The pivoted arm experiment is over


I started the thread titled "are linear tracking arms better than pivoted arms" and as a result of the many thought provoking threads that were posted, I decided to revisit pivoted arms again.

First of all, I want to say thanks to Dertonarm for starting me on this journey and all of the help he gave me in setting up my arm. As some of you recall, I purchased a Fidelity Research FR64s, a NOS Orsonic headshell, and an AQ LeoPard tonearm cable. This was all mounted on a new armboard on my VPI TNT table. After I had removed the ET-2 from the TNT and while I was waiting for the new arm and all of the other parts to arrive, I went ahead and did some maintenance to the TNT. I removed the bearing assembly and took it to a machinist for inspection. He didn't like the fact that there was .004 clearance between the spindle and bushing. He pressed out the old bushings, machined new ones, line bored them, and pressed them in. There is now .001 clearance between the spindle and the new bushings. The machinist also micro polished the spindle, cleaned all of the remaining parts, put in new oil, and declared it finished. Dertonarm was emphatic that I install the FR64s 231.5 mm from the spindle to the center of the bearing instead of 230mm as the manual recommends (as well as the template FR provide with the arm. The machinist made a tool from barstock that fits over the spindle of the TNT and has a hole drilled at the other end with the center at exactly 231.5mm. He machined a tramel point that fits in the hole so you can mark the armboard with the exact spot for the correct distance. This tool was used on my new armboard and the hole was precisely drilled for the FR64s. I used the Dennesen Soundtracker to set up the cartridge as recommended by Dertonarm and VTF was set using a digital scale. I have the SDS for my TNT and speed was checked and set using the KAB strobe. I am telling you all of this so that you understand that I went through great pains to install this arm correctly. The cartridge I used during this time was my almost new Benz Glider SL.

I found the FR64s much more difficult/time consuming to set up compared to other pivoted arms I have used over the years. Some of you may disagree, but this is my experience. Most pivoted arms, once you have the cartridge installed, you slide on the main counterweight, make sure the anti-skating is set to zero, move the counterweight until the arm floats level, set the counterweight scale to 0, and then turn it until you have the correct VTF and bingo-Jed's a millionaire. Then you set your anti-skating for whatever makes your socks roll up and down, and your pretty much done. After that you just start dialing your cartridge alignment in with your favorite alignment jig and readjust your VTF. Not so with the FR64s. The FR64s has a main counterweight, a dynamic stabilizer weight, and an anti-skating weight that all must be installed. I am not going to go through all of the necessary steps to get this arm set up, but trust me, if you have never set up a FR64s, it is more difficult than your average pivoted arm that I am used to. Again thanks to Dertonarm for all of the help during this process and Syntax offered some help to me as well which I also appreciate.

Before I removed the ET-2 I broke out a NOS Maxell UD 35-180 tape (I love this tape by the way). I recorded a selection of songs (at 15 ips 2 track on my Otari MX-55)that would showcase the FR64s arm's ability to boogie in the bass as well as track the many dynamic swings that many of these cuts have. I recorded the following songs:

Lyle Lovett-My baby don't tolerate
Lucinda Williams-Righteously
Herb Alpert-Rotation (from the MoFi version)
Talking Heads-Burning down the house
Herbie Hancock-Rocket (from the 12" single)

After I had the FR64s installed for about a week and had it as tweaked out as I knew how to make it, I re-recorded the above selections in reverse order on the same tape. That way at least I had one cut that would play back to back.

Now some of you had sent me emails asking if I had any preliminary findings to share and I demurred. I never claimed to have the fastest ears in the west so I like to take my time and make sure I know what I am talking about so I don't have to eat a plateful of crow later (which I have certainly done before). Well, the jury is in for me, and it is my opinion that the ET-2 is much the better arm. The only thing the ET-2 gives up to the FR64s is a bit of bass punch, but I don't think the bass from the 64s sounds as natural as that from the ET-2. The bass from the 64s almost seems detached from the rest of the music if that makes any sense. There is a myth that linear tracking arms don't have good bass or can't reproduce the bottom octave at all. This is nonsense in my opinion. I can speak for the ET-2 and tell you confidently that it reproduce great bass.

MikeL and I sort of got into an off-topic discussion on the TP forum. MikeL stated (and please correct me if I not capturing the essence of what you said Mike) that he thought his Rockport linear tracking arm was superior to pivoted arms because it tracks the grooves the way they were cut and that as a result, it doesn't have any phase errors. MikeL went on to say that all pivoted arms only have two null points where the geometry is correct and that results in phase errors across the remaining points outside of the null. I didn't agree with Mike's point about phase-I thought Mike was confusing zenith with overhang. Incorrect zenith will affect phase, but I certainly had never heard that pivoted arms caused phase problems across the record except for the null points. What Mike did say and I agree with is that you can tell a big difference between linear tracking arms and pivoted arms. For me, a properly set up linear tracking arm sounds like a master tape with all that implies vice sounding like a good recording. There is a "wholeness" about the sound of linear tracking arms. Music just flows like it does in real life and it feels right. The FR64s and other pivoted arms don't capture that. They almost seem like they are stitching the music together as they go-almost digital like in comparison to linear tracking arms if that makes any sense to you. Another apt comarison would be looking at a picture taken by a cheap digital camera and comparing that picture to one taken from a top-notch film camera. You really can't compare the two in terms of ultimate sound quality as the linear tracking arm is just cut from a different cloth. I know that will set some people's teeth on edge, but sorry, the truth is the truth. I really do think the secret is the fact that the linear tracking arm is tracing the record the way it was cut instead of tracing an arc across the record with incorrect geometry 99% of the time. You can argue that the errors are slight when using 10" and longer tonearms, but errors they are. Also, the other benefit to linear tracking arms in my mind is no anti-skating is required. That is one less thing to fiddle with and neurose over. The sound of music from a linear tracking arm lives and breathes in a way that music does in real life and it is all cut from the same cloth. Pivoted arms that I have heard can't capture that. Unless you have heard a good linear tracking arm in your system, you won't know what I am talking about and you can be happy with what you have.

In closing, I know that the FR64s is not the most expensive pivoted arm in the world and some of you may sniff your upturned nose and say I should have used a "better" arm. I am really not going to listen to any of that drivel. I spent around $3K setting up this experiment and I know that the FR64s is considered a damn fine tonearm which is why I bought it. I am also finished with discussions about linear tracking arms being harder on cartridges and they can't have great bass. I had many years of great service with my Van den Hul MC-10 in an ET-2. My Denon 103R did develop a slight twist in the cantilever, but that may or may not have been caused by the ET-2. You are supposed to use high compliance cartridges with the ET-2 and not low compliance cartridges like the Denon 103R. The Benz Glider is a much better match with the ET-2 and it sounds way better than the 103R. Even if it is true that linear tracking arms cause greater wear to the cartridge suspension-so what? Most audiophiles change their cartridges more frequently than they change their underwear and they would never know. MikeL has the same experience that I had and that is he saw no wear over years with his Van den Hul. But even if it is true that linear tracking arms cause greater wear and tear to a cartridge, that is a small price to pay for the superior sound over the life of the cartridge.

I reinstalled my ET-2 last night and I haven't stopped grinning since. There is no doubt that if I would have made the recording of the ET-2 with the bearing improvements to my TNT, it would sound even better than it does. My LP setup has never sounded better now that my TNT bearing has been massaged and the ET-2 is back. I stayed up until way-late o'clock last night because I just didn't want to stop listening to music. Over and out.
mepearson

Showing 3 responses by thom_at_galibier_design

Hi Mepearson,

You’ve done some solid work in your experiments, and I applaud your putting it all on the line to relate your experiences - this, in light of the fact that many on this and other lists eat their young.

I find recommendations like those of Dertonearm to be amusing - that of dedicating a specific alignment to a specific tonearm. Me ... I’ve been an unapologetic Bearwaald guy, but that’s what makes horse racing. The key for me is *accurately* setting up the arm - using an arc protractor.

To this latter point, my last exposure to an ET-2 was in the early days, when I was still collaborating with Peter (Redpoint). I had not yet ventured into arc protractors, and the arms under comparison were the ET-2 with surge tank, pressure regulator (set to 6-8 psi, fed by 30 psi pump), a Moerch DP-6/precision red wand, and a Graham 2.2.

I’d love to have that ET-2 back now that I’ve become sold on arc protractors. My takeaway at the time was that of an audible drop off in tracing distortion in the ET-2 (when compared with the two pivoted arms), along with a leaner but very tuneful bass. The ET-2 tracked flawlessly with both Benz and Denon carts.

The reason I’d like to return to this experiment, is that my memory tells me that the order of magnitude difference between the ET-2’s perceived tracing distortion and that of the two pivoted arms was equivalent to the jump I experienced with every arm for which I’ve re-set, used an arc protractor. I noticed another similarity with linear trackers when I adopted arc protractors. The setup is much less sensitive to small changes in VTA (a good thing).

I would not propose that you return to the FR tonearm, but at such time you get the urge to play with it again, contact me privately, and I’ll draw a Baerwaald protractor up for you to play with.

I think the ET-2 is a brilliantly conceived piece of gear, and if you’re dedicated to finding a nice location for your pump (or quieting it down if it’s noisy) then it is a very viable solution.

Regarding the latter discussions in this thread about phase distortion relating to pivoted arms ... well, we might as well be discussing super string theory. There are so many elements that can contribute to the perception of a band playing in or out of time, and while geometry is perhaps the easiest one to pontificate about, my experience is that it has the least effect.

This is yet another example of my basic tenet - that varying architectures, when conceived and executed competently, will converge on a central point of musicality.

As usual however, there are so many other variables to consider. If one’s basic geometry is off (pivoting arm) it will swamp any other effect, and one runs the risk of setting up a straw man argument, shooting down pivoted arms (instead of the real culprit - inaccurate setup), and proving nothing in the process. A Stradivarius out of tune is just an out of tune violin.

The arms I’ve had most recent extensive experience with are the Tri-Planar, Schroeder Reference, and Durand Talea. Never would the words phase distortion come to mind when listening to these three fine arms. The qualifier is - when the geometry is set up accurately - with an arc protractor.

With all due respect to Mike L, I challenge the veracity of your comments due to the probability of a flawed setup which I’d rather not discuss on this forum.

I’d love to demonstrate this to you all at this year’s Audiofest. In both of the rooms we’ll be exhibiting, the phase performance of the speakers (Green Mountain Audio and Daedalus) is extraordinary, and readily exposes flaws elsewhere in the signal chain. Believe it or not, you won’t find a horn in a Galibier room this year. Go figure ...

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
Amen Frogman and Moisin ...

I've spent countless hours ... starting off by looking up someone's discography, and finding myself on Youtube listening to some dusty old performances. It's an incredible resource for the music lover and music historian.

Imagine if we had Youtube performances of Liszt performing the Hungarian Rhapsodies? I doubt we'd gripe about the sound quality.

And ... back to this thread. While I'm a manufacturer and would love to sell everyone something, I encourage more of you to bond with your gear (as time permits and doesn't interfere with your musical enjoyment).

Mepearson sets a fine example for you - to spend a bit more time and a few less dollars ... dollars that can be spent taking your wife out to dinner or buying some records.

Back to our untuned Strad ... I was actually in a music store when a woman tried to return a guitar because it was out of tune and her little darling couldn't play it!

Oh ... and to Moisan ... next time, I'll use "who woulda thunk?" instead of "go figure" (grin).

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier
Hi Mepearson,

Any time you're interested, contact me offline. I suspect that you have found an arm in the ET-2 that floats your boat in ways that others cannot.

It would be a difficult (impossible) experiment to carry out - to produce a pivoted arm with identical sonics (with a given cartridge) to the ET-2 - save of course the inherrent characteristics of the geometry.

If this were possible, I suspect that this would become your #2 choice in arms.

For those of you who have not done so, download the two part ET-2 tonearm manual (PDF). It's in old-timey font, from the good old daze and in two parts from back when bandwidth was much more limited than it is today.

The manual is chock full of great information on tonearms in general, and of course with specific information on the ET-2.

You'll not only understand your own tonearm better, but will gain insight into the genius behind the ET-2 arm.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier