Does 21g seem high for effective tonearm mass?


Hi there, I've been looking into these somewhat popular Jeclo tonearms. Actually the 10" liquid dampend unit SA-750e. I've got an email from Jelco and the effective mass is 21grams. Does this not seem shockingly high compared to nearly everything else on the market these days?
I plan to mount a Sumiko Celebration on it but I'm not so sure about the match. It seems this arm may be limited to cartridge choice and that would be too bad.
If anyone can shed some light on this it would be appreciated.
My other options for arms of course would be the Rega/moths, Hadcock and I can get a pretty good deal on a VPI classic arm.
This wasn't supposed to be confusing at all as I was taking a step away from my ET2 and trying to simplify my setup. Now it seems I've opened a can of worms
alun

Showing 2 responses by fleib

"In general higher mass arms control the cartridge instead of the other way around - am I right, Raul ?? "

Interesting way to look at it. While the arm should provide a stable platform for the cart to track, there's a delicate balance between stability and hindrance. These days 21g is considered high mass. Most modern carts are between 15 and 22cu. The Celebration is 12cu and should be a near perfect match, compliance-wise.

Despite the Jelco sales mgr, the Jelco 750d is around 20g, so 21g for the 750e sounds about right. I suggest using as little fluid damping as possible, to preserve transient response. While good results can often be realized with compliance/mass mismatches, you'll experiment at your own risk.
Regards,
Dcbingaman, the DL-S1, 304, happen to sound best (to me) in arms of greater mass than their compliance/mass match would imply. Such is not the case with most high cu carts, IMO. Many of them will sound sluggish when the excessive eff mass with high moment of inertia, encumbers their performance. Resonant frequencies also go dangerously low.

Yes, it's all relative to the specific cart. Rules of cu/mass matching are a consideration, but not necessarily paramount. Having a removable headshell also adds to the eff mass, adds two more sets of connections, and creates additional arm resonance. Low mass arms tend to be less rigid and resonate with greater amplitude than damped high mass arms like the 750. YMMV. Pick your preference. In this case, OP is using a low cu cart and cu/mass considerations should not be a problem.
Regards,