@drbond There is some wisdom here if you listen close enough. None of us can compare every tonearm and there is no dealer that can compare every tonearm. Frankly, never trust a human who isw trying to sell you something. But many of us have owned just about every type of tonearm out there and that adds up to a lot of experience. But, what a sound system or any piece of equipment sounds like when it comes down to the best equipment in a speaker/room that you like is more likely to be due to the relative humidity than anything. How a piece of equipment performs is a funtion of design and the factors that make a great design are accessible to anyone although some manufacturers may try to hide them. You have one of the very best turntables and one of the very best phono stages. All of the best arms and cartridges are going to sound similar, to normal people indentical. I have three top of the line cartridges and what amazes me more than anything is they sound way more alike than not. There was a day when the differences between cartidges semmed to be much greater.
@rauliruegas , your experience with linear tracking arms matches mine. I only made the mistake myself once. There is no current line tracker that I would come close to considering. The Reed 5T and the Schroder LT are very differnt animals, they are pivoted tangential trackers and though there are some minor quibbles I do not see why they would not be excellent arms and perhaps even a step forward. Had I a turntable that would fit one I would have a Schroder LT already.
And by the way, when you are dealing with a 12 kHz waveform in the grove of a 33 1/3 RPM record, 1.4 degrees is a lot with modern stylus profiles that have a very narrow contact patch. But, as I said before I thing the real benefit is in no skating.
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@terry9
No need to apologize. Your first impression was more correct: different tonearms use different materials, andtheir sonic impact would be interesting to discern. Of course everyone knows that you neeed to set up the tonearms properly with respect to VTA, etc.
@mijostyn
I have tried only two different tonearms (Schroder CB, and Reed 5A) on the Helix, and the differences are dramatic, so I would imagine that for just about all tonearms…I’ll try a third in the near future…
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Reed 5A is the one that maintains tangency, is it not? If it is, one would expect it to be different from the CB, of course. (Sorry for stating the obvious.)
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What is also being overlooked is how the Speaker producing the sound couples to a room and how the design for the Speaker influences the end sound as a result of upstream devices creating and managing the signal along its path.
One Transducer to another is the aboard and alight stops on the Journey.
The aboard (Cart’) is very much covered in talks about the source and the variances of the aboard are well documented on how one leans towards the voicing produced.
The alight (Speaker Driver) is not so commonly referred to in discussions being had. About the qualities being discovered when Vinyl as a source material and the supporting Trilogy of Ancillaries to enable a reply are under the microscope.
The end sound is the defining factor and the experiencing of the produced sound is the substantiation that all evaluation and assessments are made on.
Anything that happens upstream is not sound, the Groove Modulus, the Styli > Cantilever > Armature > Damper > Coils are not sound, but only precursors to the signal being generated.
The path for the signal has a real mine field to go through to the point it is at the Xover.
On exiting the Xover the Signal now converts electrical signal into a mechanical energy, with the end result being moved air that manifests as sound.
Speakers will through design and design types do very interesting things to the sound that are quite discernable.
Speakers will enable Sound to appear Voluminous or Confined, have a perception of Speed of delivery being quite responsive to laid back.
Structures for the Speakers in use will produce varying levels of detectable colouration.
The sound from the Speaker is the most important factor in a decision to be made, it is how this sound stimulates the Amygdala, that really matters.
The Amygdala is taking charge and is the rectification that is at work in advance of the chemistry produced that controls the Brains Auditory reception.
It is the Amygdala that produces the Chemicals, Neurone , and Motor Neurone responses that make one like or thoroughly dislike.
As all individuals are unique and very much bespoke in their reactions to environmental influences, especially ambient sound, it is impossible to make an evaluation that has a trustworthy accuracy based on a individuals description. It is impossible to suggest ones own findings are to be ubiquitous.
As said previously, all that can be deduced, is how the experiences had have effected the individual only.
The subject under discussion really is traipsing in ones impression left of a experience had, being an attempt to strongly suggest or a attempt to prove that certain devices are better than another.
'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and 'One mans meat is another's poison'.
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@pindac
LOL! Most thoughtful comment out of left field…for the win!
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Good discussion on this topic.
I recently installed an SME 309 on a Technics SL1200GAE (not my own turntable BTW, so no expectation bias involved). It sounded noticeably better than the stock arm - especially in terms of top end refinement.
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@yoyoyaya I have heard the SME 3009, but not for a few years now, the one I used to be able to be demo'd in use after my own very long period of not using one, was a model that had been stripped back and all parts that were an interface, having been honed to a very high level of finish.
I was demo'd this TA in use with MC's and a few MM's, I can't fault its presentation with a MM, from recollection there was much on offer to be attracted to.
I do recollect with the MC, the presentation was reigned in a little more to what I know the MC Model could usually present as.
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@pindac - apologies. Typo in my post which I've corrected because I meant the 309 - economy version of the Series IV/V. It was partly a freudian slip because I have very recently been listening to a very nice SME 301 with a completely rebuilt 3009 exactly as the one you describe above and it sounded absolutely wonderful.
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No Harm Done, two individuals confirming that the Olden Tech' Tools, in their geriatric years, still can make a good impression to how it contributes to producing the sound that has a unique impact for being a stimulus to ones Amygdala and Limbic System.
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Olden tech!
I prefer to think of it as classic equipment for classic ears.
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Of course everyone knows that you neeed to set up the tonearms properly with respect to VTA, etc
But few have adjustability as one of their top criteria.
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As for adjustability, for some body wanting a simplistic method to adjust Pillar Height.
A new card deck has Cards with a almost consistent dimension of 0.2mm per card.
Using the deck or proportion of deck set upon a LP and under the arm wand close to the Pillar, enables very controlled incremental changes to the pillar height and VTA/SRA.
The Azimuth adjustment is more complex to control, depending on Headshell Type, to achieve the 90 degrees to the Groove will take on different processes.
The Zenith adjustment, setting the Styli parallel to the Groove is the one most overlooked.
Manufacturers of Styli that set the gem on to the Cantilever are not too up to speed with their quality control on setting the gem.
I don't know who has the perfect Zenith and who does not, I will know I could improve on this area as a discipline.
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Some measurement device is needed, for a reasonable cost, so one can adjust for zenith. I do believe Wally Tools is devising such a device but don't know for sure. I cannot even imagine how such a device could be designed so the average vinylista could learn how to use it.
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@drbond : " very few on this forum have actually compared tonearms, which rationally only leaves dealers, who, of course, are biased to one degree or another; but some biased information is better than no information at all. "
Four time that confirm what I write in my last post. You need to learn to understand in true the tonearm subject that you still just do not " discern " even that you think you did it and you think you did it in a " record time " using only two tonearms and 2-5 cartridges in the same TT. Well I know that you are not a genius but is fine with me.
" and the differences are dramatic, so I would imagine that for just about all tonearms…I’ll try a third in the near future…"
Wrong conclusion even that you now has a " fan " that suddenly posted and that’s way over wrong that you are. To each his own.
Even that you need to make a test with to same tonearms and with 2 different cartridges where you listen one of those cartridges that you mount in one of those same tonearms and in second step after your listen sesession you take that cartridge and then you mount in the other similar tonearm and listen it and through this comparison come here ( after doing that with those 2 different cartridges ) and share what you found out. I don’t care if you don’t do that it’s your decision.
In the other side, maybe you need to have a little more clear the intrinsical relationship between a cartridge and the tonearms where it is mounted.
A cartridge per sé and during play develops its own kind of " distortions " and the tonearm during play develops too its own self of distortions that with an specific cartridge can be a mate in heaven and in other tonearm not at the same level ( everything the same ) but this does not means that the " heaven mate " is better tonearm than the other second tonearm: what that means is only that the first tonearm mates better with that specific cartridge. Of course that if the differences are " nigth and day " with 5 cartridges in the row then that tonearm or is totally inferior or it’s out of its design specs.
The other issue in that " everything the same " other that the cartridge/tonearm " perfect " set up is that both tonearms have the same internal wire and input/output connectors.
I’m not " offended " in anyway with your 4 times post and your " fan " because I know with all respect to you that gentlemans as @terry9 @lewm @mijostyn @chowkwan @viridian @wrm57 @whart and others ( to many to mention all ) are way better and with higher knoledge levels in this specific tonearm subject that you and I know too that the ignorance level of all those gentlemans is way lower that your high ignorance levels in this specific regards and you make things " complicated " because you don’t let that any one help you in anyway about.
Btw, I have 2 similar self design/build pivoted tonearms are identical in every characteristic but the internal bearing type where one is an ABEC 9 gimball and the other jewl and both performs with excellent quality levels. Exist differences that can you detect where you could say this is better than the other? maybe you can maybe not.
R.
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@rauliruegas
Just as I thought you had become a better person, you prove me wrong by your assinine comments. Oh well, some people never change… You have never offered anything constructive, and my best policy was to always ignore your comments, as they are always irrelevant to the matter. So I will return to my past approach, which is to ignore any and all messages by you, which I suppose most on this forum would also benefit by learning from my experience, which I am willing to share.
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@drbond : That's your usual response that it's not constructive I already told you why in my opinion you are wrong in this specific tonearm subject.
However in your thread you don't post yet why the other gentlemans I named are wrong and where are your foundation to think they are and that you are rigth or at least that in this forum no one knows about because this is what you posted 4 times with no facts that could prove it.
I said you are wrong and is only an opinion and I was not proven nothing: only said with foundation in all the other gentlemans posts and in what you posted.
R.
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@drbond I have posted many times in the past about certain individuals involved with Audio Equipment seemingly having developed a Behavioural Addiction, where obsession has become the driving force of the interest.
Obsession being a out of harmony balance and an over interest to varying degrees, especially to the place where the obsessional thought will be the thought that Supersedes all others, can typically be seen to manifest through the presence leaving a very difficult place for the individual more balanced on the subject of Audio Equipment to communicate.
Your Thread has started with your inquisitive request to understand how a Tonearm design can influence the sonic produced and which designs are seen as the betterment over others.
The reality is there isn't a best or worse, as there are too many variables to influence the end sound that has very little to do with the TA design or Materials used to produce it.
All Tonearms born from a Particular discipline for the design and build will assist the correct choice of Cart' to replay music to a very high audible quality.
To have a reality check, the Amygdala is the part of the brain that rewards for audible exposure in a particular environment, as long as the sound produced is a stimulus emotion and reward are produced, it is this only that is the bias for selecting a good experience or not so good experience.
The math helps for the designs produced but is not the 'be all and end all', it is the how the Amygdala creates a chemistry and neurone activity that is the stimulus to encourage behaviour that is wanting more of what is experienced, which can for many become an unbalanced and overexposed experience, manifesting as a addictive behaviour.
Interestingly, it is the same for those who abuse themselves through overexposure to the Web and endless exposure to Phone Media Data, the overindulgence is an addictive behaviour, one that is formed from bombarding the Amygdala with a sensory overload, through an excess of reactions being created to content being observed.
Such endless exposure is a Trauma to the Limbic System.
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The best tonearm is no tonearm. Since that is not practical get one of them fancy wooden tonearms that are hand crafted and are less susceptible to stray electro magnetic pulses.
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Stray electromagnetic pulses? Holy Cow! I now have something more to worry about.
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lewn, well if you do buy into that, you really do have one more thing to worry about!
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@drbond I think you and I have different versions of "dramatic." The 5A is a cool arm. It is not one I would try. I think the Schroder LT is a more elegant solution to problem. I know you mentioned someone having a problem with one on a Helix. I have been over the instruction and mounting manual. It is way more complicated than most arms. I have also been toying with the Reed 5T. It is an insanely cool arm and way more of a conversation piece than any other tangential arm. I would have to disembowel my Sota, ditch the plinth, beef up the suspension to handle the load and build a new plinth around it all. Child's play.
@lewm Zenith is rather easy to measure under the microscope. The programs used with high end USB microscopes will measure anything including zenith. You "snap lines" on the legs of the angles and the computer calculates the angle. For Zenith you would snap a line including the two contact patches the another parallel to the cantilever. It should be 90 degrees. You correct zenith by twisting the cartridge in the headshell, but it is a compromise. If I got a cartridge that was not 90 degrees I would send it back as defective. All the working elements of the cartridge need to be exact and bilaterally symmetrical to get the best performance.
@pindac Give me a break! You are just as compulsive as any of us.
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@lewm As for adjusting azimuth, I think that the only reliable way is to do it by ear. Peter Ledermann of Soundsmith has a piece on it, which seems very convincing to me.
He points out that his best cartridge, the Hyperion, often has large crosstalk differences between the channels - like 6dB or more !!! That is, the left channel might have 44dB of separation and the right channel 50dB of separation. Therefore, he says, setting for equal channel separation is a serious error.
When I read this, some years ago, I knew why I had been unable to get equal channel separation on my Koetsu, even though it was canted over by a degree or more! And sounded awful, although I was trying to convince myself that it sounded good because, well, it measured better that way.
So, now I listen for smoothness. Less harsh, less CD-like, more like I want to listen for another two hours, more like the instruments and singers that I know - the grand piano upstairs is a great reference!. I listen for clarity with vocals sung in dialect, like Scots. I listen to renaissance accompanied choral music where sopranos and viols are on the same note - Harmonia Mundi has a lot of these. Adjust for smoothness.
And aggressive strings in the high register, like Barber’s Adagio or Paert’s Fratres. I am adjusting my Epoch to the midpoint of an interval of about 5 minutes of arc - the extremes (endpoints) are obvious, after a little listening.
Consider how you would mount a stylus on a high end cartridge. You would do it optically, with magnification and crosshairs, and maybe get it within 15 degrees of arc. Maybe. Even if you’ve got a long enough line on the stylus to align to within 15 minutes, what about the way in which the point was cut relative to the shank? Is it within 15 minutes? Not easy to say, let alone QC. This last paragraph is surmise. I don't actually know, and don't know how to find out.
That leaves a lot of room for improvement, and it’s audible. And with adjustability, doable.
IMO. YMMV.
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Terry, I and someone else were talking about zenith, not azimuth. I actually ruined my Koetsu Urushi by adjusting azimuth for equal crosstalk using a Signet Cartridge Analyzer and its test LP. It was canted over by at least 2 degrees which eventually wore out the stylus on one edge. Also, as in your case, it never sounded good really. I’ve had it retipped by Expert Stylus, and I now run it at 90 degrees where it sounds wonderful. Azimuth adjustment is dangerous for most of us. I’m definitely NOT in the equal crosstalk/Fozgometer school. But read about zenith.
And no, I don’t fear magnetic pulses.
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I think the OP asks a great question.
As a data point, I compared the Kuzma Safir to the Kuzma 4 point 11 on a Stabi R turntable, in the process of deciding whether or not to buy the former. I understand @lewm’s caveat that you can only ever get partial results due to the need to match tonearms with appropriate cartridges. So, I brought my 4 point with a Zyx Universe Optimum, well broken in, and adjusted it with an Acoustical Systems Smartractor. Dealer had the Safir with an MSL Gold. We swapped the tonearms and listened to the same LPs.
To me (and him, the salesman) the results were not subtle. The Safir/MSL was clearly superior to the 4 point/Zyx Optimum. I believe it was a difference that anyone would hear. The immediate sensation was of moving from a small street to a broad avenue of sound. Just more, wider, deeper, more detailed, better timbre, more relaxed, more dynamic, etc. A notable sensation in the bass was the sustain: acoustic bass notes just lingered and rang much longer than I had heard before. this struck me because up til then, the Zyx Uni had the best bass of any cartridge I had heard. I doubt this was the difference between these two, high level cartridges. my sense, after this experiment, was that I had really underestimated the importance of a good tonearm. (I bought the Safir).
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@jollytinker I have to ask… why not evaluate both arms w same cartridge ? note, i am a fan of both Kuzma arms… and have decent seat time w both.
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@lewm i built satellites, i am afraid of all sorts of things….
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Space junk scares me more than electromagnetic pulses. It has taken out more actors in space suits than even the Alien.
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@mijostyn Can I rephrase your comment.
"I am projecting you are inflicted with the same level of obsession I do or don't know I am suffering from as a disease."
I myself can't project how much of a disease is present in another from witnessing the end product of their use of a keyboard.
I can see enough in the content of the written information to be aware that the disease has a influence on certain individuals.
For the record for the past few years the largest proportion of my listening to a dedicated audio system is a result of attending social get togethers.
I am not locking myself away in a room, avoiding life and family experiences, being a nursemaid to a unbalanced interest and even possibly a unhealthy interest.
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@tomic601
I have to ask… why not evaluate both arms w same cartridge ? note, i am a fan of both Kuzma arms… and have decent seat time w both.
it was the electromagnetic pulses.
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Seriously, neither one of us wanted to go through mounting and unmounting both fancy cartridges twice. And I've since found that the Zyx Uni is not happy on the Safir so it wouldn't have yielded much benefit anyway. The Zyx can't seem to track very well on the high mass arm. Franc Kuzma says it shouldn't matter but apparently it does.
I do miss the 4 point especially for the headshells and I'm setting up my old turntable mainly so I can make use of that tonearm. To be honest I was surprised at the distance between the two arms. But that's what I heard.
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@lewm Thanks for the note. I mistakenly thought you were talking about azimuth. Since I use a LT, it’s not so much of an issue for me - assuming that the cantilever is straight, which is a lot more obvious and a lot easier than azimuth.
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@jollytinker You noticed a difference between cartridge arm combinations., not tonearms. The MSL would have sounded better in the 4 Point and much the same as it sounded in the Saphir with perhaps better bas due to the Saphirs very high EF. As you discovered, many cartridges will not be comfortable in the Saphir. Add a little mass to the 4 Point and you will get the same results. Add mass to any good arm and you will get the same results.
@terry9 I love being "someone else."
This is one point I disagree with Peter on who I have the utmost respect for. You adjust azimuth by eye. I use to use a mirror, now I use the Smartractor which has a dandy magnifier. The stylus has to be perfectly upright in the groove. The sonic difference between +- a few degrees is essentially inaudible but with some stylus profiles +- a few degrees might accelerate both stylus and record wear. Examples would be the replicant 100, GygerS and Soundsmith MR. The stylus used by both Lyra and MSL is more forgiving. The Soundsmith OCL Stylus also fits in the later group.
@pindac Ouch! That is way to serious for an audio discussion. This is not a Dis-Ease. It is a fun hobby for people who love music. If it makes up your sole purpose in life that would be unfortunate. Right now I am going back to making my wife's master bathroom vanity. In the shop I listen to 4 old Mirage speakers powered by Adcom and digital streaming. Since I have to wear hearing protection for the machines the volume is always turned hysterically high. I guarantee I am the noisiest person you have ever met.
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I agree with Mijostyn on azimuth adjustment. The reference for support for that view is Korf, and the consequence is that usually no azimuth adjustment from 90 degrees is necessary. Which means tonearms and headshells that do not incorporate azimuth adjustment are suddenly ok. Who woulda thunkit?
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Understand, in my in depth listen, we contended w different arms / tables and carts, so you had fewer variables…. Enjoy the music and the journey
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I just read Raul’s post, the one that the OP and some others found to be upsetting. If you would put your hurt feelings aside, you might see the truth that underlies his comments. Really he is saying what I say too, only in greater detail and backed by more listening experience. It takes a lot of patience and time to be able to say with confidence that one good tonearm is better than another good tonearm, and even then the outcome is not free of caveats.
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Sorry gents, but I hear +/- a fraction of a degree of azimuth in my system. Caveats: classical, revealing music from pristine US cleaned records; LT air tonearm with adjustments +/- 20 microns in 2D, acting over a 250mm shaft of 20mm steel. Thus may mileage vary.
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Dear @lewm @mijostyn : Yes, several of us are talking of almost the same but the OP who posted:
" on the Helix, and the differences are dramatic, so I would imagine that for just about all tonearms..."
that comment it’s not even anecdotic, To be that way he needs to share first which of those 2 tonearms was the winner, which cartridges used for his comparisons, which LPs tracks were used for the test, at what SPLs he listened with all cartridges and which differences were the ones that he listened in each of those LPs tracks he used and the kind of alignment he used in the non LT tonearm.
The OP is asking for " something " that not even him did it not showed/shared here.
@drbond what’s up down there down your comparisons?
I think he needs to be serious about.
R.
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Terry, Where did I say that you cannot hear a fraction of a degree of azimuth change? I only said I only aim for having the cartridge sit symmetrically in the groove. That condition is usually arrived at when azimuth is set for 90 degrees. If you do it by ear and end up with much less than a one degree difference from 90 degrees, more power to you. I wouldn’t bother because I don’t believe that any one setting would be best for all LPs. But I don’t doubt you can hear it or at least you think you can hear it, which is the same thing either way. What I no longer do is to use a test instrument (e.g., Fozgometer or much older Signet Cartridge Analyzer which I own) to set for equal crosstalk. That almost always leads to an azimuth setting that (1) sounds not so good, and (2) leads to long term damage to the stylus, which in turn results in even worse SQ. The Korf treatise on azimuth convinced me.
Korf on Azimuth
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@mijostyn
@jollytinker You noticed a difference between cartridge arm combinations., not tonearms.
Yes, if you *read* my comment you'll notice that I said exactly that. It's why I refer to Lewm's caveat. But the import of his many-times repeated comment, as I see it, is that at some point you have to move on and make a pragmatic decision based on incomplete knowledge.
The MSL would have sounded better in the 4 Point and much the same as it sounded in the Saphir with perhaps better bas due to the Saphirs very high EF.
this is rather glib, don't you think? have you actually tried this, or are you just speculating? I highly doubt that it's true. What you're referring to is commonly known as a "tweak," as opposed to a difference in "design" and its effects. the difference I heard with the SAFIR vs the 4 point was the latter, but of course I had a limited amount of time to make the determination with a lot of money at stake. Such is life. I was listening carefully.
Again, I offered this as a data point. IMHO, what makes these forums interesting and worthwhile is the concrete experience and comparison, not the dogma.
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jollytinker, You wisely wrote, "at some point you have to move on and make a pragmatic decision based on incomplete knowledge." Yes, that is what we all do all the time in selecting components for an audio system (or for that matter in almost all decision making). Our knowledge is always incomplete. The best one can hope for is to learn over time.
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I upgraded the arm only on my Rega P5 from an RB700 to an RB880 keeping the same van den Hut MC One Special cartridge and everything else the same. The difference was immediately noticeable and incredible. Much more than when I upgraded the table to the one the RB880 comes standard on, the P8. I don't spend nearly the time or $$ of the other contributors here, but I will say I only play records on my stereo and enjoy improvements to the sound and try to make the most logical decisions. Tonearms in my mind are at the very beginning of the signal path, probably only less important than the cartridge (assuming you are considering the tonearm wire as part of the tonearm).
For example - no connectors within the wiring from the cartridge to the input of the phono stage, which means no removable head shells. If you are that desiring of experimentation, get a multi-arm table. If the power is sufficient, use an integrated amp instead of separating out the preamp - once again eliminating a connection point. No adjusting VTA which is another point of movement within the arm which should be as rigid as possible. Are your really going to adjust based on the thickness of every record you play? Roy Gandy says not to worry about it because of the small effect the VTA adjustment has relative to the length of the tonearm. Set it up once and forget it.
If you are more of an equipment hobbyist, I can appreciate that, but I believe some of you have gone way past the point of obsession.
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Dear @lewm @mijostyn : Azimuth is always important as the other carrtridge set up parameters ( my tonearms comes with the AZ facility. ) but even in niormal LT tonearm and even that the stylus is in rigth position relative to a centered cantilever it's not easy to " predict " LP by LP under dynamical listen sessions if the stylus tip always is rigth on in AZ at each groove. I think never can happens.
For the OP and if he decided to return to post he needs too share the VTA and VTF used in each one cartridge ( 5 ) due that some of us could have the same models.
R.
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@lewm Don't want an argument - rather, I value your views. But you did say,
"I agree with Mijostyn on azimuth adjustment."
Mijostyn said,
The sonic difference between +- a few degrees is essentially inaudible ...
I was responding to that. Glad to know that does not represent your views. I think that azimuth can be optimized for most LP's if you make sure that they (LP's) are absolutely flat, like with a reflex clamp and a record flattener.
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@sokogear
I believe some of you have gone way past the point of obsession.
Yeah, guilty, Your Honour. Fair cop. Still, it beats a smart phone.
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@jollytinker @sokogear
Thanks for sharing your experience with your various tonearms. I, too, have found that tonearms can make a marked difference in the sound quality when playing vinyl records. It would be interesting to continue hearing from others who have experience with various tonearms.
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BTW, I had a linear arm back in college on a Phase Linear 8000 that I thought was so cool. I assumed that was the best design since there is no anti-skate to worry about and the arm is perfectly tangential to the record groove at all points. I didn't realize how bad it sounded (or maybe wasn't set up right) until it broke and I got a lower end Music Hall that completely blew it away. They Phase Linear was totally automatic (direct drive) with some kine of control wheel to position the arm. SO complicated. Simple is best. A to B.
After that I realized that how a piece of audio equipment looks is by far a secondary consideration, unless you never want to play it. In fact, you probably are paying heavily for the cool look factor. I'd stay away from red floor standing speakers though....or ones that make a den look like a physics lab.
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In the business i was in, understanding that tolerance stack is a two edge sword… there are so very many variables to consider…. chasing the dragon , catching a fleeting glimpse and then codification of whatever ritual of the hunt that got you “ there “… is always risky…
I have stopped obsession w LP unique VTA….
I also am glad products like Safir exist…
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@jollytinker Yes, actually. It was a MSL Platinum signature on a Saphir mounted on a CS Port turntable and the 4 point was on a Kuzma R. Now, this was at a friend's house and he feels the Saphir sounded better. He's a lot more impressionable than I am. Anybody can make a fat tonearm wand out of synthetic sapphire. I want to see one made out of boron.
@lewm You and I absolutely agree to a T on azimuth. I line the diamond up at 90 degrees and forget about it. Done that for 55 some odd years. Fozgometer my backside. As an aside (@terry9 might like this). I was listening to a cartridge I had owned for about 6 months, a Corina Round album, Tigermending, I was thinking that the album's production was not as good as I had thought it was when I started to hear mistracking. I got up immediately expecting to see a wad of dust or something strangling the stylus. Nothing, clean as a whistle, but the stylus looked funny. I got out my magnifier and a flashlight to have a look. Let's say in the normal record playing position a stylus is pointed at 6 oclk. Looking from the front this one was pointed at 8 oclk. Otherwize the stylus and cantilever looked perfectly normal. The cantilever had rotated in the suspension, somebody forgot the cement I guess. I took a picture of it under the microscope and sent it to the company. They immediately sent me a new cartridge and a shipping label for the old one. The thing is, I seriously doubt that stylus rotated abruptly. It slowly shifted under the various forces at play until it got to the point I noticed it, about 60 degrees off axis. The system sounded much better when I put another cartridge in, but that was an abrupt change. The stylus shifting slowly was not. It happen so slowly I did not notice. However, it is important to note that the cartridge's internals were all in proper alignment with the record and it was still getting a stereo signal up until it misstracked and that is when the shoulder of the stylus hits the groove wall. The stylus was a modern fine line of the type used by Lyra and My Sonic Lab. It has a more rounded tip and the fine line continues a ways up each side. If anyone thinks they can hear a stylus (I did not say cartridge) a few degrees off vertical they have much better hearing than I. My stylus gets an easy 40 degrees.
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It remains of interest how all is still remaining centred around design and Brand, where the subject content is all about what is material and tangible.
Neuroplasticity, as a result of environmental impact on the Amygdala can't be discounted, and especially how each individual is absolutely unique in how environment influences their overall person and steers them in relation to choices being made.
Obviously some choices do have a associated cost, if wanted to be maintained as an experience and continued influence.
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