High Performance Low Mass Tone Arm Suggestions Needed


The turntable that is the repository for this arm is my SOTA Cosmos Eclipse, so that means we are talking 9 to 10.5 inch arms. The cartridge to be used is an Ortofon MC2000, it weighs 11 grams so a substantial counterweight is needed. 

 

Looking for my highest quality options to make this combo work. Absolutely love this cartridge, so it is to be my long term reference, which is why I am willing to invest the time and money to find the best pairing. 

neonknight

Showing 3 responses by neonknight

An EPA100 would work, the trick is finding one from a trusted source with good bearings. Certainly a good option though. 

JGH liked the cartridge on the Well Tempered arm, which searches showed it as 10 grams. The SME V he used it on and did not like it was 9.5 grams, so it would appear that more than mass was in play and that other characteristics formed his decision. I have it on a Dynavector DV505 with a Supex SL3 head shell and it does indeed work on that arm. However, that tonearm will not fit on a SOTA so, if I want to use one on that table I need an alternative. Also, I have yet to find a measurement for mass of the vestigial arm wand portion of the DV505, so I have no idea what the true mass of the arm I am using it on is. 

I happen to have a second MC2000 that was retyped with a tapered aluminum cantilever, so this one is not stock, but I do have a OEM one to compare it to against. The retyped one does not track as well in the Dynavector as the OEM one does, and the cantilever is not as robust as the OEM one, so it points to the DV505 being just inside the window of usability. Ideally I would like to be able to use the second MC2000 as it sits, and perhaps in the future I will consider it for a boron cantilever as Raul did with one, or see if Ortofon will rebuilt with an equivalent cantilever they use on the Cadenza Bronze. But I got a couple of thousand of hours here I would like to get to use.

 

I have owned an Acos GST801 and while a nice arm, it is still massy, more of a mid mass arm. Had a Technics EPA250 for awhile, and I would have to find one of those arms with all the auxiliary counterweights, and even then I am not sure it can balance out an 11 gram cartridge. 

 

Does anyone think a Black Widow is up to the task? I believe Pioneer and Stax made carbon fiber arms that might work. 

Before I do anything I decided to see if my Dynavector arm could accommodate the second MC2000 I have that has been retipped. The OEM will play on the arm with a Supex SL2 headshell which is 7.2 grams. I just ordered a Denon PCL5 headshell which weighs 5.6 grams. Perhaps the reduction in mass is significant to work with the retipped MC2000. If not I have another candidate to put the OEM one onto. We will see how it works out.