td-01 chinese tonearm?

This TD-01 tonearm seems like a hybrid between a Schroder am and a Well-Tempered arm. I like its simplicity. I would like the string to be shorter and the tie point to be at the center of the ceramic ball - the golf ball in the WTA is the same idea.

Never heard of the sound so I'm curious, too.

http://www62.babidou.com/pic/2010/9/10/tangdan/AAA01-4.jpg

http://www62.babidou.com/pic/2010/9/10/tangdan/AAA01-2.jpg

http://www62.babidou.com/pic/2010/9/10/tangdan/AAA01-1.jpg

http://www62.babidou.com/pic/2010/9/10/tangdan/aaa01%E7%BB%86%E8%8A%822.jpg

http://www62.babidou.com/pic/2010/9/10/tangdan/AAA01%E7%BB%86%E8%8A%82.jpg

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the weight of the arm holds the ball into its oil dampened socket and the string is just used to keep the arm aligned from side to side so it doesnt just fall over.

I thought the string hangs the arm and the ball is inside the oil well but not touching the bottom. Instead of using a magnet, like Schroder, to stabilize the arm from swinging all over the place, the designer use an oil bath to damp unwanted movement. I believe this is the same seller who infringed the Schroder patent and Frank took action against it and now he came up with a different design. Instead of magnet, now it's oil. Very similar concept to the WTA.

Your idea would work too but is closer to a classic unipivot design with the assist of a string for stability.

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Manitunc: "By the way, does anyone remember a system that used 3 ball bearings on the bottom in a triangle with one ball bearing in the arm sitting in the middle in a kind of unipivot arrangement that was much more stable than your usual pinpoint pivot?"

I believe you're talking about the Hadcock tonearm. Here's an excerpt from a review in 6moons:

"So, with a blast of trumpets, let's now unveil the £689 Hadcock 242SE. It looks like a conventional unipivot, except it's not. The needle point isn't so much a needle as an elongated cone tip. The cup isn't a cup at all because it holds four tiny brass balls to act as a bearing. So it's a compromise, really - a semi unipivot, its scale reduced to virtually act as a unipivot while producing the greater stability inherent in a dual-pivot design. Very clever, you say - but does it work? Let's find out."

Here's a picture.

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Mystery solved. The TD-01 arm does, indeed, work like how I described, ie, the string hangs the arm and the ceramic ball does not touch the bottom of the oil pool and only for stabilizing. Seller responded to question.

Hi, the arm being hung by the string and the ceramic ball is not touching the bottom of the oil pool, thank you! Best regards.

Whether that's a good idea or not is up to the potential bidders to contemplate, I merely described what I observed.

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As I said, this is the same seller who used to have a tonearm that works exactly like the Schroder arm but Frank found out and complained about the infringement to the seller. The designer then put his own twist to the Schroder design by replacing the magnet with a ball in an oil pool a la WTA. Whether the approach is effective or no is still in question.

I don't think it's a problem with the small amount of oil but the tie point of the string is not at the mid-section of the ceramic ball so I believe, as Manitunc observed, there would be too much lateral movement or pendulum action. But if the the ball is touching the bottom of oil pool, there would be no need for the string and simply act like a missionary style unipivot a la Naim ARO or Graham, instead of a spike now it's a ball, which would be similar to a Scheu Tacco. In a classic unipivot, having a string like that would hinder the all kinds of movement, horizontal and vertical. You're better off with no string at all.

This design has much potential but might need further refinement. If any reader has one, feel free to chime in.

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