In my case lengthy was 7 months. Apparently Frank had some issues with Incognito, his termination source which relocated from Europe to Canada during the time my arm was ready for termination. This just added to what was already a rather long lead time. Regardless the arm is worth the wait. My system is currently an early Redpoint/Galibier Testa Rosa with an aluminum/teflon platter. I am using Bent Audio's S&B stepups and a Hagerman Trumpet phono. This is going into Lamm's L2 line stage and ML1 monoblocks. Speakers are Rick Reimer's Tetons. I have experimented with the damping adjustment and it does have a major effect. If you are careful you can make this adjustment while the record is playing which makes detecting the difference even easier. I too seem to prefer the damping not quite as low which results in a more open sound. I have heard alot of good things about the ZYX cartridges. My concern may be the lower ouput level and the match with my electonics more then the match with the tonearm. I will check out Doug's ZYX reviews. My Shelter 901 sounds very good in my system so I have also thought of maybe upgrading to the 90X. I guess at these levels personal preference and system matching is the key.
The Schroeder has arrived
My Schroeder Reference arrived over the holiday weekend. It has been a long wait but looks to be well worth it. The fit and finish on this tonearm is a work of art. The adjustments are actually very simple compared to many arms. Most adjustments are just a slight turn of a set screw. The arm sounds incredible. I have heard others say effortless. That seems pretty good to me as words really cannot describe how good this sounds in my system. I am still in the process of fine tuning and the wire is still breaking in so I guess it will probably sound even better. I am using a Shelter 901 on it and that seems to match up well. BTW, if anyone is looking to buy a Schroeder I would strongly suggest working with Thom at Galibier Design. He kept in contact with me throughout the lengthy waiting period and was excellent with the delivery and setup. I would though be interested to hear from any others that may have this tonearm and their thoughts on some of the cartridges that are a good match.