Schroeder Model 2 for Technics + Ortofon 2M Black

Hello CMK,
I hoped you were watching!

Your hands-on experience with the carbon fibre Model 2 echo my gut feelings regarding the wood option. You can coat it, soak it, sand it and compress it (whatever), but I feel wood is somehow going to colour sound in the audio chain. The taughtness of the carbon fibre, as you have surmised, give it speed and enunciation. Qualities, I would guess, that are missing in the wood option.

I wonder what the designer didn't like about ceramic? Is his preference for wood motivated by its non-interaction with the magnets? One can only speculate.

You are running the arm with a low complience MC cartridge. I wonder how it would fly with my Ortofon 2M Black MM high compliance cartridge....

You actually have missed a step in my tonearm procurement program. I assemble the funds, then I look for one to buy. That's the wonder of the 'net. I can research my options throughly in the mean time.

You have quite an exotic set-up there. I guess that you thought and hard about the components and their interaction. Thanks for the input- very valuable indeed.

Hi CMK- Your audition of the Music Maker moving iron cartridge seems to suggest that the Ortofon 2M Black might me a good match for the Schroeder. Thanks for the diameter measurement for the tonearm as well. As for the dust cover, I live near a freeway and I actually need it to keep off dust!

Hello Xronx (from the Bronx?)
More valuable input- thanks! I notice that you too have opted for the carbon fibre. Your observations say that the Schroeder Model 2 gets out of the way of the music and reproduces what is on the recording- without (much?) colouration. Just the ticket.

How well does the thing track? For example, how would it go playing a 12" single that is spinning at 45rpm, mastered at high levels, with a slight warp AND pressed slightly off centre?

Thanks Xronx- yes, unipivots can be unstable and it was good to read your comments regarding the Schroeder's ability in that area.

Another thing is the tonearm's magnets and their suitability on a Technics turntable that has a direct-drive motor with many (?) more magnets. Do any of you feel there could be a problem with the motor interfering with the arm? (ie as the motor spins, would it generate a magnetic 'flux' that could throw the Schroeder right off it's game?)

Thanks Cmk, I suppose I was getting a bit paranoid, but with a finely tuned tonearm like this, it pays to ask! About the tip you gave regarding the mounting plate choice- I assume you mean the headshell?

A question for Xronx and Cmk- How tall is the tonearm when set for 'average' VTA? Also, it's hard to tell from the pics- what sort of footprint does it have? (ie how wide is its mounting base?)

Thanks Dougdeacon and Thom for the insights. Ortofon are using a Rega RB1000 in their advertising campaign, so I'd imagine that it would be happy in that.

I know the word EFFECTIVE is important in the tonearm mass equation, but I have a feeling the actual size of the tonearm tube would be another parameter that must be addressed.

The Hadcock and the Schroeder have very slim tubes. The Music Maker cartridge is a medium to high compliance cartridge that really sings in the Hadcock. Yet I read recently that the Hadcock has an effective mass approaching 14gms

Something is at play here and I'm guessing it's combination of the unipivot design and the slim arm tube that enables medium to high mass cartridges to swing, not (just?) the effective mass of the tonearm. Any takers on that line of thought?

Hello Tom,
Thanks for weighing-in on this unusual quest.

As I would want to use Baerwaald alignment, and if I used the Rega-friendly mounting plate I already own, would I just mount the Schroeder 2 further back on the plate? (since the hole for a Rega is larger than the hole needed for a Schroeder there is 'room to move' available)

Alternatively, would I be better off having the manufacturer of the plate make one specifically for the geometry of a Schroeder that would also position the arm exactly according to Baerwaald alignment? (then I could move the cartridge every so slightly if the positioning was slightly off)

There is also the question of arm height. The mounting plate I bought (made to take a Rega RB300/RB250) positions the tonearm lower in the plinth to allow for the height of the Technics platter (as already mentioned, the plate also positions the tonearm further back and away from the platter to enable the correct alignment of a Rega type arm)

Looking at the pictures of the Schroeder 2, the arm looks rather tall. Do you know how much VTA there is available of the Schroeder 2? Is its height also similar to a Rega RB300/RB250 tonearm?

Tom- I forgot to ask how well the Model 2 can accommodate a Ortofon 2M Black high-ish compliance moving magnet cartridge?

Hi Tom,
Thanks for the valuable info. I think, perhaps with a little tinkering, the Model 2 just might work.

The plate I bought for fitting a Rega (which is a tonearm that you rightly pointed out as having very little VTA available) lowers the arm slightly in relation to the plinth. This is done because the stock Technics tonearm is set in a recess below the level of the plinth. The platter is quite short and that is why the Rega compatible plate I bought is also recessed. The Model 2 looks like there is quite a bit of VTA to play with- correct?

Yes, you are right- my question regarding the VTA was two-fold. I also have to clear the dust cover. I have seen a couple of DPS turntables on the 'net and I think the lid clearance issue should be OK.

You don't happen to know the diameter of the Model 2's foot that screws to the arm board?

As for the Ortofon 2M Black, it's stats are as follows-

Tracking ability at 315Hz at recommended tracking force 80 µm
Compliance, dynamic, lateral 22 µm/mN
Stylus type Nude Shibata
Stylus tip radius r/R 6/50 µm
Tracking force range 1,4-1,7g (14-17 mN)
Tracking force, recommended 1,5 g (15 mN)
Tracking angle 20°
Internal impedance, DC resistance 1,2 kOhm
Internal inductance 630 mH
Recommended load resistance 47 kOhm
Recommended load capacitance 150-300 pF
Cartridge weight 7,2 g

Does this give more of a clue toward if it would be a suitable match for the Schroeder Model 2?

Cheers- Dean.

Hi Xronx, Thom_mackris said exactly that. The new (er) Model 2s have the mount from the DPS, but the rest is the same as the Model 2 on Thom_mackris's web page. Well, at least that's how I see it.