Anyone try the replica B-60 Fidelity Research VTA?

Nandric,
Not to forget we have holy water down here as well. Australia is not far behind but has yet to discover the veracity of the LOMC !

Lewm - Correction - in last post Duellunds = Vcaps(copper). Duellunds wont fit in the M7.

Lewm,
Any movement in the arm pillar is not a glitch and is certainly more than an annoyance. The sideways movement, whether he means rotational or horizontal, it means that the arm pillar is not secure will result in smearing and loss of information and dynamics in a good system.
If that is the case you would be better off without the B60 and using the standard collet.
By the way, have you compared your FR64 to your Dynavector on the same turntable yet ? I have both the DV501 ( superior to the older 505 according to both my ears and the reviews in TAS ) and 2 FR64's and comparing them on the same TT ( Final Audio VTT1 ) the FR64's are much better in terms of transparency and accurate soundstage reproduction.

Lewm - I had a spring cleanout of surplus gear about 18 months ago. At the time I had sitting in the cupboard unused - Garrard 301/401, couple of Rowland amps, Quicksilvers, Dynaco Mk3's, various preamps and a pile of other stuff. I was also sitting on a Klyne system 7 phono, Exposure phono in addition to the other stuff.
I also had the following arms - Eminent Technology ET2, Naim Aro, FR64S ( with original B60 ), FR64S, Helius Cyalene, Helius Omega & Hadcock ( and a couple of vintage SME's 3009/3012 ).
Cartridges owned at that time Ikeda Kiwame, Dynavector Nova 13D, Koetsu Black Goldline, Denon 103D, Fidelity Research FR1mk3, Shure V15vxmr, Shure V15vmr.

When the Dyavector Nova 13D came back from Dynavector ( they rebuilt it for me ) I decided to test all my phono gear and arm/cartridge combinations.

In terms of phono stages both my tube Marantz 7's ( 1 std and 1 heavily modified ) and Theta B Revised blew away the Klyne & Exposure so the Klyne and Exposure were sold off along with the Rowlands, Quicksilvers, Garrard 301/401 and other surplus gear..

I then tried the Dynavector Nova 13D, Koetsu Black & FR1mk3 on the Naim Aro, FR64 & Dynavector 501 arms - all mounted on the Final Audio VTT1.

Koetsu Black - on the Aro the sound is quick and lucid but fragile on piano. I do not think the Koetsu is a good match for the Aro, despite being Martin Collins reference for a number of years. On the Dynavector - less information, forshortened soundstage, very good lateral precision within the forshortened soundstage. Not as transparent as the unipivot Naim Aro. On the FR64, this is much closer to the Aro in speed and transparency, and the fragility on solo piano/guitar etc disappears. A more stable sound.

Dynavector Nova 13D - on the Aro - easily the best, fast lucid, transparent and excellent timing, this combo will track severe warps without missing a beat - it is very stable. With the FR64 & Dynavector the same differences as with the Koetsu - the FR64 resolves more than the Dynavector, presents a much more accurate soundstage, the Dynavector forshortens stage depth.

Fidelity Research FR1mk3 - very good on Naim Aro, ok on FR64, less than average on Dynavector 501.

Lewm, I do agree arm/cartridge combos are critical. For example I still think the best arm for the Koetsu Black was my old Zeta ( after I had the bearings replaced ). In terms of the stone bodied Koetsu's ( Onyx Gold vdh ) the Sumiko The Arm is the best combo I've heard. The Koetsu Reds are more variable, but I had excellent results with an Alphason/Koetsu Rosewood.
However, the general outcome of more speed and transparency on the Aro than the FR64 is consistent across all cartridges. Similarly the lack of transparency as regards the correct presentation of soundstage of the 501 compared to the FR64 is consistent with all cartridges.

From using the ET2 for 30 years with much experimentation on mass, electromagentic damping & decoupling of the counterweights, my gut feel is the Dynavectors electromagnetic damping is too severe and is killing the arms potential.

In general terms the Dynavector Nova 13 has considerably more resolution than any of the other cartridges except for the Ikeda. At present I am running it straight into my Marantz 7 tube preamp @ 47k - no step up required, the Marantz has plenty of gain for LOMC's, even the low output Dynavector. Step up devices I have to hand, but not used, are various vintage transformers including Altec 4629, Music Ref tube head amp modified, Blue Audio Systems solid state head amp ( built by Reto Andreoli of Magic Diamond cartridges ). Rest of system is power amp by Richard Brown and Tannoy Monitor Golds with my own crossover, all wired with MIT - Oracle power & interconnect cabling, original double shotgun 750 for speaker cable.

Back to the B60 : Alternative VTA adjuster

An alternative solution to easy and fine VTA adjustment is to tap a machine screw into a block of aluminium or bronze that slides under the arm lift cradle. I had one made years ago with a fine thread : 1/4 turn equated to 1 thou of an inch. You then unwind the screw until it just touches the underside of the arm lift cradle. From there you can easily remove it, adjust the screw up or down ( 1 turn is +-4 thou ) and then all you do is loosen the arm pillar screws, place the VTA measurer under the arm lift, and then drop the arm down to the new position. This little gizmo gives you complete control of fine VTA without the need for the B60.

My concern with most arms is that the arm pillars are secured by one or two grub screws - this is not particularly rigid. With the Helius tonearms the arm pillar is secured with a compression grip - this is far more rigid.

Lewm/Audpulse
My standard Marantz 7 (1996 reissue) has enough gain for the Dynavector Karat Nova 13D, albeit with a little tube noise at louder levels. This Karat Nova 13D however is not standard. The original output was 0.12mv. When Dynavector rebuilt Karat Nova's they always started with a new generator. I got the last 13D generator in the early 2000's. When I had an accident and broke the diamond cantilever they rebuilt it again as a special favour ( they no longer rebuild them ) using a Karat Nova 17 generator, and the output is now 0.3mv. This is what I believe I have http://www.dynavector.com/pdf/nova17d_ebro.pdf
Fortunately I have another Nova 13D still original.
The standard 7 also has enough gain for the Koetsu's and Carnegie (0.28mv) that I've used over the years. It does not have enough gain for the Ikeda (0.15mv).

My modified Marantz 7 dates from around 1960 and has the followng mods :
1st stage - did the Smith mods, bypassed all the switching & tone controls, bypassed the balance & trim pots on phono and line output, resulting in a phono only preamp with only a volume pot in the signal path.
2nd stage - did the Pooge circuit changes - tighter RIAA, increased output coupling caps
3rd stage - added a custom designed outboard regulated power supply ( much better design than the suggested Pooge power supply ) with additional superfast C on the tubes. The outboard supply also has additional star earthed binding posts so all components in the system can be star earthed to one single point.
4th - replaced all resistors with Roderstein metal film and caps with MIT Multicaps.
This was all back in the early 90's. The modded Marantz has a little more gain, substantially lower noise floor and more resolution than the original 7, but retains the unique characteristics of the original - if you read the TAS reviews of the Marantz & and Smith modded version they are absolutely spot on - a unique in my experience ability to accurately orient instruments in Carnegie Hall, a very coherent music presentation in terms of timing and expansive mid range. My take on the 1996 replica is that it is very good, but a little slow. I suspect the polypropylene caps in this version are not great. In Japan they buy replicas and then install vintage bumblebees. In Europe they buy replicas and throw in the Duellunds.
From the mid/late nineties I used a Jadis for about 10 years until someone desperately wanted it. They did me a huge favour because when I hooked the old modded Marantz 7 back up out of curiosity it blew the Jadis away completely. Every time I try another preamp I lose speed and coherency. Even my friend with a full Goldmund system shakes his head - he cannot understand why my ancient system with about 50 years of components sounds so quick. As well as the Goldmund PH3 another friend has the Lamm phono. It is sad that these cant live with a 1960's design. As is always with audio it is a sum of the parts.

@vortrex 
I dont know about the Ikeda, I have an original B60 on my FR64S.
I have no problems, the grub screw is to the left of the knob, alan key goes straight in.

WHY would you put the set screws in a location where they can hit the adjuster?

If you follow the instructions and do them up properly they dont hit the adjuster.

depending on the positioning your set screws they can be covered up which means you have to lower the adjuster to even be able to remove your arm

That’s to accommodate a large variation between turntables in the height of the platter surface relative to the armboard.

You want to set the postion of the pillar shaft such that the arm is parallel to the record when the VTA adjustment is dead centre with the cartridge mounted - this gives you the maximum VTA +- adjustment.