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Schroeder Reference Arm

Hi Folks:

The great Peter Lederman of Soundsmith uses this arm on his VPI HRX Turntable.

What was surprising about Peter's rig is that as much as I respect and like the HRX, I always find it's sound slightly clinical; however the addition of the Schroeder arm made the table sound slightly richer and less clinical while blowing my mind with it's dynamics and accuracy. Has anyone else noticed or tried this? I am experienced enough in this hobby to understand that the tonearm and cartridge provide voicing for the system but a tonearm swap on a turntable of this quality surprised me with the overall change it made. It goes without saying that I think the JMW tonearm series made by VPI are excellent.

Best:

D.H.
danhirsh
jazdoc
364 posts
 
I think you did a nice job describing the instrinsic sonic signature of the Schroeder Reference. It is a terrific souding, beautiful tonearm.

As usual, Doug is spot on with his observations regarding the critical nature of cartridge-tonearm matching, especially with respect to resonances. As Thom Mackris has noted, the set up and dialing in of Schroeder's requires a different approach than most arms. Not more difficult, just different. Akin to the difference between using an H-P calculator versus standard calculators. I own the other arm that Doug references and agree with his observations.
lewm
12,553 posts
 
Is the Talea still a state secret? Its existence has been publicly disclosed. We know who you lucky owners are, so 'fess up.

Doug, I would be interested to know which of the more popular cartridges put a lot of energy into the tonearm and which ones don't, in your experience. I think you may have come upon a useful way to predict felicitous tonearm/cartridge matches, apart from the well known ones related to effective mass of the tonearm and compliance of the cartridge.
dmailer's avatar
dmailer
235 posts
 
I have had the Schroeder Reference the last 5-6 years using it with my ZXY Universe. It is an excellent arm and I am not surprised by the results that you heard with the HRX table. I have though recently switched to the new Talea arm (number 008). As in previous comments it is more dynamic and accurate providing more detail but in a very natural way. The ease of adjustments with the Talea is without equal in my experience as you can do both VTA and azimuth adjustments by ear while playing a record. Both tonearms are really good but in my system with my preferences the Talea outperforms the Schroeder.
danhirsh OP
26 posts
 

Thank you all.
rccc
216 posts
 
Im curious how one determines that energy is leaking into the tonearm and how resonance in a tonearm is measured or quantified. Any clarification on this would be greatly appreciated.
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