I ended up going with a Fidelity Research FR-66S. Will be a few months before I'm able to assemble everything, but I think I'm in good shape for tracking at 3-5 grams with low compliance cantilevers. I may have the arm serviced and rewired down the road. With 78s, it's mostly about the stylii, anyway, I will also be ordering another full complement of truncated stylii for my Shure V15Vx. Thanks for all the input. I ended up going in a different direction than I initially envisioned. I know there are a few detractors of the FR arms (e.g. the talk about vibrations and dampening), but I think the overwhelmingly positive reviews I've read speak for themselves. I may end up picking up an Ortofon cartridge down the road if I decide to dabble in LPs. My preamp allows for cartridge voltage selection, so I don't think I'd need one of those fancy transformers...
Tonearms for reference 78 RPM system Technics SP-10R
Seeking some feedback from all of you audio experts on a quandry I'm finding myself in as I build a new reference-level system. I specialize in transfer and restoration of 78 RPM records from the 1920s. While they don't exactly have the frequency range of modern LPs, I'm sure they still benefit from a good system. Assume the rest of my setup is as optimal as it can be with respect to components.
78s require numerous cartridges with swappable stylii in a range from 1.5 to 4 mil. I have a few different carts: Shure M44, Shure M75, Shure V15 mk Vx. They need a medium mass arm and usually track between 2.5 and 4 grams, usually around 3. The stylii are medium to low compliance.
I prefer using a 12" arm or something that mounts far enough away to be able to play 16" records. I also need to be able to adjust the arm height, ideally being able to raise the arm above the spindle to recenter records that are pressed off-center.
I've been debating for the last week what to do about a tonearm. I hate to have to upgrade again someday, but I don't exactly have 10 grand lying around to drop on the best. I could probably do it if I sell of a lot of things and live like a pauper, relatively speaking, for a while. I'm considering the following:
SME 3012-R: Relatively easy to find, medium price ~$2k, would fit on my plinth's armboard without re-drilling holes.
SME 312S: Will need to wait months for one to turn up on the used market or pay a crazy price
Kuzma 4Point 14": Seems like the correct answer, but obscenely expensive at <$10k.
Kuzma Ref 313: Seems like a nice second-place option
Other Kuzma arms with VTA towers: Mount too closely to play 16" records :'(
Jelco TK750L/850/950: The 750 seems OK but just decent. 850 and 950 pretty hard to find.
TruGlider: Seems somewhat promising, but not sure I'm quite sold.
Seeking opinions on what's the most cost-effective arm solution buck-for-buck for my needs. I've seen others, too, but they haven't made the list. The Kuzmas look great, and I'll have to suck it up when it comes to swapping headshells. A lot of nice arms don't have removable headshells, which is a dealbreaker. The Kuzma you can at least swap them out but need to unplug and replug leads. Thanks!
78s require numerous cartridges with swappable stylii in a range from 1.5 to 4 mil. I have a few different carts: Shure M44, Shure M75, Shure V15 mk Vx. They need a medium mass arm and usually track between 2.5 and 4 grams, usually around 3. The stylii are medium to low compliance.
I prefer using a 12" arm or something that mounts far enough away to be able to play 16" records. I also need to be able to adjust the arm height, ideally being able to raise the arm above the spindle to recenter records that are pressed off-center.
I've been debating for the last week what to do about a tonearm. I hate to have to upgrade again someday, but I don't exactly have 10 grand lying around to drop on the best. I could probably do it if I sell of a lot of things and live like a pauper, relatively speaking, for a while. I'm considering the following:
SME 3012-R: Relatively easy to find, medium price ~$2k, would fit on my plinth's armboard without re-drilling holes.
SME 312S: Will need to wait months for one to turn up on the used market or pay a crazy price
Kuzma 4Point 14": Seems like the correct answer, but obscenely expensive at <$10k.
Kuzma Ref 313: Seems like a nice second-place option
Other Kuzma arms with VTA towers: Mount too closely to play 16" records :'(
Jelco TK750L/850/950: The 750 seems OK but just decent. 850 and 950 pretty hard to find.
TruGlider: Seems somewhat promising, but not sure I'm quite sold.
Seeking opinions on what's the most cost-effective arm solution buck-for-buck for my needs. I've seen others, too, but they haven't made the list. The Kuzmas look great, and I'll have to suck it up when it comes to swapping headshells. A lot of nice arms don't have removable headshells, which is a dealbreaker. The Kuzma you can at least swap them out but need to unplug and replug leads. Thanks!
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- 32 posts total
- 32 posts total