Feickert blackbird, kuzma 4 point which cartridge


İ am planning to buy a new cartridge for feickert blackbird tt, kuzma4 point tonearm, full asr electronics. İ have budget around 5k. Lyra, koetsu, shelter, dynavector, zyx, miyajima, ortofon are very popular i think. İ never had a chance to listen except ortofon models. Reviews are very confusing. İ really like to hear your opinions about these manufacturer models, and your recommendations.
altanpsx

Showing 4 responses by thuchan

Raindog031,
I had one of the first 4points and we improved some topics together with Mr. Kuzma. In opposite to the Airline which is one of the greatest designs in tonearm building the 4point is not a really convincing arm. I was testing a lot, nearly a year, with the best LOMCs - no chance to reach my other arms like FR-66s, SAEC 8000, SAEC 506/30, SME 3012/I, Cobra, Axiom.
4Point can be soft sounding using it with carts like Lyra Olympos etc.
With other carts like Zyx UNIverse, Goldfinger v2 it is not soft sounding.
I think Frank improved the design in many steps. Yes it is not a bad arm, for me in the end it was not convincing. Question is which kind of set up you are going for. I have the airline since its appearance. For me it is the best arm Frank ever made. I asked myself why he came up with the 4point but was attracted by its features, so tested it quite a time. It did not work with me in the end but maybe with others. Mike Fremer I heard is a great fan of this design, too. If this does mean something to someone he should go for the 4point.
Raindog031,
you right on the price differences, maybe I am not looking too much into it.
I remember times when we could read critical remarks on a new tonearm's virtues in some reviews which is helpful as such a product is growing also by the help of users. Today you will not find any review telling the truth. It is like on all life style products, the sales & marketing machinery needs to work properly. Maybe some of our collegues here are enthusiastically describing the negative and positive sides of a tonearm but isn't it helpful in comparison to just repeating what is said in the reviews. I would not label it as lies.
Raindog,
I had the 4point mounted on a Garrard 501 TR, a very special version,, providing enough dynamics :-) . I tested with different carts like Olympos, UNIverse, Miyabi Standard, Io-m etc. Later on I checked also on my Micro SX 8000 II. In both cases I wasn't happy with the result - in comparison to my other arms and the Airline (also with an UNIverse). As I said I had one of the very first units. Maybe Frank improved it meanwhile. When I was reading Michael's review on the 4point I thought maybe I am in the wrong theater...