Comparison of sonic qualities of some tonearms


I’m relatively new to the world of vinyl, listening seriously for probably only 2 years.  Of course, many big picture items (e.g. turntable, phono stage, cartridges) are discussed extensively on this forum, but I haven’t seen much discussion comparing different tonearms.  I would be interested to hear about different people’s experiences with different tonearms, mentioning the audible advantages and disadvantages of each tonearm, realizing that there is no perfect sound, although from what I read about others’ experiences, SAT tonearms may come closest, albeit at a very high price.  

drbond

I used to commute with a Lady, who's husband is a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, as a result of their work in astronomy, where the supplied coordinates were located by all the major Institutions known for observing Space.

Curved light was discovered at a particular coordinate, that is now strongly suspected as being the point the Big Bang occurred.

The Theory has moved forward a few steps and the Hypothesis is certainly one that has extended and created a new era of Math. 

  

A 9" pivoted tonearm using the Lofgrin A pivot to stylus distance and a 30-degree offset has a tracking error less than 2% and this causes second order harmonic distortion far below that of a SET amplifier, which is inaudible. Good luck mounting a cartridge to the nearest degree. This is why linear tracking tonearms are no advantage over the advantages of pivoted tonearms.

This is why linear tracking tonearms are no advantage

But this is not an agreed fact. Science proceeds by finding reasons for agreed facts; these reasons become models; and models make predictions, which are subject to test.

You seem to be stating a prediction and treating it as an experimental fact.

@drbarney1 

Thanks for pointing that out.  Yes, but is it possible that the audible experience that others have with linear tonearms is due to some other factor?  Maybe the lack of anti-skate plays a role?  Regardless, theory and reality can sometimes be different, which is why I was hoping that some would comment on their experience with various tonearms.  

I am not an expert, but in 1989, I purchased an SME IV. Brooks Berdan, an analog equipment expert, removed the wiring, installed the finest Cardas phono cable (and I also mean the absolute hairlike finest thin cable), shot closed end foam into the tube and epoxied the ends at the cartridge wiring exit in front and the wiring within an RCA outlet box. Despite the clumsy VTA adjustment, it has been a dream arm for simplicity in use and dialing in setup other than VTA. I’ve used a DynavectorXX1, Lyra Lydian, Benz Ruby III and now a Dynavector 20X2 L (plays nearly all my 28,500 LPs well or great). I wanted a Tri-Planar but it was too costly at the time. It’s still a great arm if not near SOTA. I paid $1100 and when production ended it was $4300. Great arm.