Tonearm recommendation

fleib: In page 6 of this thread you posted:

"""   I won't be back to this thread. I'm too busy now ... """

since then you posted 21 times starting in that same page six and those 21 posts were only because you were " busy ". Go figure!!

Now, I understand your very high level of frustration through this thread that between other things hurt/damage your health, emotions are a human been " killer ".

I can't understand why you follow trying that I stop to living in the " error " in this audio subject, just leave it that way because I just want to live in the " error " and this can't hurt you.

I think that something that can help you is that I can accept not only that I live in the " error " but I can accept and accept that is your " bible " the right answer and that you are " the One ". Fine, there is no problem with me.

Btw, there is another " people say " in my country :

" even what you don't eat it hurts your organism/stomach "

Please be happy following the  Lewm's advice: " life is to short ".

You don't need to increment your today very high frustaration level in this thread.

Btw, I posted that the Dyna tonearms are not my cup of tea so I don't care about any more.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear L.: We can use any of the net resonance frequency calculators over the net like this:

http://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_resonance_evaluator.php?eff_mass=35&submit=Submit


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear chakster: EPA 100 or MK2?, that's a hard call because both are almost the same design in all but the build material.

For good reasons boron was choosed and the favorite material for cartridge cantilevers and from this perpective the MK2 coukld be the better, however I can't remember remarkable differences in its quality performance.

Perhaps what we have to take in count are its own customer facilities, the MK2 VTA/SRA on the fly is ( IMHO ) the best mechanism ever made like a dream to use it, the output connectors are RCA type and I prefer it over the DIN Pin 5 because today we have very good RCA connectors and other factors is the difference in the tonearm internal wiring. Of course that always exist the felling of be a proudly owner of a MK2 but any one with the EPA 100 can be prodly also.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear lewm: I have a direct culprit because years ago I spread everywhere that we can use any kind of tonearm effective mass with light-weight/high compliance cartridges. That the resonance frequency values between the effective mass tonearm and cartridge compliance were not critical.

That kind of statements were a big MISTAKE/ERROR that I had it by some kind of self " ignorance ".

I posted several times in the long MM thread and other threads about. As a fact way before FR came ( in this specific subject ) to this forum I posted that using my heavy mass SAEC tonearms and other similar EM ( including FR ones. ) tonearms the cartridges I mounted on them performs very good and through these kind of experiences I spread my mistake.

Suddenly I experienced what means and how sounds the IMD when I added to my audio system my active subwoofers and left out/off from my main speakers the frequency range: 80hz and down ( any one can read about here: page 1 in my longest post " Dear friends ":
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/do-you-think-you-need-a-subwoofer ).

Now always exist the bass frequency intermodulation distortion and you can read about here:

https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=L38MrvScG3gC&pg=PA38&lpg=PA38&dq=low+frequency+reso...

read specifically on tonearm/cartridge resonance.

So, right now I really care that in my tonearm/cartridge combinations I can stay inside the " ideal " resonance frequency range: 8hz-12hz, but even here we have those bass/subsonic modulations.

If we are out of that resonance frequency range the distortion levels goes higher and this is what I was hearing over several years. Today I still have distortions but at low levels.

So we have to take in count that kind of BID before decide which tonearm or headshell weight we are using it.

That BID is an additional kind of distortion that we can’t avoid 100%.

Through the years some tonearm designers/manufacturers were/are trying to have better ways/mechanisms to design a better DAMPED tonearms. I don’t know if they are aware of that additional kind of " problem " or are not.

That BID is other form of generated distortions that we have to avoid and one way to do it is not buy or use NON DAMPED or NOT WELL DAMPED tonearms: ANY.

That we can like those kind ( and other ) of distortions is not the subject and only can tell us that we are wrong in what we like.

Lewm, you can use almost any well damped tonearm with any cartridge if the combination is inside that " ideal " resonance frequency.

One problem with the tonearm specs about effective mass is that the manufacturers just give the EM value with out any sign of where the tonearm counterweight should be positioned for that EM can be meeted.

Btw, independt of all that acomplish with that resonance frequency value and when we are outside we are not helping the cartridge ride on the LP grooves and we can exite subsonics bass frequencies that make that the cartridge " jumps " at micro levels in a higher level that's normal way of tracking and in extreme cases even we can see how the tonearm/cartridge jumps over the LP. I had only one time this extreme experience and I can't remember with what cartridge/tonearm or LP track.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dear lewm: Yes, I learnen about the IMD critical factor on speakers when I added my subs and that's why I gave my advise to you with those great Sound Labs. Before that I was unaware exactly on the speakers IMD problems.
Subs always help but qwe can't avoid 100% of the speakers IMD, so mantain it at minimum must be our each one target.

In the other side and contrary to my last audio years " preach " that: it does not matters if we like what we are listening if we are listening high distortions then we are wrong and must change about.

I can't remember exactly why I just forgot that because as I said I spreaded everywhere that if we like what we are listening we have not care about tonearm/cartridge resonance frequecy.
Big mistake/error that fortunatelly I already fixed. I know for sure that some of us still live " in the mistake " and are happy as I was.

People with FR or SAEC tonearms can't be satisfied with what they are listening. These tonearms has 30+ effective mass even with a lightweight headshell and if we mount on it a MM high compliance cartridge that normally has 6 grs. of weight and at least 35 cu the resonance frequency will be around 4hz and maybe lower. Has no sense to do it but I did it for years.

I posted several times from years now and every where that the most critical and vital frequency range for a truly excellent audio system quality performance is the bass range and mostly the low frequencies in that range. Any audio system quality performance level depends on the system quality of its bass management. Well this is an overall subject that needs other thread.

regards and enjoy the music,
R.