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Curved and Straight Tonearms

Over the last 40 years I have owned 3 turntables. An entry level Dual from the '70's, a Denon DP-52F (which I still use in my office system) and a Rega P3-24 which I currently use in my main system. All of these turntables have had straight tonearms. I am planning on upgrading my Rega in the near future. Having started my research, I have noticed that some well reviewed turntables have curved 'arms. My question: What are the advantages/disadvantages of each, sonic or otherwise? Thanks for any input. 
ericsch

Showing 3 responses by chakster

chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
The only straight tonearms are linear tracking tonearms, the rest of the tonearm with straight armtube have an offset angle of the headshell, so they are not actually straight, except for the very short ones like the ViV Lab for example.
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
I think the best way is to try the Audio Craft AC3000MC / AC4000MC with multiply armtubes of the different shapes. 
chakster's avatar
chakster
6,144 posts
 
@yogiboy 
I doubt he is looking at a vintage separate arm!

I mean if someone would like to compare S vs. J on the same arm the Audio Craft and related stuff with removable artubes is a good option to understand which shape is the best for the owner. 

I have 2 "S" shaped tonearms and 4 "J" shaped tonearms and i can't say which one is better based just on the armtube design. 
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