Reed 5T Opinions

The Wallytools person I spoke to at a show said thar the $1250 microscope is used primarily to set VTA/SRA but that it is not useful for reading zenith. For that, you send your cartridge to them and they use an ultra expensive microscope and give you the zenith correction which you can make with another tool of theirs.  The representative said that none of the big makers of styli currently do a good job of accurately mounting styli as far as zenith is concerned, but they have said that they will look into this now that they have been shown data on this issue.  

I saw the 5T at a show.  The base looks like it is too large for my Basis Debut.  What a relief, I won’t be tempted.  It is a thing of beauty, and the engineering appears to account for and mitigate all of the shortcomings of linear tracking design (except cost).  It works on the same principle as the Shroeder LT arm, except the rotating base is powered by a motor controlled by a laser sensor whereas the LT base moves from the drag of the stylus playing the groove and is controlled by magnets.  I wonder how these two arms compare in performance.

"Normally this friction just generates heat." ...and the skating force in a conventional pivoted tonearm.

The term "zenith" seems to have been re-invented for our particular obsession.  If you look it up, there is no dictionary definition that fits Mijostyn's definition, but I think he got it right as it now applies to vinyl reproduction.  A friend who is well known in the industry has been looking closely at zenith for typical cartridges and typical alignments.  As I understand his messages to me, he finds that almost never is it perfectly right.  We are all living with bad zenith.  BAD, I tell you!

Sounds like the Reed 5A is somewhat like the Swiss Thales.  It just stands to reason that the complex bearing structure, no matter how beautifully wrought, must generate friction.  It remains to be seen how or whether that affects SQ.  Based on Molly's testimony probably not much if at all.

The 5a is based on a design like the Thales arm and so it has additional pivots to locate the arm.  That is not the case with the 5T.  With the 5T the arm’s motion is only restricted by conventional pivots.  When the arm is slightly out of tangent, a laser beam and sensor detects this condition and a servo motor slowly rotates base that the arm is on to reestablish proper geometry.  Other designs have used optical sensors and servos (like the B&O Beogram 4000), but, the slow rotation of the arm base is supposedly smoother and less likely to cause vibration.

When the arm is slightly out of tangent, a laser beam and sensor detects this condition and a servo motor slowly rotates base that the arm is on to reestablish proper geometry.  

So in a nutshell it is just like digital - only a little bit out all of the time ( apart from the start ).

Reminds me of the Goldmund linear tracker waltzing across the record -

2 steps forward, 1 step back, hippity hoppity boo, I see a new cartridge for you.

At least with the Goldmund you had a flashing led to show you how often the arm was out ( most ).

I'll stick to my air bearing linear tracking Eminent Technology ET2 if I want zero tracking angle error.