DynaVector DV505 is it worth the hassle?

Lewm, pls look up the arm on the Dyna website. The Dyna is 2 arms in one. One for horizontal movement and one for vertical movement. Theoretically, that is what is most desired in a tonearm but has it's own working quirks like Albertporter mentions.

Designing a tonearm like this, you can achieve very high effective mass horizontally and low effective mass vertically. It's hard to explain. You have to see how it works. Idf you see the picture, you can figure it out.

As with any arm, there are different sets of tradeoffs in all designs. The Dynavector is no different. Is there a perfect arm? I cannot really answer that.

Yes, the short armtube is more sensitive to VTA changes on warped records but was there for a few specific reasons. The short and light armtube tracks almost anything without a hiccup.

Because of the low vertical mass, the armtube and the cartridge works as one. The arm can follow the record profile (no record is perfectly flat) without a hitch hence the great trackability compared to longer tonearms. It will also take the work load off the cartridge's suspension (as the suspension is not fighting a heavy armtube)making the cartridge work more efficiently and track quieter.

Being a 507 mk2 owner, I have not really detected sonic changes/degradation due to changes to VTA. Can "you" hear it? I don't know. Maybe if you strain you might but when the music is playing...everything else will be forgotten.

Lastly, setting the arm from scratch is a breeze. Pls do not let the "look" of this arm scare you. It is highly adjustable and a very flexible arm to use with a wide range of cartridges.

If you have the opportunity to get a 505, go for it. It's a great tonearm and way ahead of it's time.

Lewm, ONLY the 505 can be fastened to the amrboard without drilling. The 507 is another story. You need to drill to install the 507.

Hope this helps clear things out.