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
dover: do you have right now on hand the 505?

If yes just try Baerwald or Löfgren alignment changing the P2S distance from Stevenson. Then listen and listen in between ( B, L and S alignments. ) and return here to share your experiences there.

If not, your post is useless and futile this time.

Through all your posts in this thread and IMHO your contributions helps to no one because you have not today facts on hand.
Raul,
You are wrong again.
I own a Dynavector DV501 which is superior to the DV505. It is more rigid through the vertical bearings than the older 505. I own the actual Final Audio VTT1 turntable and Dynavector arms and cartridges used in the review of Japanese Highend Audio by Warwick Mickell in TAS in 1983.
I also own a Dynavector Karat Nova 13D which is set up for Stevenson with its integral headshell.
Here is a link to the same Dynavector Karat Nova 13D set up for Baerwald/Lofgren A using the same Dynavector DV501 and Ikeda Headshell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXzmZ10Q2kE
You will also note the the video clip shows that I have also run the same Dynavector Karat Nova 13D cartridge in a Fidelity Research FR64S.
You will also note if you look at my other video clips that I have run the  
same Dynavector Karat Nova 13D cartridge in a unipivot Naim Aro that I also own.

My Dynavector Karat Nova 13D is real and freshly rebuilt by Dynavector with an updated micro ridge stylus ( previously had a fineline ); it is not a frankenstein fake like the one you advertised on Audiogon.
 
Personally I preferred the Dynavector Karat Nova 13D with Baerwald/Lofgren A but Lewm has preferred Stevenson with his cartridges. Unless you have heard Lewms system you cannot possibly disagree with him.

As far as science goes the pros and cons of offset vertical bearings vs straight vertical bearings arguments are real and measurable. Origin Live for example have listened to both options and prefer to go with non offset bearings. Other arm manufacturers have taken a different view.

Furthermore I also have an Eminent Technology ET2, much improved with custom mods, that has no tracking error and a lower horizontal effective mass than both the Dynavector and Fidelity Research arms due to the clever patented decoupled counterweight system. Not only that but the decoupled counterweight in the horizontal plain also means that the vertical and horizontal resonant frequencies are split and the fundamental resonant peak is much lower. If you do your research and go and find the Shure white papers on tracking, you will find that the fundamental resonance of tonearm/cartridge combinations induces a sweeping motion in the stylus cantilever when tracking even normal grooves. Therefore the ET2 will have the best tracking of any of the arms discussed in this thread.

Whilst I agree with your comment on the ET2 being mechanically ungrounded due to the captured air bearing, Martin Colloms review in Hifi News of the ET2, where he ran some resonance tests, showed that resonances  induced in the arm wand tended to pass through the air bearing relatively unchanged.

I have run the same cartridges through all my arms which include the ET2, Naim Aro, FR64S & Dynavector 501 and I rank them in that order, subject to cartridge compatibility.  
Examples :
Shure V15vmr & vxmr - 1st ET2, 2nd Dynavector 501
Koetsu's - 1st ET2, 2nd FR64S
Dynavector Nova 13D, 1st ET2, 2nd Naim Aro
Ikeda Kiwame - 1st FR64S.
Other arms owned previously include the SME V, Zeta, Alphason, Well Tempered, Syrinx and many others.

PS on the subject of the FR64S I own two of them - one silver wired, the other copper wired.The silver wired version is considerably more transparent than the copper wired version, and is tighter, cleaner and faster particularly in the bottom end. 


Addendum to post above - 
I also own a Dynavector Karat Nova 13D which is set up for Stevenson with its integral headshell.
This should read "standard Dynavector alignment" which is a variation on Stevenson. 

Hi all
I’m looking for budged arm for mid and high compliance MM cartridges for second system (technics sp20).

Those 3 below are from Raul’s list along with Technics EPA-100 mk2 (i wish i could find one).

Anyone elase can say anything about these vintage arms (below) ?

-Stax UA-7 vs. UA-7-CF (carbon fiber) vs. Stax UA-70
-Lustre GST 801
-Denon DA-401


Chakster, If dreams were wishes, beggars would ride. 

Go back a few pages and look for Griffithds on 801, 7045.

The rest is all gobbledygook and purloined poser poison.  

Regards,

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