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

The simple definition of damping is to reduce oscillation. If we use a broader definition as in physics, it would be to reduce or dissipate vibration.  I was making a distinction between different types of vibration control, but it does not matter. Critical damping is just enough to prevent vibration or enough to allow something to return to its rest position.  Overdamping is a state where vibration is prevented to the extent that a moving part is prevented from movement.

A fluid damped tonearm does not have to have the fluid located at the pivot, for the pivot to be damped. Attach a paddle to the base of an armtube and have it dipped in a fluid trough when tracking a record, and you're damping the pivot.  Overdamp the pivot and you're restricting arm movement. 

There are two kinds of damping used in tone arms. One is damping of the arm tube- in this case its impossible to overdamp it, except that there might be the issue of adding too much mass to the arm!

The other is to damp the **motion** of the arm. This is done with a damping trough or similar. In this case there is no question that the arm can be overdamped!

I'm just putting this out there in case there is confusion about what is meant by 'overdamping'. We need to be talking about the same things!

I like the Triplanar because its arm tube is well damped; independently of that it has a damping trough in case you want to damp its motion.
Dear atmasphere: You was the person that in 2011-2012 posted that we can’t overdamp the TT/platter TT " and from your today post sure we can overdamp if we interfere with its natural movement.

Fleib posted almost he same but as fleib you are not a rookie and " stop " the movement of TT/cartridge or tonearm obviously means we are overdamping but we need damping even here because the LP excentricty, skating force and surface waves that both goes against the " free " cartridge ridding. I know that and every one understand that even if no one talks about,certainly that’s is not what I’m refering to. I know that you understand very well what I’m trying to explain against fleib that he understand it but only try to beats some one.

I owned perhaps the best head amp ever Classé NIL-3. A design with an external power supply that ony this even today could be the envy for many design amplifiers.

Well, the main unit has to metalic shielded boxes ( very heavy unit. ) and as always I wanted to tweak/"improve" so I opened both boxes but to my surprise all the circuit board was not only encapsulated on the metalic boxes nbut truly encapsulated with a silicon like treatment that permit no single " door " to touch any circuit board component/part. This silicon like ( covering everything. ) encapsulation was used as damping.

I remember my tube SA-5 unit where Elliot puts especial attention to damp the circuit board and in the latter top of the line SA-9 he took it at " extreme " that damping trying to " kill " some kind of distortions.

One way or the other almost all the people inside the audio industry/market/hobby are trying to damp their system or designs to achieve better music information lowering all kind of the distortions.

Don’t you?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.


Hi Bill, i have used on my Blackbird Jelco 750L 12", Reed 3P 12", TW 10.5 and actual Jelco 750D 9" and Origin Live Conqueror 12".

Everybody knows that there is no better arm for the money than the Jelco`s.
The Reed sounds very musical, but has a resonance problem in lower bass frequencies. The TW has an incredible accurate bass, but maybe a small stage. Moreover the TW looks a little bit to small on the BB.

With the OL i can grow old.

Pictures of the Reed can you see here.
http://galerie-jumpy.de/categories.php?cat_id=20
From the TW i can mail and OL pictures i will make soon.

Cheers, Thomas from Bavaria
fleib: You continue to give explanations but till now you not answer that big WHY and if what you want to listen is what is the LP grooves modulations. Till when?

As a fact no one here gives any single answer about yet. Seems to me that only are walking " around and around and around " but does not takes the bull by its horns and I wonder why!!!! when all of you that are questioning my posts are experts.

Don't be shy or don't be affraid and just do it or perhaps no one of you have a real and true " card " in your hands.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.