Kleos Sibilance

markd51: Acoustic interaction? In what way?

In my case the adjustments have been checked and rechecked.

Look at their website, they sell MM's and a HOMC. One of their people told me they like heavy cartridges. Not the sort of folks that would want a $2750 Kleos on their 2nd from the bottom arm.

And don't get me wrong, I like the Scoutmaster/JMW 9 Sig. Well made stuff. Keep in mind that I mentioned that I had issues with the Shelter 501 II as well. Had to put one of VPI's weights on and up the tracking force. Also keep in mind that the problem with the sibilance was mostly solved by adding weight to the headshell.

I probably should have tried the fluid as HW suggested but I became disenchanted and have thought for years that fluid dampening is ok for tables but not tonearms.

You read the whole thread?

Thanks for your thoughts,
Robert

"VPI arms don't require drilling the armboard. You simply screw it in the correct place, and set it up according to the cartridge. Very, Very easy.
"

Point was they are not like any other. Can't drop in a Rega or an SME which would be the two most common mountings.

I really hope no one is reading this but the morons posting on it. It is almost impossible to get everything wrong but you guys have figured out how to do it. Thank you Stingreen and Markd51 for some sanity.

1- For the wise guy dealer - I have no financial interest in this thread; I didn't have to make another tonearm or turntable or record cleaner 10 years ago let alone worrying about the money now. You’re speaking out of your rear end.

2- The JMW-9 is the exact geometry or the Rega, the Rega drops into the hole cut in the chassis and works perfectly - more bad information.

3- There is no such thing as a standard mounting - every damn arm is different unless the company is actually trying to make it easier for customers to use other arms if they want to - like VPI did with the JMW-9 mounting. We have over 50 mounting templates for different arms, all different.

4- Robob can buy whatever table he feels like buying and I hope he enjoys it but if he cannot get a Kleos to work in the arm he has then he has no concept of how to setup a unipivot. It is different than a fixed bearing arm.

5- Putting a Shelter or any cartridge with a compliance of less than 12 on an arm with the mass of the 9 or 9 Signature is asking for trouble. Then when the combination needs weights or damping complaining about the mess someone else made for them. There is a reason we recommend Dynavectors, they work perfectly in the arms. BTW, the Lyras work perfectly also and we recommend them all the time. Would it work and sound better in the Classic arm, absolutely, can you make it work in the 9, I can!!
The only reason you make a low compliance (less than 12) cartridge with a weight of less than 9 grams is because you do not care about your customers problems.

6- Temperature is a major factor in cartridge tracking; ask J Carr or Peter at SoundSmith.

7- If you want help with anything that is VPI just send an e-mail. We are very busy (must be all those customers buying our lousy arms) selling tables in 57 countries around the world and the US so it may take a few days for a long answer but you will get answered.

8- Do you think it makes any sense to compare a tonearm that costs double the price of the whole table the customer has???

9- We get 4-5 e-mails a week from customers sold the wrong cartridge for there tonearm, one that requires major work to make right. Isn’t easier to send us an e-mail and ask us what works perfectly in the arm we make!!!!!

It's late and I need to stay off these forums, too much bad information from people with little experience and not so subtle agendas.

HW

>>01-11-11: Vpihw
You’re speaking out of your rear end<<

And you design with yours.

HW,

With all due respect (I like the design of your tables), I purchased a Scoutmaster from my dealer with a Shelter 901. I had bad sibilance distortion, and went on a quest remove all of the distortion. I tried three cartridges, an Ortofon Jubilee, Benz L2 and finally an AT33PTG. I was never able to get rid of the distortion on the JMW9sig.

I did contact VPI, and Mike who I believe is one of your lead techs did take the time to try and help me. I actually mailed him my tonearm, along with the Ortofon Jubilee and Benz L2 for him to professionally setup so that the distortion would be gone. I would be lying if I said I was surprised that when I received the arm back with the Benz setup by Mike that there was no change to the sibilance distortion at all.

Finally, Mike told me by email that "The two MC's really wanted a more massive arm setup, like the new Classic has."

I can read between the lines here, as to me this is finally an admittance that the JMW9 family of tonearms cannot properly accommodate MC cartridges. Instead of rolling the dice with a "more massive" VPI arm, I chose to change platforms altogether.