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General question on Carbon fiber tonearms versus aluminum

Is it my imagination or is it real?  In a very general sense, do Carbon fiber tonearms sound a bit better than the aluminum tubes?   I am not sure but if I was a betting man, I would put money on the carbon fiber tubes.   Any comments here?

I'd especially like to hear from folks who have had both on their turntables or who have owned both just not at the same time.

Thanks!
spatialking

Showing 3 responses by cleeds

cleeds
6,067 posts
 
spatialking
... The Dolby equalization curve concept is no different than the RIAA concept we all live with when we play vinyl. There is a Dolby pre-equalization of the music and a post equalization when playing, which reduces hiss ...
Dolby and RIAA are similar but different. RIAA is an EQ curve while Dolby is a sliding band compression/expansion system. It's that sliding band that makes alignment to Dolby reference level so critical to Dolby working properly.
cleeds
6,067 posts
 
noromance
Dolby effectively filtered frequencies (-3 dB at 600 Hz/ -6 dB at 1.2 kHz/ -8 dB at 2.4 kHz/ -10 dB at 5 kHz) resulting in a removal of ambient information. Back in the 80s, we never used Dolby B or C as both sounded worse than the clear and airy unadulterated sound—albeit with tape noise.
Dolby NR does not "filter" frequencies and the result after NR is essentially flat when the system is properly aligned. That requires precise adjustment of Dolby level and bias/eq for the specific tape being used. The prevalence of cheap cassette decks and lazy or misinformed users contributed to Dolby getting a bad rap for filtering highs, which obviously remains to this day. But it is really unwarranted. Both Dolby B and C remain very, very effective when properly used. I still have an outboard Nakamichi NR-200 and on the rare occasion that I play a cassette I'm amazed at the fidelity of mix tapes I made decades ago.


cleeds
6,067 posts
 
I'm not sure that either aluminum or carbon fiber is inherently better than the other, but magnesium is certainly one of the best materials for a pickup arm - such as is used by SME and Technics on some of their arms.
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