Why Linear Tracking never took off?

Tassiemike, Thanks for the perspective on the Zero 100. I remember looking at one back in the 70s, before I knew anything about hifi. I was intrigued by the nifty solution that the articulating cantilever design provided for linear tracking. I recall the salesman badmouthed it, disparaging the design by claiming the cantilever assembly added too much mass and the extra pivots added too much friction and had too much play to provide satisfactory stability. The clincher was the unrefined auto return mechanism you mentioned, which turned me off as soon as he operated it. I got a Benjamin Miracord Elac 50H instead (still have it!). I'm glad to learn the real story on the Zero 100 from you, after all these years.

Hey James that's a pleasure, I probably paint it as better than it really is, but after 30 years it's still a favourite and I still use it as a serious source.

I love vinyl and a big part of that is the character of the ritual that is such a huge part of pulling the music from the medium. The question of why is vinyl better than digital is often asked and the answers invariably involve warmth, presence, vibrancy and many other terms that describe that unique vinyl mood. I agree with all of that that and those are my reasons too, but a much bigger reason is the connection to the medium that is obtained through the ritual of playing vinyl. No other medium involves such a complex set of proceures before you get to listen to the music, and performing the ritual is so familiar and comfortable. And even after the preparation it doesn't stop - if it's not quite right, you can flavour it a bit by adding a little weight or reducing the VTA. I'm sorry, but chucking a cd into the player and pressing 'Go' is such an anti-climax after years of careful preparation of turntable and record, and what you end up with from a cd is the sound engineer's mix with no chance of influence other than that available through the pre-amp. It might be accurate, but sometimes it's not appropriate.

To come back to the Garrard (no I hadn't forgotten the reason for the post), the fact is that the Garrard was an innovative machine in its time, but I love it because its eccentric character absolutely compliments my love of playing vinyl.

Sorry for the rant, I'm not sure where that came from, especially considering that I'm preaching to the converted - but at least it's out now and I won't have to do it again.

ps. I knew little of hifi in those days also and bought the Garrard for the same reasons that you were intrigued by it. I was uneducated enough not to know that an essential element of 70s hifi turntables was absolute minimalism, and so, also uninfluenced by a helpful salesman, I proceded with the purchase. The innovations of the Garrard were revealed to me as I slowly learned how the music got from the record to me.

AC: I own a Maplenoll Reference that was purchased in the early 1990's. This air bearing table and tonearm can be significantly upgraded to a point whereby it can complete with almost any combo.Air contol is the key as is a slew of simple tweeks. Experimenting with a different null set for placement of the cartridge and VTA setting one can extract some not all of what a schroder arm has to offer. Simply put you need to do a lot of homework , get good advice and get your hands dirty to make this table perform with the finest made world 'round.Few folks want to put that much effort into a TT. Charlie

@Creml
Well If you own a Kuzma-Airline, you would not
go for the Schroeder Ref. as this Linear
Arm is really a hit.

Best regards
Karl-Heinz