Experience With Linear Tracking Turntables

Hi, The Bergmann Galder is a very well put together unit. It has vacuum clamping a big plus and uses an air cushion thrust system like the TechDas turntables, also a plus. Unlike the TechDas tables it does not have an adequate isolating suspension. It has a DC motor. I personally prefer AC 3 phase motors and suspended tables. Air bearing arms are virtually frictionless and it is very spooky how they slide along. Unfortunately (here he goes again) they have a very high horizontal effective mass which in my opinion and the opinion of my oscilloscope causes havoc with every cartridge I have seen in such an arm. Air bearing arms are very sensitive to level. They have to be just right or they will favor one direction over the other. If you get the Galder I would put a pivoted arm on it. If you want a tangential tracker by all means get a Schroder LT or if you have money to spare a Reed 5T. Both arms are superior in design to the Bergmann arm and would look very sharp on that turntable. For this kind of money I think your should look at the Dohmann Helix. It has possibly the best suspension of any turntable available today, a great drive system and will soon have vacuum clamping.

I have an early 80's Pioneer PL-L800 that I found in a thrift shop for $15.  It had no cartridge, so they couldn't test it.  I took it home and to be cautious, I installed a simple Ortofon Omega ($36) cartridge.  It plays great and it's one of the best $50 I have ever spent!  Cool design and works perfect. 

Thanks for the responses thus far.  I understand the benefits of a linear tracking tonearm.  From a common sense standpoint coupled with high school geometry, it does make sense.  

But if is such a good thing, then why are there so few linear tracking turntables out there?  Is it merely economics & price points?  Stands to reason that it is more expensive to produce these arms.

There are so few because there are no benefits! Read your question again: 

But if is such a good thing

That is the question: IF! IF it is such a good thing then yes. But is it? Since when? It looks good on paper. That's it!

On paper a pivoted arm is never tracking except at two infinitesimally small points as it moves across the record. If tracking error was such a big deal then everyone would hear it, right? Right? So then there would be comments all over the place from people, "I hate records because the distortion is so high at the beginning, and in the middle, and at the end, and it only sounds good for like a fraction of a second."

So I ask you, where are all those comments? Where are there ANY comments from ANYONE saying ANYTHING about how this bothers them? Not the geometric theory part. The actual hearing part. I'll tell you: NOWHERE! Tangential arms are a solution looking for a problem that does not exist. Except maybe in the minds of people who bought into tangential tracking arms.

I own Mitsubishi LT-30. All 15 kg of it.

Having said that, belt became goo and, maybe, it will be replaced at some point. If I can clean the mess it left there.

As far as simplicity goes, it is not simple. Not just a motor, belt (or no belt), platter, and an inert arm with cartridge. This one also takes a regular headshell.

At this point in history, it is a nice novelty, but I do not see, or have heard, much advantage over an ordinary turntable.

"I lucked into this Vertical Linear TT which has conventional and removable headshell."

In fact, some of the linear tracking turntables were advertised as "it can play upright, too". Technics SL-7 (mentioned above) and SL-10 were that way, too.

Technics SL 7 turntable played vertically - YouTube