I had a go at re-wiring the tonearm on my Kenwood L07D, which has a separate part number, L07J. I gave up when I found that I could not separate the vertical shaft from the pivot housing, even after all fasteners that might have prevented the separation had been removed. I don't know what was holding them together, but I was loathe to exert total brute force. So, after several tries with "moderate" effort applied, I gave it up. With every pivoted tonearm, the delicate internal wires need somehow to get past the bearing at the pivot and must be installed so as not to impede the bearing in any plane. The job was too scary for me. I have conceived of a "quick and dirty" method, which I intend to apply to the L07J; one could run the wires entirely external to the arm tube but fixed to the arm tube with bits of tape, from above the headshell back to the pivot. Then fix the four leads right over the pivot point (so not to impede its motion) and run them maybe another foot back of the arm or all the way to the phono stage. I guess the same could be done with the FR tonearms, but mine has "Silver Inside", and I have no issues with short circuits. The L07J has Litz wire inside, which is commendable for low capacitance but I have always perceived a sort of sluggish coloration from Litz wire interconnects. The Kenwood, nevertheless sounds fine, but could it be better with "better" wire? This is what keeps us awake at night (for 5 minutes).
Fidelity Research FR-64 vs. FR-54
In a prior discussion, I had asked about tonearm suggestions for a Luxman PD-441 table that currently has a Denon DA-307 tonearm and Grado The Reference high output cartridge. Many suggestions were provided. A Fidelity Research FR-64 was suggested as a simple replacement. I'm wondering if the FR-54 would also be good, being that it is mentioned in the Luxman manual in the same category as the Denon arm on there now?
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- 143 posts total
- 143 posts total