AudiogoN Forums: why is a 13" tonearm design really superior?

why is a 13" tonearm design really superior?

we just mounted the SAEC WE-8000 on my Nakamichi and I can´t really believe what kind of fantastic sound this tonearm is able to reproduce. Is it because this is a very special 13" design or because of the extraordinary headshell design? I think it is the only tonearm with such a long straight alu-pipe. Am i right? Also the lift design is unique, this lift stops at every level you like to use.
Why are todays tonearm developers not anymore going for a 13" or 14" design?

Thuchan (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

07-12-09

Responses (1-34 of 34)

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07-12-09: Plato
The length of the arm in itself doesn't make it superior. There are many other factors to consider and as always, the performance is related to the characteristics of the particular cartridge it's paired with. Do some reading.
Plato (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

07-12-09 Tracking error is reduced with increasing length, but rigidi ... Tbg

07-12-09 Tbg, i use many 12" arms and i discovered that well bui ... Thuchan

07-12-09 Tracking error is reduced with increasing length, but rigidi ... Tbg

07-12-09 Dear thuchan: i agree with plato, there are several factors ... Rauliruegas

07-13-09 Dear raul, we all know that there are several factors which ... Thuchan

07-13-09 "why are todays tonearm developers not anymore going fo ... Mordante

07-13-09 The main reason for the extinction of long and super long to ... Dertonarm

07-13-09 Ok that´s a limiting factor of course, understand. today a f ... Thuchan

07-13-09 Thuchan, there is another solution, namely a straight-line t ... Tbg

07-13-09 Tbg, i guess, it is the "thales" arm. made in swit ... Syntax

07-13-09 Yes it is Kha

07-13-09 Yep, i loved the entire table, and it sounded great. too exp ... Tbg

07-14-09 I'll see in detail that thales at the table of an audiophile ... Dertonarm

07-14-09 Here are some pics http://www.euphonia-audioforum.se/forums ... Perrew

07-18-09 Mathematical explanation: the cartridge traces out an arc ... Dfelkai

07-25-09 I promised to report about the 24" tonearm i have seen ... Thuchan

07-25-09 We next aught to work on a 24'long, what say you? like a lo ... Axelwahl

07-26-09 At the high-end in munich the italian designer horo presente ... Thuchan

07-27-09 During my e-mail exchanges with bob graham when i recently u ... Flyfish2002

07-27-09 Hahahahahaha, lol. yeah there are trade-offs when the arm le ... Dfelkai

07-28-09 Flyfish - agree with you on your phantom judgement. i did ru ... Thuchan

04-08-11 One thing you all forgot, the 8000 has 1.25* tracking error ... Antslappy

04-09-11 Dear antslappy, that was a common concept of saec with their ... Dertonarm

04-09-11 One designer(who makes 12 inch arms) told me that they didn' ... Myles_b_astor

04-09-11 Hi myles_b_astor. the designer may listen to a we 8000 and h ... Thuchan

04-10-11 Dfelkai, you suggested "baerwald was helped by 12 guys ... Pryso

04-11-11 I believe clearaudio does a 14" variant on one of their ... Moonglum

04-15-11 Hi thucan, hopefully someday will get around to hearing one ... Myles_b_astor

04-15-11 Hi moonglum, yes clearaudio offers a unify in a 14" for ... Thuchan

04-15-11 Clearaudio also offers a 13" arm for their top of the l ... Rockitman

04-16-11 Hi thuchan...some interesting comments about the use of carb ... Moonglum

04-17-11 Hi moonglum, thanks for the article. i do share the impressi ... Thuchan

04-17-11 Hi thuchan and moonglum this is an old article but still i ... Ct0517