the perfect tonearm


I know that it doesn't exist, but I'm looking for a tonearm retailing less than $2000 that has multiple virtues- easy to setup even for a clod like myself, flexibility eg, VTA on the fly, azimuth and easy anti-skating adjustments and also with a effective mass that allows it to be used with a wide range of cartridges. Oh, and I prefer the classic looking S shaped arms if possible.

Some that are intriguing are Graham 2.2, Jelco 750, SME 3012???
mikeyc8

Showing 8 responses by nandric

Dear Raul and Dertonarm,thanks mainly to you both our
community is best informed on earth regarding tonearms,turntables and carts.
In some sence it is (much) easyer to have just one authority but I prefer two of more. I will elaborate on this later but I will start with Dertonarms methafor about the old- and the young leon in the same territory.
When asked why he so much dislikes M.Gorky the 'old Leon'
Tolstoj used this 'argument':' My dogs also dislike Gorky'.
The same kind of 'argument-weight' I attribute to the
'commercial intentions' arguments used by both 'Dramatis
personae'. Getting rich by producing tonearm?? You must be
kidding.
So both of our beloved Dramatis personae illustrate two different,say,human 'propertys':
1.The human weakness;
2.The 'homo faber' story (Bergson,Frisch)

Regarding the human weakness Raul is (much) more sensitive
then Dertonarm. He always underlines the individual preferences. In this context I am on the side of Raul because to me the empathy is one of the most important
human quality. Dertonarm SEEMS to 'hate' human weakness
probable because he is follower of the 'absolute theory
of truth' and hates eny compromise.But in Sweden he was not
looking for,say,the richest- but for the most beautiful
lady. So perhaps he is not as 'hard' as he thinks.

2. The 'homo faber'
Because of the division of labor most of us have lost the
skills to make things. I have no idea how to 'produce' even
a stone-knife. So,I ques, the most of us will regard those
two as 'lucky bastards' because thy can combine their hobby
with their work.
So this 'part' is that envy both at most.
Dertonarm mentioned somwehere this 'unity of theory and practice' in.say,'general terms'.
I am familiar with the,say,Marxian one,because I am from
eastern Europa. Thanks to Poppers 'Conjecures and Refutantions' we can use suitable terms to describe the
'experiment' with the 'scientific socialism'. While social
scientist were producing evidence that Marx was right;mainly by quoting from Marx work,some 'regular' person,without eny academic education refuted the theory.
When asked:'And how are we today Sergej?' His answer was:
'Well it is worst then yesterday but better then tomorrow'.

There are also the so called 'American pragmatist'(from
Dewey till Quine) with the similar programme but I am not
familiar with the possible results there.
But I am with Dertonarm for the 'individual cases'.I.e.:
Raul produced 'the' tonearm by the 'unity of theory and
practice' and
Dertonarm (also)produced 'the' tonearm ,etc.

3. The authority

Aristoteles dominated western culture for 2000 years.
The easy 'part' of this fact was:one needed only to read
Aristoteles and nothing else and one was sure about the
'real truth'.I.e. no dillemas then.
So till Galileo in physics and Frege in logic 'we' had just
one authority.
So I have no problem at all with the 'number' in our forum:
I enjoy reading Raul as well as Dertonarm.
Regards,
Hi Mike,there is,alas, a big gap between what we want and
what we can afford. But you can get for less:
1.Lustre 801
2.Micro MA-505 (S)

You will need a new (silver) phonocable for both as well
one new headshell,say,Orsonic with (Ikeda)silver 'tags'.
Those tonearms are not 'less' then the so called 'big guns'.
Regards
Hi Musicfile, I still own the German magazine 'Das Ohr'
from April 1984 with the first review in Europe of both
tonearms: FR-64s and FR-64fx. Dertonarm mentioned somwhere
the same magazine and stated (if I am right)that the reviwers ware very competent.According to them the FR-64s
was superior in eny 'parameter'. I am familiar with FR-64s,the best 'tracker' I ever owned but not with FR-64fx.
So I hope you can value this information.
Regards,
Dear Dertonarm.I am 'disturbed' by the statement of Musicfile: 'wich is superior is strictly subjective'.
I assume you know K.Renner and G.Wilimzig ,the reviewers
by 'Das Ohr'. Are both of them 'subjective reviewers'? BTW you can provide 'objective information' by
quoting from your magazine. According to Renner the effective mass of FR-64 (without the headshell) is 15 gr.
and FR-fx 6 gr. My question is: when using Orsonic AV-1 (10gr.?I used this one) how 'universal' is the FR-64 ?
I had no problem at all then with Ortofon 30 mk2.
Regards
Dear Perrew, 'the Orsonic difficult to get'?
I see Orsonic headshells regular on eBay for $100-18o.
There is the 'B' and the 'S' kind with diff. weight.
But you can try the 'Sumiko AS-12'(eBay.co.uk) for 30
GBP. The same headshell is offered under diff. names for
more (+/-12 gr). Fantastic 'tags',azimuth provision and
magnesium construction. I purchased two of them even if
I have no idea what to do with them;I dont need a headshell.Greedy I assume. I also keep my Orsonic 'B' as
kind of treasure for more then 10 years. But I use the
Triplanar VII and Reed L with 'fast headshells'.
So I am obviously crazy but my advise is ,I hope,sound?
Regards,
Dear Perrew, There is AV-101 B (+/- 10 gr.) and AV-101S
(16 gr.). I used the 'B' in all of my earlier tonearms:
FR-64S;Lustre 801 and Micro MA-505(S).To me:the best headshell there is. But Sumiko AS-12 looks very impressive and I think you should try this one first. I.e. if the money is of eny importance.But to be honest I have no experience with this headshell even if I own 2 of them.
There is no way I can put one other tonearm on my Kuzma
S.R. because the 'base' is drilled for the Triplanar.
Besides: chenging carts and tonearms is like a 'horror'to
me.I.e.I am not a consistent hifi 'nuts'.
Regards,
Regards,
Dear Syntax,You are right:both AV -101 are 16 gr.and AV-1
is 10 gr. My is AV-1 but the lettering is fadeaway.
Sorry Perrew.
Mike,for the FR-64 you need AV-1 (10gr.);for the FR-64fx
you can use both.
Regards,
The 'deceptive' part is the IS in the sentence form 'x is P'(aka the subject -predicate).But we want a tonearm which satisfy many conditions and this assume a list of properties not just one. Besides 'the best' imply comparison between how many tonearms?: 3, 4, or...
What we get is actually: John thinks, believes, is convinced that,etc. that the tonearm A is better than the other he ever owned. Assuming that most of us owned, say,
3 tonearms this 'best quality' become a very hazy qualification.