12 inch tonearms

Hi,
The SME 3012 is another example of a 12"er that beats its 9 and 10" siblings. Not necessarily because of the reduced tracing error(that too, if set up perfectly), but because of the heavier counterweight that results in a heavier load on the knife edge bearings(reduced relative movement between knife edge and "cup" when exited by energy fed into the arms structure).

A word about tonearm geometry.
A 12" arm that has been set up with the overhang beeing 0,5mm too short(I've seen WAAYY larger misalignment at dealers and other "experts") will yield a larger max. tracing error than that of a precisely set up 9" arm.
If in doubt, it is better to have the stylus a little(no more than 0,5mm in front of your alignment grid/crosshair. This referring to an alignment gauge that adheres to Baerwald nullpoints.

The longer the arm, the more crucial it becomes to get overhang and(even more difficult to nail) offset angle spot on. For an offset angle that is a mere 0,5° too large(think misaligned cantilever), the resulting error once again will make the theoretical advantage mute.

Perfect alignment for a 12"er yields max. tracing error related distorsions of 0,45% between null points, 0,5° more causes 0,76% distorsions(compared to 0,6% for a perfectly aligned 9.4"er).
Analogous to the overhang, rather err to an angle too small. The tracing error related distorsions will then increase towards the innermost usable area only. Not too many records with modulations that close to the run out groove. Best to get it perfectly right off course...
Make sure to disengage antiskating or lower the stylus so that is just about stays clear of the template/gauge. The Antiskating will skew the cantilever, making it impossible to get zenith/offset angle right.
Recheck after cart has 100hrs on its heel.

To sum it up, spend time and use proper alignment tools or you're waisting your money on megabuck arms and carts.

Cheerio,

Frank Schröder

Hi Restock,
Boy, was that review ever a desaster...
The reviewer had the arm for a year(then spent a good week mounting and listening...), didn't read the manual before setting up the arm, lists it as having an eff. length of 315mm when in fact it had 286mm, misidentifies the armwand being made from ebony(it really was a Grenadillo armwand), NEVER called or contacted me despite my multiple invitations to do so(if he was to run into problem or requiring setup tips...), dropped the counterweight, bending the VTF finetuning adjustment screw(rendering it dysfunctional) and marred the centershaft so badly(changing the VTA wasn't possible when I got it back) that it took several hours to repolish/rehone the arm base.
I called and sent a letter asking for an explanation what had gone wrong, --- no reply as of yet.
Many of you guys are extremely cautious when it comes to relevance/truth content of reviews. Many times these reservations are unfounded, but more often than you'd think they're not. I didn't seek this review, they approached me. Should have known better...

@Tgb:
I can realize any eff. length(within reason/without compromising structural integrity), typically 8,5" - 12".

Sorry for the rant, but imo the entire review isn't worth the paper it was printed on.

All the best,

Frank

Hello Norm,
It's o.k. if someone else posts links to reviews, I'd rather refrain from it to avoid giving the impression I'm advertising my product. A google search will show up several online mag reviews and if you need more info contact me privately.
Thanks for your understanding.

Regards,

Frank

Dear Raul,
Anyone who has the tools/capability to set up a 9" arm perfectly will be able to set up a 12"er just as well.
But on a 12"er, any deviation from perfect will result in the nullpoints being farther off the ideal(be it Baerwald or Loefgren) than for the same error "applied" to the set up of a shorter arm. All I was saying is that 12" arms are less "forgiving" of misalignment than their shorter siblings.
Not a myth, just plain geometry ;-)

Following manufacturers recommendations, particularly for many vintage japanese arms(no matter which length) is generally not a good idea as almost all of them feature a less than ideal geometry.

How I wish that setting up a turntable perfectly was as easy as you say. The audiophile community would have plenty of dealers to choose from, all(not just a few) of them capable(and hopefully willing) to provide customer support that justifies the markup on our favorite toys. In Germany(considered an analog heaven), that number may not even match the age of my son(now in 5th grade...). And even though there are many consumers now who don't require any assistence/help from a dealer, lots of them still do and many future newbies will.

Lastly, setting up the original Goldmund T3(not even a long arm...) certainly was a pain, but it was nevertheless quite successful. For many, the tweaking/tinkering is half the fun of this hobby(nothing wrong with that).

@ Dmgrant1: By all means, get a 12" arm :-) Check out:

http://www.thomas-schick.com/arm01.htm

Affordable, easy to set up, a good match with low compliance MCs. No business affiliation....

Good night,

Frank