td-01 chinese tonearm?

where do you think the string goes after it leaves the top of the tonearm. I assume it is attached to the ceramic ball, and that 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. But is that string tied off somewhere, and is the allen bolt on top adjustable to tighten the string?

A nice looking arm, and very simple. Just wonder how it sounds.

I think the ball would have to be solidly in the receiver for this tonearm to work at all, with the weight of the tonearm holding it in place like any other unipivot, otherwise it would be swinging around all over the place. Armstrod is right that there cant be more than a drop or two of oil in there, not like a well tempered that has an fluid bath. And the only way to adjust asimuth would be by turning the counterweight and locking it off center. there must be a way to adjust the lenght of the string so it is tight, but allows the arm to sit firmly in the cup.

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?

Nope, thats not it. I have a Hadcock and its not what I am thinking of. Maybe a Helius or a Basis Vector. 3 balls creating a triangle, with a 4th ball in the center and raised above the other 3. Maybe I just thought of it?

I would think that there must be something holding the arm in place in the cup other than the ball floating in the oil pool. I would think it was either sitting in the bottom, held by the weight of the arm or the string would go right through, which obviously it does not. the description above makes it sound like the arm is on a pendulum, with the ball just touching the surface of the oil to slow the pendulum action down.

I would hope the ball is actually sitting in the cup and held in place by the weight of the tonearm and the string just provides lateral support.

Someone has too much time on their hands. Some nice woodcarving work on those russian arms, but how could they possibly work with a cartridge swinging from a string?