I have never owned or heard an Ikeda tonearm other than those made under the Fidelity research label. However my FR 64S tonearm with “silver inside” mounted in a B60 base on a custom heavy metal tonearm mounting board continues to be the best sounding tonearm that I own with any cartridge I choose, regardless of compliance. Currently using a 10g carbon fiber headshell as recommended by Halcro. I would be tempted to get it re-wired with “new” silver, but I am loathe to part with it even for the length of time needed to get the work done.
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Dertonearm’s protractors are based on the Dennesen, with many important improvements that permit much more accurate alignment. |
I think one reason for the differing mass data for the fr66s and other tonearms too is the dependence of effective mass upon headshell weight. Even FR headshells vary from one to another type. So if you use a much lighter non-FR headshell the effective mass can be lower than the lowest number quoted. Etc.
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I don't know whether you use a specific mounting template for every different tonearm with the SMARTractor, as one does with the UNItractor, but if so, you would obviously want to buy the FR64S template from Acoustic Systems and, yes, know the diameter of your spindle, which is accommodated in the UNI design. (It comes with 3 interchangeable spindle holes that fit tightly into each of the tonearm-specific mounting templates). |
I aligned my FR 64S using the UNItractor, made by Dertonearm. In so doing I used the recommended pivot to spindle distance of 231.5 MM. (Not the factory recommended distance of 230 mm.) Then I used the supplied template that came with the Unitractor to align the cartridge. I actually do not know precisely how much overhang is the result. |
My post was just a general comment. Not at all aimed at you or anyone else specifically.
I think there is plenty of room to discuss what topology sounds best and what insulation sounds best (of silver wire). (Litz vs stranded vs insulated strands vs solid core/single strand and teflon vs cloth vs just an insulated coating.) |
The whole business about whose silver wire might sound better seems to me to be silly. Unless we think that either Ikeda or Kondo or Dertonearm own silver mines. All of these entities must buy their silver wire from some company that makes wire. It’s all very unglamorous. For all we know they all get their wire from the same original source. And Kondo’s claim about maturing the wire seems equally specious to me. All silver on earth is probably as old as the earth or very nearly so.
The purity of the silver and how it’s wound or not wound, and how it’s insulated, all of those could possibly make a difference to sound quality. |
I wondered whether Syntax's post, from late 2014, was written before the advent of the UNItractor, designed and built by his colleague, Dertonearm. The UNI and the even later SMARTractor are in a way a homage to the Dennesen, so I was surprised that he did not mention even the UNI in his post about alignment. That said, I own a UNI (and an original all-metal Dennesen). It seems to me that I purchased the UNI prior to 2014, which means that it must have been on sale when Syntax posted in October, 2014.
After mounting the FR64S using the Dertonearm-recommended 231.5mm for P2S, I aligned it using the UNI. I am very happy with the FR64S, and Raul has criticized me for liking it. I guess that is a sort of badge of honor. I have mounted an Acutex LPM320STRIII induced magnet cartridge on the FR64S, albeit using a Dynavector headshell which is much lighter than any of the heavy FR headshells, but still not really "light" as headshells go. But still, this combo should not work well, because the compliance of the Acutex is given as 42!!! Nevertheless, it does work very well; it's just a pleasure to listen to this combo, mounted on my TT101. We just got home from Tokyo, where I purchased several headshells, including a Yamamoto carbon fiber job, based on Halcro's recommendation. I plan to try the Acutex on the Yam headshell, at some point.
Does anyone have any idea why the FR64S seems in this case to be exempt from the "rule" that governs matching cartridge compliance to effective mass? My hypothesis is that over the years, the compliance of my Acutex (which I purchased NOS) has gone down due to stiffening of the suspension, while the effective mass of the FR64S is less than typical due to using the lighter DV headshell. |
Most people who have heard both would tend to agree with Syntax. As to the wiring, whether it is copper or silver in the Ikeda, I think it is explicitly sold according to the internal wiring chosen; the silver wire version is more expensive than the copper one. |
Ddriveman, What wire was in your FR66S to begin with, copper or silver? What wire did you use to re-wire? I don't mean to disrespect your observational powers, but listener bias is such that I doubt anyone is capable of "hearing" that the sound is "worse" after he or she changed the tonearm wire, or performed any of many many other audiophile tweaks, for that matter. On the other hand, it's possible.... |
If Dertonearm performed the work, I am sure it was done to the highest standard. I knew he liked the Ikeda silver wire, was not aware of the Kondo option, but I have some Kondo silver tonearm wire I purchased for another project (the Kenwood L07J tonearm on my L07D). Actually, for what little this is worth, oxidized silver wire is about as good a conductor as is non-oxidized. Copper does go bad with oxidation, on the other hand. Are you in Europe? I thought about sending my FR64S (with "silver wire inside") to Dertonearm for the same work but have not yet done so, mostly because I do not want to part with the tonearm. My own search suggests that the S in FR64S does not stand for "silver"; it may stand for stainless steel. Are you saying that the S in FR66S does indicate silver wire? Rather confusing nomenclature, in that case. |
Whether the FR66S is transcendent or not, at least some of the impetus behind the rising prices is collector driven. This does not mean that the FR66S is not great. But you are right, Ddrive, to keep an open mind vs the Ikeda. I am satisfied myself just to have the FR64S with B60. I think the B60 not only immeasurably improves the convenience factor but also improves performance by providing a more massive base and a good energy sink for any vibrations that sneak back down the tonearm. |
Ddrive, You have a severe case of audiophilia nervosa, but so too do all of us. The differences among the tonearms you mention are in all probability minuscule compared to the differences among cartridges and the differences in the amount of audio information that can be retrieved from one LP vs another LP. When I see one of those $150,000 turntables, I have to laugh to think it will at some point be used to play a $5 LP that was likely "pre-owned" 20 or more years earlier by someone with an el cheapo "record player" and cartridge. Serenity now!
Have you done the Krebs mod on your Mk3? If so, what do you think? |
Thanks, Ddrive. I guess there is a Krebs mod in my future; I own one "unit" of SP10 Mk3 that has been thoroughly updated and mounted in a massive slate and cherry wood plinth. I can hear a qualitative difference between it and my Kenwood L07D that may have to do with "fluidity", but I am still only thinking about the mod. R Krebs is a fine guy, however.
What headshell(s) do you and others use on your FR64S/FR66S??? The headshell is a major part of the equation, very major. |
