Tonearm recommendation


Hello all,
Recently procured a Feickert Blackbird w/ the Jelco 12 inch tonearm.
The table is really good, and its a keeper. The Jelco is also very good, but not as good as my Fidelity Research FR66s. So the Jelco will eventually hit Ebay, and the question remains do I keep the FR66s or sell that and buy something modern in the 5-6 K range. My only point of reference is my old JMW-10 on my Aries MK1, so I don't know how the FR66s would compare to a modern arm. So I'd like to rely on the collective knowledge and experience of this group for a recommendation.

Keep the FR66s, or go modern in the 5-6K range, say a Moerch DP8 or maybe an SME.

Any and all thoughts and opinions are of course much appreciated.

Cheers,      Crazy Bill
wrm0325
Well, Raul is still writing his ringing nonsense like a broken record. The usual pain for brain. Old men never learn anything I guess. Buy some better electronics. You are not a perfectionist. You love yourself. That's the difference you never got. A time waster who never got the ability to combine the strengths of different designs. Stop declaring yourself as an expert. It is a slap into the face of everyone who tries to push the sonic curtain.
Syntax, I’m a bit more relaxed around Rauls posts. At the end of the day opinions are only in the context of the rest of the system and how well the gear is set up. I like the "distortions" in my system...I try to get them close to the distortions I hear at our local concert hall, not quite the poise and balance of the magnificient Berlin Philharmonie hall, but not too bad.
As far as the FR's go - I have found the set ups recommended by yourself and Dertonam been invaluable. The FR's are capable of going from 0 to 100 very much depending on how well they are setup. This is probably true of other much maligned gear - it is unfortunately a common audio hazard.
Dear syntax: It’s obvious that with your audio system you can cause impact to audiophiles that could think that a 300K-500K system must performs with the higher quality level ever we can dream.

I experienced not one time but four different times audio systems in that price range and at least in one the quality perfromance did not honored that high price.
In the other side I experienced in dozens of audio systems coming from as low 35K that belive it or not beats that megabucks systems and many of them are very near of those high price systems.

Dover, posted something very important: """ system and how well the gear is set up ... """ and I can add that if the system right set up is important it’s more important the right choices on each single link in the audio chain and this means the right knowledge audio/music level.

IMHO, if you use an all metal non damped tonearm in the analog rig it does not matters how and with which audio chain that tonearm is surrounded. The overall quality performance of that system will be poor due to that weak link.

The same is valid on each audio system link. TTs no exception and you like heavy impressive/good looking weight TT as many audiophiles but you forget that if it’s true that heavy platters helps in BD system to mantain in easy way spinning the platter we have to remember that that heavy metal platter ( it does not matters if it’s air bearing design. ) at the very first time it starts to spin that static mass is coverted in dynamic mass and starts to " vibrates " at micro levels but the cartridge is a very sensitive " microphone "/ vibrations detector and even if we don’t know it the cartridge knows about those vibrations generated in that heavy mass platters in any TT.

As this " phenomenon/curiosity " are all what I posted here and elsewhere that makes distortions.

That you like it is fine with me. I learned and you will sooner or latter. Knowledge level and not the money is what counts to have the best the audio system quality performance.

Knowledge level, skills, set up and some kind of money. In that order.

I know for sure the kind of distortions you like it ( your system speaks it self, I don’t need to listen it ) that are worst than mines.

Anyway, I still learned from this thread including your post. As I said, a thread is not a contest in between participants and exist no challenge or challengers but people like me trying to learn. Got it????


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Ps:  " I hope you can learn on what Dover posted:

"""" you are correct in your comments about the dynamic balance mechanism ( which is a coiled spring ) used for setting the vertical tracking force.... """, these are tghe kind of distortions you loved, good!. 


Dear dover: """   I like the "distortions" in my system..."""

I think that everyone likes " the distortions in each one system ". Now and trying to be constructive: in this thread and the one spéaking of tonearms longer than 12" I posted almost all my first hand experiences on the kind of distortions generated by those long tonearms or non-damped tonearms, I talked about specific distortions that today I can detect and I can discriminate between those distortions and music information.

The kind of distortions you are accustom or Syntax or Halcro or other gentlemans here I was accustomed for many years and is extremely dificult to " let it goes ".
I had and have success doing that when I learned to detect/discriminate the diferent type of distortions and very critical issue was that I gave enough time ( lñistening. ) to my brain to LISTEN  music with out ( well mantainning at minimum. ) those distortions.
For time I mean months of continuous listening daily sessions and in between making tests with the " old ditortions " till I was sure that those distortions were distortions. This long experiences makes that today I listen to lower distortions and more music information.

If you can't recognise some kind of distotions then you can't do anything about. Btw, it's more easy to do it with SS electronics that with tubes but I don't want to open an additional window for discussion on this topic.

The subject is not: I like my system distortions " but to know how those distortions sounds and if you like your system performance quality level with those detected distortions rthat is another matters.

I think that in this thread Dgarretson posted that he detected the tonearm distortions I'm talking about along the same type of sound through his SS electronics experiences.
The important subject is that " he KNOWS " and he accepted that likes those distortions. I think that he needs to give a longer time to the listenning with out those distortions.

Anyway, as you said mine is only an additional opinion.


Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Dover, Sorry I didn't see this sooner. You accept this nonsense as correct, or just the part about a noisy mechanism?

>>additional we have to remember that the 64/66 are dynamic balanced designs  and all dynamic balanced designs always generate ringing ( noise/distortions. ) through the dynamic mechanism but two tonearm design: the MAX 237/282 and Luste GST-801. Adding to that problem the micro and macro waves in the LP recorded surface makes that in a dynamic balanced tonearm design the " normal " continuous changes in VTA/SRA/VTF  that always exist in any tonearm ( static balanced included. ) been more pronounced do that when there is a crest in the LP surface the deflection in the cartridge cantilever is higher in a dynamic balanced design that in the static balanced one that works with natural gravity where in the dynamic the mechanis always force to mantain the VTF but when is against a crest the cantilever is pushed up making a higher cantilever deflection.
In both kind of tonearm designs exist the problem but in the dynamic one is bigger. Normally when the human been goes against the mother nature fall down.<<

These are the ravings of someone who makes things up, or doesn't understand what he reads.  When a static balanced cart is riding up a warp VTF is substantially reduced. The cart/arm is accelerating upwards.  What happens when VTF is reduced? VTA is steeper angle.

At the crest VTF/VTA are more affected with a static balanced cart and it's much more likely to mistrack.  Due to the constant spring action a dynamically balanced cart will maintain a more even VTF. Back in the '80s we were setting up dynamically balanced arms by splitting the force.

Regards,