Dear @mcmprov : Look, Japan is the bigger tube market on audiophiles and at the same time FM Acoustics has it's bigger market rigth in Japan.
FM Acoustics is out of question on its design or quality levels. If any electronics partner does not mates well with FM then the problem ( you can be sure. ) belongs to the partner never to FM.
R. |
Dear @mcmprov : I don’t know if you finally pulled the triger for the FM Acoustics phono stage to mate which some of your really good cartridges you own.
I know you own FR arm(s) that I owned too and now you ask for the Ikeda 407 that I owned too. Both tonearm designs are very good looking items but nothing more than that and with all my respect to Mr. Ikeda he was very good cartridge designer but certainly not a good tonearm designer.
What mean I with this? the FR and Ikeda tonearms were designed and builded with out take in count the specific aND COMPLEX CARTRIDGE NEEDS ( ANY CARTRIDGE. ).
The Ikeda designs set up VTF is a balanced one where Ikeda uses the traditional but " stupid " spring to make VTF set up. This sole characteristic is way resonant and goes against MUSIC reproduction: no matters what.
Maybe you don’t care about and is what you like and I’m not questioning you in any way but I care where I mount any cartridge for it can shows at its best and tonearm developed resonances is not in my " equations ".
The 407 is a long EL design and way more resonant than a shorter design and other disadvantages and not as the people think that longer is always better and certainly it’s not. Heavy mass means higher inernta moment in the tonearm and this a disadvantage too.
Both Ikeda designs are almost undampened and during play the arm wands rings/resonates as a bells.
Vintage or today the Ikeda tonearms maybe is the worst choice other than unipivots tonearms designs.
Lyra designer posted on FR/407 resonances:
" Yes, I’ve already done so with the Titan i. Likewise the Olympos. I agree that the results can be quite OK - as long as you wrap a damper strip around the armtube or take measures to dampen it better. "
"" I agree that the FR-66S would be somewhat better than the SAEC, but truth be told, I’m not overly enamoured of the "S" family either (and I say this as the long-time owner of a 64S with Elevation Base and Arm Stabilizer). The stainless steel is great to look at, but less great to listen to, and when I run mine I prefer to keep a compression wrap around the tube.
"" And as Raoul suggested, I use the Warren Gehl armwrap, which is far more effective than heatshrink. It dampens the resonances of the armtube by compressing it radially, and works on a similar principle to how you play harmonics on a bass or guitar.
All those does not means that with the arm wand compresion everything is ok, NO it’s not.
I repeat what you like is your privilege but if I was you I never mount any of the great cartridges you own in either tonearm designs but everything is up to you that are the gentleman that must live with and with what you like. Period.
Regards and enjoy the MUSIC NOT DISTORTIONS, R. |
