The What Tonearm Are You Using Thread

[c1ferrari]

Haha

Sam-You obviously don't read me enough. I'm crammed full of gems-or crammed full of something.

x

 

[karma]

HI All,
I have had Eminent Technology arms for twenty years. Before that SME. I really prefer linear tracking air bearings for a lot of reasons.

Arm one started life as an ET2.0 in 1990. It has since been upgraded to the ET2.5 specification. It is mounted on a Sota Nova vacuum turntable with a Monster Sigma Genesis 2000 cartridge (remember those?). It's a really good cartridge.

Arm two is also an ET2.5 purchased about two years ago. It is mounted on an Oracle Delphi V with a Lyra Skala cartridge. A terrific cartridge.

My air bearing arms are powered by a custom high pressure air system.

Arm three is an Graham 2.2 Deluxe unipivot arm on a Thorens TD 125 Mk 1 with an Audio Technica OC9/II cartridge. This system is strictly used to audition new/used records of unknown quality. I don't like using my good cartridges for this purpose.

All three arms interface to my ARC SP-11Mk II preamp through a Aesthetix Rhea tube phono preamp.

Sparky

 

[mep]

Now that my Technics SP-10 MKII project is finally completed, I'm using an SME 312S tonearm. My VPI TNT/ET-2 combo are now collecting dust. I have been a long time fan/owner of the ET-2 and I do find it to be a remarkable tonearm although it is a pain to set up correctly and requires maintenance to keep it running correctly. The one thing that I never cared for with the ET-2 is that you don't have a true ground and hum is always an issue that has to be dealt with.

 

[karma]

Now that my Technics SP-10 MKII project is finally completed, I'm using an SME 312S tonearm. My VPI TNT/ET-2 combo are now collecting dust. I have been a long time fan/owner of the ET-2 and I do find it to be a remarkable tonearm although it is a pain to set up correctly and requires maintenance to keep it running correctly. The one thing that I never cared for with the ET-2 is that you don't have a true ground and hum is always an issue that has to be dealt with.

HI mep,
Well, any tone arm needs to be properly grounded to eliminate hum. I've not found it to be more difficult with the ET than any other arm. That is to say, I don't think it is a problem.

As for maintenance, I have found that there is none except to relevel the arm perodically. This is simply the nature of a frictionless bearing being mounted on a spring suspended turntable. The springs do sag, very slightly, over time. Because of the lack of friction, the arm will detect the change, small as it is. There is no way around the issue if one wants a suspended turntable. If you want to call this maintenance, OK. But the releveling procedure is very simple and takes little time. So, I think you are splitting hairs. It is something to be aware of.

Other than that, I've had no problems for over 20 years. The air supply needs to be clean meaning well filtered for both particulate matter and moisture.

Set up is more complicated than a pivoted arm but it only needs to be done once. After that, releveling is the only set up issue and its a simple one.

Certainly none of these things, no matter how you want to label them, tempts me in any way to change to pivoted tone arm. These things you bring up are notheing compared to the issues that pivoted arms have with their compromized geometry errors. Remember, the basic job for a tone arm is to provide the best possible home for the cartridge and that includes, in a very large measure, the geometrical relationships between the stylus and the groove. Only if you get this right can the cartridge perform to its best. This can never be done with a pivoted arm.

Sparky

 

[jadis]

HI mep,
Well, any tone arm needs to be properly grounded to eliminate hum. I've not found it to be more difficult with the ET than any other arm. That is to say, I don't think it is a problem.

As for maintenance, I have found that there is none except to relevel the arm perodically. This is simply the nature of a frictionless bearing being mounted on a spring suspended turntable. The springs do sag, very slightly, over time. Because of the lack of friction, the arm will detect the change, small as it is. There is no way around the issue if one wants a suspended turntable. If you want to call this maintenance, OK. But the releveling procedure is very simple and takes little time. So, I think you are splitting hairs. It is something to be aware of.

Other than that, I've had no problems for over 20 years. The air supply needs to be clean meaning well filtered for both particulate matter and moisture.

Set up is more complicated than a pivoted arm but it only needs to be done once. After that, releveling is the only set up issue and its a simple one.

Certainly none of these things, no matter how you want to label them, tempts me in any way to change to pivoted tone arm. These things you bring up are notheing compared to the issues that pivoted arms have with their compromized geometry errors. Remember, the basic job for a tone arm is to provide the best possible home for the cartridge and that includes, in a very large measure, the geometrical relationships between the stylus and the groove. Only if you get this right can the cartridge perform to its best. This can never be done with a pivoted arm.

Sparky

Agreed completely. Re ground wire, my set-up man connected a ground wire from 2 points of the RCA plug which I connect to an allen screw of my VPI plinth. It reduces the overall hum a bit but in my experience, hum is caused more by the choice of phono cable and when it does pick up hum, I move the cable a few inches to the left or right till the hum greatly is reduced. I then 'lock' the cables position with Blue Tac.

Yes, set up is one time only, mine done in 1987, and since then, relevelling is the only thing needed. I use an EMI test LP with a blank groove in the middle of the LP to see if there is a slide inwards or outwards, and then relevel the feet of my VPI table. I use the original ET2 pump now, long before I tried some aquarium pump wherein I had to design a 'muffler' casing to eliminate its noise. So far, it's my arm of choice considering most good tonearms out there costs 5 or even 10 times more, and they're mostly pivoted.

 

[mep]

Look, I'm a long time owner and lover of the ET-2. I still have mine. Yes, you can perch yourself on a fence and crow that only linear tracking arms have perfect geometry. However, the error in good pivoted arms is small and smaller still with a 12" arm. I happen to think the ET-2 is a great sounding arm which is why I have owned one for so many years. There is more maintenance involved than just readjusting level every once in awhile when your springs sag. The spindle and the manifold require periodic cleaning or the arm will stick no matter how perfectly level you have it. The *ground* on the ET-2 is a wire soldered to the left ground lug of the RCA jack which I don't see as being any different than the ground connection you would get from the shell of the RCA connector.

I have only had my new set-up for a day so I'm not prepared to make any proclamations on which arm sounds better. Let there be no doubt that owning an ET-2 requires much more user involvement than owning a typical pivoted arm.

 

[karma]

HI mep,
I'm not lying to you. I have had zero problems with my ET's, zero. The arm has never stuck. I never clean it other that when I genearally dust off the turntables which I am not anal about. I do have dust covers on my turntables. I think you must have a problem with your air supply allowing dirt and moisture into the manifold. That's the only thing I can think of that would cause the arm to stick. But I have no experience with it. I have no hum problems in spite of the fact that I use low output moving coils.

Clearly our experiences have been different and I don't know how to account for them. I do have a custom home made air supply that I installed industrial grade particulate and moisture filters on. And I do have a precision Pasche air pressure regulator, that is normally used for air brushing. Would these things be the difference?

Don't dismiss the geometry errors. I have definite evidence that a pivoted arm, any pivoted arm, causes great, fine line contact styli to not obtain optimum groove alignment. This is to the detriment of the sound. The ET does and it sounds like it.

Really, I don't think there is any question about it. How can you argue otherwise?

Sparky

 

[jtinn]

Best arm I have ever used...

Without a doubt, the Durand Tonearms Talea II has no peers in my experience. Here is a picture on my tt at CES.

 

[jazdoc]

+1 on the Durand Talea II

 

[karma]

HI,
I Googled Durand tonearms looking for information. I found very little. It seems they are very proud of their azimuth adjustment. But not much more information. How did you guy's make your decision?

Sparky

 

[jazdoc]

Well I had a first hand knowledge because the designer, Joel Durand, is a friend. From my front row seat, I had the pleasure of hearing the entire development cycle from DIY project to finished production. I had the opportunity to compare to other well known tonearms and personal bias aside, there really was no contest. I signed up early on (I own S/N 003) and have been delighted with my purchase. It has completely changed my preconceptions of system hierarchy...You might check out a few threads on Audiogon or email Joel for additonal information. Feel free to PM....

 

[MylesBAstor]

HI,
I Googled Durand tonearms looking for information. I found very little. It seems they are very proud of their azimuth adjustment. But not much more information. How did you guy's make your decision?

Sparky

You saw this link?


http://www.durand-tonearms.com/Specifications/specifications.html

Esp. here:

http://www.durand-tonearms.com/About/about.html

Some other interesting comments about setting azimuth here

http://www.durand-tonearms.com/Support/Support/azimuth.html

 

[karma]

HI Miles,
That helped. But I still don't see where the type of bearings are defined. Unipivot? Don't think so. Gimbals? Yes, I think so. Why its not talked about is a mystery.

Nice looking arm.

Sparky

 

[MylesBAstor]

HI Miles,
That helped. But I still don't see where the type of bearings are defined. Unipivot? Don't think so. Gimbals? Yes, I think so. Why its not talked about is a mystery.

Nice looking arm.

Sparky

There's a little more here. http://www.durand-tonearms.com/Support/Support/technicalstuff.html

It is a unipivot according to their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Durand-Tonearms/160920680616860?sk=info

Maybe Mike L. or Jonathan T. can chime in as I know they have much, much more info about the arm

 

[jazdoc]

Myles is correct, the Talea is a unipivot design.

More than any tonearm I have ever heard, the Talea optimizes the performance of the remainder of the analog chain. I've heard the arm with multiple cartridges including the Dynavector XV1-s, Clearaudio Da Vinci, Benz LPS, Lyra, and Ortofon A90 on multiple turntables including Galibier, The Beat, Technics SP Mk III and Garrard.

The Talea consistently allows the system to 'relax'. The noise floor is lower, revealing greater harmonic detail. Frequency and dynamic bandwidth are more extended and there is a density of information that is unsurpassed in my experience. It is my theory that the Talea filters less of the data relative to other tonearms and also allows the cartridge to function optimally. The effect is apparent across all musical generes. The music just flows, allowing the listener to more readily achieve the 'suspension of disbelief'.

 

[tdh888]

Hi ,

Im currently using a Kuzma Stogi Reference w/ a Koetsu Rosewood signature and the Odyssey RP1 -XG MK2 w/ Benz Micro Ace SL L.O. cartridge

tdh888

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Myles is correct, the Talea is a unipivot design.

More than any tonearm I have ever heard, the Talea optimizes the performance of the remainder of the analog chain. I've heard the arm with multiple cartridges including the Dynavector XV1-s, Clearaudio Da Vinci, Benz LPS, Lyra, and Ortofon A90 on multiple turntables including Galibier, The Beat, Technics SP Mk III and Garrard.

The Talea consistently allows the system to 'relax'. The noise floor is lower, revealing greater harmonic detail. Frequency and dynamic bandwidth are more extended and there is a density of information that is unsurpassed in my experience. It is my theory that the Talea filters less of the data relative to other tonearms and also allows the cartridge to function optimally. The effect is apparent across all musical generes. The music just flows, allowing the listener to more readily achieve the 'suspension of disbelief'.

Jazdoc tells it like it is. the Talea 2 is an amazing arm. and i've been fortunate enough to also watch some of the Talea tonearm development and had that same realization of the significance of the tonearm in the vinyl heirarchy.

i'll add to Jazdoc's comments that the Talea allows a dynamic energy and life to the music to come thru that is never forced, always with a natural ease, relating to Jazdoc's mention of the 'relaxation' into the music.

 

[Lee]

Using a JMW 9 on my VPI Scoutmaster. A little bit hard to adjust azimuth but when dialed in sounds very good. The Dr. Feickert tools are excellent.

 

[jazdoc]

Looking forward to receiving my Durand Telos tonearm after its public debut at RMAF. I have two Durand Talea arms and IMO they are the world's finest tonearm...that is until the Telos. I've had a front row seat during the development and it is really something special. It retains all of what makes the Talea a great arm and simply improves everything; better dynamic range, ease of flow, and decreased noise floor. Like the Talea, the fit, finish and packaging are exceptional.

 

[rockitman]

I am currently using and will continue to own (even when I get other arms) The Clearaudio Universal. It has been such a fantastic arm, imo. So easy to set up and dial in. It is fast, dynamic with tremendous bass slam. The VTA lift for it is one that all other's should be judged against...at least I will when considering another arm as this feature is a must for me. I adjust for every record.