Schroeder Reference Arm

Hi guys,
I wasn't refering to either dmailers or anyone elses assessment as "speculation", quite the opposite. I supported the concept of decisions based upon personal preferences/listening impressions rather than an attempt to (pseudo-)objectivly assign qualities or the lack thereof to certain design features(no hard feelings Doug, Paul).
I.e. a wooden armwand can resonate like crazy and a metal or carbon wand can behave in a very controlled and predictable fashion. Or vice versa...

So any assessment is valid and helpful as long as there are no sales pitches, badmouthing or hearsay infos attached.

And that's why I'm outta here again.
Please, Jonathan, don't advertize any of my (or related)products on this forum.
Please Dan ed, if you can't ignore Mr. Weiss postings, why try and top his non-constructive sarcasm? Nothing to win here.
The ratio between information content and ego war occupied space has long fallen below 1. And it seems that figure is getting smaller and smaller...

Cheers and looking forward to the RMAF comparison session,

Frank

Hi everyone,
Wouldn't it be beneficial to quit speculating about the possible causes for sonic differences between tonearms or, more precisely tonearm/cartridge combinations(and ta/cart/table/phonostage combinations etc....) until we actually had an opportunity to compare two or, even better, more contenders under reasonably fair conditions? So I'm sticking with my original suggestion to get together at RMAF and allow interested parties to hear for themselves. I realize that, right after such a comparison session, some will come up with reasons for the results or debate the way it has been executed. Let me add a short story/my two cents, based on years of personal experience with individual, small or large listening panel based evaluations:
A little more than a week ago, I demoed the effects of various TT-drive systems(DD, with or without additional load, tape drive with two different power supplies) to a group of 15 "seasoned" audiophiles, including some industry members(speaker and amp designers) at the "Vienna Vibes" meeting . In the end most all of them heard the same things. But when it came to voting for their favorite, the outcome was 7 - 6 - 1 - 0. I'll spare you the "who liked what better", but what I found time and time again is that we all have individual preferences, pre-conceived notions and the current peer group that influence our decisions.
So pick what you like best, call crap by its name, but don't tell anyone that their preferences are any less valid than yours. The "best" exists only for the individual, not for everyone (think girl/boyfriend, wife/partner :-)

See you all in Denver,

Frank

Hi Thom,
Sorry, I just ran into this thread again and would like to add two things. First:
"Once you achieve the right torque, there's no difference between the alloy and wood headshells, according to Frank."
You must have misunderstood what I meant. There is a difference which stems from the different material interface and varying the torque, aka increasing or decreasing contact pressure is an important factor, but NOT the only one.
Using a, say, Nylon washer between the screw head and the headshell on a No.2 arm will give you a wider torque "range", but the headshell-mounting plate will remain pretty much uncompressible(unlike the wooden headhell-mounting plate contact area).
I've had customer who tried the Cartridge Man Isolator with either Reference or No. 2 arms. Some liked it better, others thought it decreased dynamic range.

Secondly:
I have nothing against using the same cart in both arms, but since you expressed a disliking for Lyra cartridges and I'm not super fond of the old Dyna XV-1s(since it imparts too much of it's own sonic fingerprint, imho) we may be able to agree upon the Ortofon A90, if I can get a sample for the show. If not, I'll be bringing what I like which may be a selection of several carts so I can pick what I feel suits the system in your room best. If Joel does the same, the comparison will be reflecting what each of us likes best.
Hopefully fun for everyone...

Cheers,

Frank

Hi Mike,
Thanks for the very generous offer. Before I start asking around, I might take you up on your offer. But I'll then need a couple of hours max. to familiarize myself with this particular sample(so that the setup/adjustment doesn't take too long). Will you be at the RMAF from day one, so I get to play with it in advance?

I'd still stick with the suggestion to focus on the cartridges chosen by Joel and me(based on our personal preference), with (it appears)different carts to be listened to first, then one switch to i.e the A90.

Thom's the MOC, let's hear what he has to say.

Best,

Frank

Hi guys,
Sorry for the long pauses between replies. THANKS to Mike, I'll be at the RMAF from Thursday around noon, so I'm sure there'll be enough time to get reasonably close to what can be achieved under show conditions.
I favor a two cart session, the A90 first, then whatever favorite Joel and myself pull out of our hats.
And we're all in the same league when it comes to cartridge evaluations :-)
Thom, no problem about the incorrect quote. What's important is that every little detail makes a difference(as long as your system can resolve it). Whether a particular difference means anything to you(is worth tons of money) is another question...

Cheers,

Frank