behind that impression.
First of all, Thales (or more specifically, tangential pivoted tonearms) attempt to solve a tracking-error problem that was never a real issue to begin with. They offer a “solution” at the expense of rigidity. There are so many ball bearings in the mechanism of Thales that it’s impossible for the arm to remain truly rigid. You can see this clearly when playing a resonance test track. You don’t need any analyzer—the arm visibly cannot keep the cartridge stable. By the way, the Statement (5 or 6 different arms I heard) performs better than the Simplicity II (5 arms) but still lacks proper rigidity.
When there are that many joints and bearings, you cannot avoid backlash. Even if you believe you have eliminated it, the “sponge effect” of the bearings and joints remains. This kills dynamics and drains the life out of the music.
The internal tonearm wiring is also problematic. It sounds harsh and tipped up in the highs. My guess is that they chose that cable to compensate for the arm’s inherently dull and lifeless performance—but trying to fix one flaw with another is not a real solution. Additionally, the hole where the cable enters the arm base is bare metal, which gradually scrapes the insulation and leads to hum over time. That is a design flaw.
More importantly, there is no adjustable anti-skating. It is preset at the factory and rarely matches the cartridge being used. In my experience, the value isn’t even consistent from sample to sample and is typically far too high, bending the cantilever and creating more tracking error than the tangential geometry supposedly solves in the first place.
Cartridge setup is also more restrictive. You are forced to use their jig, and your entire setup depends on multiple assumptions: correct P2S distance, correct jig alignment, etc. But this is not the best method. The best way is to visually verify stylus alignment on a protractor with proper VTF applied. You cannot properly do that with Thales arms. Beyond overhang, there is an even more critical factor: zenith error. You cannot reliably check stylus/cantilever zenith with the Thales system. Even if you manage it, you still have non defeat-able anti-skating working against you. In the end, the lack of proper zenith alignment probably introduces more tracking error than the tangential geometry corrects.
I can go on, but I think that’s enough for now.
