@asvjerry "I'd go to an air-bearing arm in a heartbeat, but I don't have the disposable $ to go there."
Well, I just may have the bridge for you. Kidding. I use a Trans-Fi air bearing tonearm, cost about $1000. Actually, I use two: one for my Nottingham Mentor, upgraded to highest 2015 standard, and heavily modded; and one for my DIY air bearing TT. They bear a Mayajima Zero and Koetsu RSP respectively.
What I like best about the Trans-Fi is that it seems to be made for tweaking. Everything is exposed and accessible. You can add brass weights to make it heavier, you can experiment with damping, you can play with the air pressure, etc. Settings are dead simple and very stable. It uses clever engineering in place of costly machining. You buy it from the factory, not a distributor. And, when I bought mine, the owner himself went on a mission to make my installation a success.
You MAY be able to do better for 5 or 10 times the money, but, I suspect, only in terms of convenience. Opinion only - haven't tried the major alternatives in my system - but I don't see the flexibility in the other designs that I see in this one. See 'tweaking', above.
Downside: the major downside is the name: Terminator. Other than that, azimuth is dead stable, absolutely repeatable, and intuitive, but it cannot be done on the fly, and is fiddly to adjust. Tracking weight is a little fiddly too - but rock stable and intuitive. That's all.
All in all, highly recommended, period. For the money, unapproachable.
Well, I just may have the bridge for you. Kidding. I use a Trans-Fi air bearing tonearm, cost about $1000. Actually, I use two: one for my Nottingham Mentor, upgraded to highest 2015 standard, and heavily modded; and one for my DIY air bearing TT. They bear a Mayajima Zero and Koetsu RSP respectively.
What I like best about the Trans-Fi is that it seems to be made for tweaking. Everything is exposed and accessible. You can add brass weights to make it heavier, you can experiment with damping, you can play with the air pressure, etc. Settings are dead simple and very stable. It uses clever engineering in place of costly machining. You buy it from the factory, not a distributor. And, when I bought mine, the owner himself went on a mission to make my installation a success.
You MAY be able to do better for 5 or 10 times the money, but, I suspect, only in terms of convenience. Opinion only - haven't tried the major alternatives in my system - but I don't see the flexibility in the other designs that I see in this one. See 'tweaking', above.
Downside: the major downside is the name: Terminator. Other than that, azimuth is dead stable, absolutely repeatable, and intuitive, but it cannot be done on the fly, and is fiddly to adjust. Tracking weight is a little fiddly too - but rock stable and intuitive. That's all.
All in all, highly recommended, period. For the money, unapproachable.