MG-1 airbearing arm tracking problems?

Hi there Outlier
I THOROUGHLY recommend that you improve the mechanical integrity of the armwand / slider unit as described in my previous post - you'll be amazaed at the improvement.

I also have the MG-1 and couldn't be happier. There are quibbles I have - the damping trough I received doesn't fit properly and both arms I use have cracked from my over-tightenting, but are still in use and functional. The arm easily replaced an Origin Live Silver. Overall, it really is a bargain.

Don't know it. Was my review helpful, by the way?

HW-19 MK III

I too thought this arm seemed too good to be true, and shied away from buying one for quite a while. In the end I went for it, and have been using it on my Nottingham Analogue Dais with a VDH Black Beauty for 18 months.

As I expect you know, it's based on The Airtangent arm, which costs around $8000, I believe. The finish on the MG-1 is not as good as the Airtangent, as you would expect, but the airbeam, VTA adjust, and lift mechanism are mechanically good, and I don't believe they are in any practical way inferior.

I did a head to head comparison with an SME V. The SME gave a greater sense of control, and clearer detail. But not a huge amount.

It was after this comparison that I had a close look at the armwand and slider, comparing them to the tapered magnesium job on the SME. The whole thing is made of half a dozen plastic parts which clamp together. I found that the armtube assembly was loose where it joins the slider, likewise the counterweight assembly. Hmm. I superglued the joins in such a way as still to allow disassembly if needed. The whole thing is much more rigid now.

Did it make a difference sonically? Yes indeedy! It's up there with the SME now. Next I'm having an aluminium headshell made to replace the plastic one, hoping that'll step it up again.

The verdict? Sonically, it rivals the best. Once set up (not that hard really) it's a joy to use - very easy to change the tracking force, VTA can be adjusted while a record is playing. IMHO, it really is THE hifi bargain, I can see no reason to buy a different arm. And there's room for very effective tweaking.

What TT do you have by the way?

All the best
Simon

Whats the update?

I'm considering one of these arms. I've been reading old posts on here... back when he sold it for $299... is it still made of plastic?
This seems too good to be true... which means somethings up.
He is apparently afraid of a real review... he should send one of these to get reviewed so that we could read an impartial review...his opinion may be 'partial'.

Too bad Ada didn't get back to you. He has been very helpful to me; he does get busy at times, but usually isn't too hard to get a hold of.

Have you done any fluid damping?

Thanks for the advice. Much better now after very careful levelling etc. Th final solution was removing the Isolator though, along with the blob of blutack necessary on the counterweight for the added weight. Why should this be?

I emailed Ada, but received no reply

You should contact Ada Lin direct. He is very helpful with the setting up of the MG1.

Regards

BrianC

not necessarily specific to MG-1 but general about most airbearing arms * levelness is a must. Not table but arm. Should be the same but often isnt. * VTF---Too iight will cause tracking issues. * wire impact on tonearm---Get the wire in a bind