Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

Or that music information would eventually be encoded in vertical as well as purely horizontal motion of the stylus, as was the case in the 30s and 40s.

One other desirable attribute for a Cartridge Function is for continuous Signal Path from Coil to Phonostage. Fragility of the assembly and the inconvenience, are just two factors that are going to make this a very bespoke choice for an individual. For myself I have had thoughts on this methodology for quite a period of time, and am willing to bear with the obstacles foreseen and unforeseen.      

I have a design for a Cart' and to get this in place, due to ongoing conflict within a Country, there is a period of waiting to be endured. The end product is where a Cart' will have been rebuilt using a few options not commonly seen in use, especially by the Brand that produced the Cart'.

One area of the design change will be to use a PC Triple C/EX Wire, that will be directly attached to the Coils, bypassing the Cart Lead Out Pins. This is a very fragile assembly and is yet to decided if the C/EX will be a Tag Wire or a Continuous Wire.

If it does become a Continuous Wire, the idea of Hard Wiring the Termination into the SUT will certainly be presented as an idea to be tried out, it is a experience I would very much like to have been able to have.

My experiences to date has shown that certain wire and connectors in the Signal Path, depending on Type, can present a SQ, that in my assessment is a detriment. At the same time when a certain type of Wire and a certain type of connector has been selected, there is little that can be detected to create the suggestion,  that the SQ is being effected in a detrimental way.      

With the latter in mind, I am keen to hear the Signal Path without connectors in use for transferring signal produced be the Cart'. There does seem to be the possibility something further in betterment of the SQ can be achieved.

Once the Cart' Rebuild Service is no longer being cut off through sanctions on the Country, and the design for the Cart' is finally agreed and achieved. The agreement will include, that any works caried out on the Signal Path, if causing difficulties with the user interface, the Cart' can be returned to a almost original signal Path at a very fair cost within a short timescale. 

Nothing Ventured - Nothing Gained 

I had wanted to circumvent the need for anti-skating in a tonearm, but the approach of a Viv, which promises this, makes the "cure" only worse. Thank you for the history of the research on this.

Barney, are you saying that the contents of this thread bear evidence that convinces you the Viv tonearm and other underhung tonearms are “worse than the disease” of antiskate? Or what?

FYI, underhung tonearms do generate a skating force except at their single null point. However, (1) that force is lower in magnitude than the skating force generated by overhung tonearms, and (2) the vector direction of the skating force changes from pointing inward to pointing outward, as the stylus passes through the null point.  This latter would make it tricky to design an AS device for an underhung tonearm. even if one were wanted.

Have you ever auditioned any underhung tonearm?

Dear @intactaudio : Why the stylus shape can affect the alignment?

Linear offset is the same always in both Löfgren A and B alignments if we don’t change the must inner groove and must outer grove distances.

If you have a cartridge /tonearm set up for Löfgren A alignment and by a mistake ( as happened to me twice times. ) you are 2mm-3mm forward against the correct overhang sooner or latter and through listening you will " catch " that something is not running well with that overall cartridge set up and it is because you are out of the original calculated linear offset.

I had at least twice times first hand experiences with and at least coincide with the Löfgren statement.

What have you on hand and from where say that zenith is more important than overhang: how much more important? could you share your specific first hand experiences on the whole issue? and remember that the VIV way high angular offset has no " audible distortions ". It's what their owners shared everywhere.

Well, something to share with you is that I just finished my listening tests making on purpose a 2mm overhang error and other test changing only ( what more or less permits the headshell ) the angular offset. I think you need to do it.

Still the question about the stylus tip shape stays to you.

R.