Looking for a great arm that is low maintenence

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Sirspeedy,
Thanks for the Excellent post and very level headed advice for Nrchy. Was your Tri-Planar a model 7 or a previous version? My understanding from those (whose ears I trust) that have heard both, is that the current model 7 is dramatically better than the older Tri-Planar's
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I currently own (love) the Graham 2.2 with Ceramic armwands (3) and heard the Tri-Planar 7 in my system for during a long weekend. I have never had the SME IV or V in my system (so I am useless there). When I did my research while making the Graham 2.2 buying decision, the SME's were taken off my short list towards the end based on friend’s comments that had owned or heard them extensively.
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In my system, the Tri-Planar 7 was clearly more dynamic with more detail and better attacks than the Graham 2.2 along with stronger and more focused bass. I still prefer the Graham to the Tri-Planar 7. The Tri-Planar was a little bit too edgy for my taste, but other people clearly preferred the Tri-Planar (my room is still a bit on the bright side and that might account for my preference for the Graham 2.2).
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Having said all of the above, I would easily prefer a Schroder Reference to either the Graham 2.2 or the Tri-Planar. If my room’s handling of sound was better (and will be someday) , I could easily see myself preferring the Tri-Planar to the Graham 2.2. I do think that the Schroder Reference might be the arm that ends one’s lifelong chase for tonearm Heaven.
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I have a two-armed table and I imagine that I will keep my Graham 2.2 after I get a Schroder Reference.
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There are lot’s of options for you here Nate, but your short list is looking pretty good.
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Rgds,
Larry
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S23chang,
Logically the Tracking force plays a large role (as does the VTA) in determining the detail, focus and timbre of the sound.
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I can not promise you that we nailed the set up each time, but a lot of care was given by some very able people when the tonearm/cartridge set ups were done and there was a good bit of tweaking before we settled in to listen.
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So yes, it is absolutely possibility that we were misled by the set ups, but that would always be the case. In this case, I feel pretty comfortable that the character of the tonearms and associated cartridges were a result of good set ups.
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Rgds,
Larry
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Nrchy,
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Congratulations on deciding to get the Tri-Planar VII and ZYX Airy3.
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If you don't already have one, think about getting a Cardas Frequency Sweep / Break in LP. They are only about $ 30.00 and well worth the money. It will be a great help braking in the Airy3 and the Tonearm cable and it is does great things for the sound of your system when run every 3-4 weeks.
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The time interval is very system dependant you can experiment and figure out how long you can go before running the frequency sweep makes a sonic difference.
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Let us know how it all sounds once you have it up and running with a few hours on it.
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Rgds,
Larry
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Nrchy,
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If it is not that bad of a drive, I would drive and pick it up. It will take any problems out of the equation and you can pay for the gas and hotel with the money you save.
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It would also give you a chance to meet the Sota people and possibly hear your table set up in their system (nice to have the comparison to what you have at home).
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I am insulted, not Doug.... (Doug, I meant that in the nicest way possible).
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Rgds,
Larry
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