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Why will no other Tonearm beat the FR-66s?

Having owned many very good Arms in my audiophile life I am still wondering why not one of the modern designs of the last 20 years is able to beat the sound qualities of the Fidelity Research FR-66s.
New designs may offer some advantages like azimuth on the fly, better matching to the majority of Turntables etc. but regarding the sound quality the FR-66s is unbeatable!
Prices in the second hand market are $8k-$15K, depending on History, finish, full box....
What is the real reason behind this as the Arm is 20+ years old, including the shorter version, the FR-64s?
128x128syntax
tokyojohn
11 posts
 
Hi bdp24, Have always wanted a Zeta. And a Syrinx too. As a school boy with no money these were the stuff of dreams back then.
syntax's avatar
syntax OP
2,193 posts
 
FR-66s is still the benchmark
The newer Ikeda is cheapo and you can hear it easily with the right records. FR was done in the prime time of analog, when there was a market for superior units.
The later Ikeda was a cost controlled unit, marketing replaced "done right"
tokyojohn
11 posts
 
Dear Syntax, Thanks for your honest insight; a little shocking given I own it (along with Phantom, Triplanar, Ittok, SME V), but you are right in that golden era of analog probably produced all the best turntables, arms and carts that economies of scale and brains could produce.
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