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Tonearm recommendation

Hello all,
Recently procured a Feickert Blackbird w/ the Jelco 12 inch tonearm.
The table is really good, and its a keeper. The Jelco is also very good, but not as good as my Fidelity Research FR66s. So the Jelco will eventually hit Ebay, and the question remains do I keep the FR66s or sell that and buy something modern in the 5-6 K range. My only point of reference is my old JMW-10 on my Aries MK1, so I don't know how the FR66s would compare to a modern arm. So I'd like to rely on the collective knowledge and experience of this group for a recommendation.

Keep the FR66s, or go modern in the 5-6K range, say a Moerch DP8 or maybe an SME.

Any and all thoughts and opinions are of course much appreciated.

Cheers,      Crazy Bill
wrm0325
don_c55
1,025 posts
 
The different alignment jigs are design choices.

Do you want minimum error at the inner grooves, with slightly more overall?

Do you want the "minimum average" across the whole side with sections of the Lp slightly greater?

What error curve across the Lp do you want?

NO ALIGNMENT WILL SATISFY EVERYONE!

fleib
1,124 posts
 

Ct0517,

About the James Bond Maneuvers theme song, is it Kenny Rogers "The Gambler"?

I have 6 tables and 7 arms in various states of modification and functionality. All the arms are conventionally wired and the cables are shielded, so there's nothing to see.  When I rewired my Sonus Formula 4 I made the same choice as Griffithds. It has a 5 pin DIN on the bottom of the pillar. I don't use the original cable.

Nice exit, BTW.

Regards,

griffithds
852 posts
 
Flieb,

To answer your question as to how the arm re-wired by Discovery Cable is working out.  I honestly could not be happier.  It was discovered (no pun intended), that the Lustre had been re-wired by a home DIY'er with poor soldering skills.  Big improvement in soundstage depth and 'air'.  Removed the Silver wire and went with his ofc wire.  Biggest surprise of all was that it was done in a 1 week turnaround.  Also made a few small changes that I requested and did it for no charge.  Highly recommenced!
Regards,
fleib
1,124 posts
 

Griff,

Glad it's working out. Any thoughts on its relative quality, or too soon for that?  I know you like the Victor 7045.  What other arms, if any, do you favor?

In the late '80s/early '90s my ex business partner had a Goldmund Reference.  I spent a lot of time at his house. Fabulous table, and he designed a set-up jig for the arm, but I think the arm was outperformed by the ET. The Souther, later bought by Clearaudio, seemed better with MCs than it should. It was often paired with the Veritas cart and I suspected the low frequency resonance reinforced the bass. Synergistic distortion?  Never heard the Trans Fi or other air bearings.

Soldering tonearm internal wire can be challenging. It's easy to mess up. Hell, stripping the wire can be a challenge. Some techs burn it off and clean the carbon residue. Feasibility depends on insulation type.  The Sonus now has 1877 OFC. My tech did the rewire job. He's a lot better at soldering.  The Sonus is an interesting arm. It looks like a Mayware Formula 4 on steroids.  Stock, it's 4.1g eff mass. I have a custom headshell that takes it a little past 5g. 

Regards,


Ag insider logo xs@2x
rauliruegas
12,851 posts
 
Dear ochremoon: Almost there are not tonearm JIGs from manufacturers that be accurate and user friendly because the extremely passive conformity and mediocrity in the audio market by customers and audio reviewers too.

"""  What do you want, a Feikert? Add that to the cost of your arm and complain about that. """

that's the kind of conformity/mediocrity I'm refering to.

For years every kind of after market audio items were and are developed: tonearm JIGs, TT platter mats, TT clamps, fuses, power cords, belts, electrical line conditioners, etc, etc. and we have to remember that every day we pay very high prices for LPs that are in bad conditions: excentricity, surface waves and the like.

Two main factors made it things be in that way: the absolute irresponsibility of almost all audio manufacturer products ( every kind. ) an the conformity/mediocrity of audio market .

Is it that the " very especial " market niche name it: high end where all of us belongs?, shame of that to every one.

Through the years I think I posted here and in other forums same kind of opinion about ( 7-9 times. ) and on each time always exist " audiophiles " that are ok with that big problem.

regards and enjoy the music,
R.


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