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Variations of the Micro Seiki MA505 tonearm

I recently purchased an MS MA505 MkIII tonearm. This unit has the straight, replaceable arm tube, but unlike earlier versions of the MA505 (with the S-shaped arm tube) that I have seen in photos only, it does not have VTA "on the fly" adjustment, nor does it have the weight that extends out on a horizontal post from the vertical bearing on the inner side of the tonearm, which is referred to in early MA505 manuals as the "lateral balance weight". The various MA505 manuals do not use the term "azimuth" anywhere, but does the lateral balance weight allow for azimuth adjustment? And if so, why oh why did MS eliminate both VTA on the fly and easy azimuth adjustment when they went from the MkII to the MkIII version of the MA505? As far as I can tell, one cannot adjust azimuth at all with the MkIII version, except by the usual primitive method of shimming the cartridge body. Thanks in advance for any relevant information on this subject.
lewm

Showing 1 response by sidssp

sidssp
1,077 posts
 
I used to have a 505S (S stands for silver wire) years ago. I don't remember its azimuth can be adjusted on-the-fly. The lateral balance weight was designed to counter horizontal arm movement in case the table was not perfectly leveled. It has nothing to do with azimuth. You are supposed to adjust it so that when the counter weight is balanced and the anti-skating is at zero, the arm should be floating and be stationary.

I don't know much about the MKIII but the on-the-fly VTA, anti-skating, and tracking force adjustments are very handy. I miss that arm.
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