looking at upgrading my tonearm from a triplanar

I found the Talea to be a disappointment compared to the Triplanar, after everything I had heard and read about it. In particular the Triplanar is better in the bass- so far, the best I have heard. I use recordings I have recorded myself for reference, as I know how they are supposed to sound (Canto General, if anyone is asking).

The Triplanar has the hardest bearings of any arm made. Its one of the reasons it works so well.

Recently the arm has been updated with more flexible wire, and there are two newer models, the 12" and a regular size that uses the new arm tube materials of the 12".

So it might be that the thing to do is get the older arm updated.

- What is the significance of the hardness of a tonearm's bearings? At the tonearm weights involved, that alone wouldn't seem to be important.

The hardness is important- the more the bearing has the less sticktion. The size is also important- the smaller the bearing the less sticktion. Jeweled bearings (which are very hard) are unfortunately also very easy to damage and often don't survive adjustment at the factory, which is why they are usually adjusted with a little slop. If you over-tighten them they are damaged instantly. So a hard metal bearing is essential for longevity in the field. It is the failure of arm bearings that is why the arm may need to be readjusted over time.

- On the other hand, beside the bearing design itself, two bearing characteristics would seem, at least conceptually, to matter a great deal:

1- The bearing's ability to transfer mechanical energy out of the arm tube and into the mass of the turntable
2- The smoothness of the surface of the bearing material, for lowest friction.

The bearing ideally should not have to transfer any mechanical energy. If it does, this means that the arm and cartridge are mismatched (effective mass is incorrect). What the bearing should be doing is allowing the arm tube to move with the position of the stylus but otherwise simply keeping the cartridge in proper locus so that the stylus' set of angles with respect to the groove of the LP is maintained. The bearings IOW serve no damping properties whatsoever: this would run counter to their mission.

Hello Doug, I'm simply stating the theory. The bearing should have nothing to do with vibration from the cartridge.

If the arm tube is properly damped and the effective mass is given proper attention it will be found that this is the case.

You can make a similar argument for the suspension and steering in an automobile. If properly designed, the driver can get feedback from the road but it will not be tiring and won't bruise your hands or break your arm if you hit a bump. A damaged or worn suspension and steering system will result in handling problems, not unlike the inability of a damaged arm to properly track a cartridge.

The Triplanar has a damped arm tube and so its bearings (the hardest metal bearings made anywhere in the world) don't have a lot of work to do in this regard, but if they did they are also the best suited to the task.

Any way you look at it, its the best bearing system employed in a tone arm today. In order for anyone to do as well, they will have to get a security clearance. (Triplanar is grandfathered in, but they did get investigated by the Department of Homeland Security on account of the fact that they were using more of these bearings than Boeing Aerospace and the DHS wanted to know why. Turns out some DHS agents like Pink Floyd.)

Viewed under a high-powered microscope (Geoffrey's other profession has been in Laser Optics), even the highest spec metal bearings have a very irregular surface. That, of course, creates sticktion.

The hardest metal bearings are not commercially available- you need a security clearance to get them and even then to get them you have to buy about $50,000 worth at a time (that is what Triplanar does). So this statement doesn't sound right. Did he state how it was that he was able to obtain said bearings? Or is he simply not measuring the 'highest spec metal bearings' as he states?

Ralph, theory is fine, but the fact is that even our mother planet has a resonant frequency. I fear that it's a bit utopian to expect an armwand to accomplish what our planet cannot do (to dissipate all vibrations into heat).

Our planet is supposed do dissipate vibration in a tone arm??
Dang!

Audiotomb did you try any of the newer Triplanars? The new 12" is pretty impressive.