What Does It Take To Surpass A SME V?
Thinking about the possibility of searching for a new tonearm. The table is a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse. Cartridge currently in use is a Transfiguration Audio Proteus, and it also looks like I will also have an Ortofon Verismo if a diamond replacement occurs without incident.
The V is an early generation one but in good condition with no issues. Some folks never thought highly of the arm, others thought it quite capable. So it's a bit decisive.
The replacement has to be 9 to 10.5 inches. I have wondered if Origin Live is worth exploring? Perhaps a generation old Triplanar from the pre owned market?
Any thoughts on what are viable choices?
The 3012R has a charm to the sound. I have set up multiple cartridges on the 4Point11 and have never heard it sound over damped. It is very quick, and quite neutral. I don't use the damping troughs on the 4Point. As always with tonearms, the results can vary depending on the actual TT used and mounting. |
Dear @peterayer : my mistake in my last post: " it’s not a VTF balance design " and should say: it's not a dynamic VTF design.
Yes, I remember your thread about and if you re-read my posts down there say almost the same with the additional issue of the external arm pod that per se could change everything.
Each one of us like some kind of distortions/color and nothing wrong with that but in an unbiased way affirm that the 3012R is superior to the V12 has no sense due to several disadvantages with the vintage one but if only one disadvantage could be enough is the different tonearm bearing design in favor of the V12.
R. |
Dear @dover : I don't think no-one else can win what is my take on any audio thread is that all of us are winners with no loosers at all.
In a thread if you confirm that what you know is confirmed by other gentlemans then you win because now you are more sure your knowledge is in the rigth side but if things are that what you know in reality is wrong through other gentlemans posts you still win because you can go out of your " error/mistake " and a third possibility is that in an audio subject " suddenly " through other gentlemans posts you took in count that you leraned something new.
In all those scenarios you win and no one lost nothing.
R. |
Dear @dgarretson : Nice to " see " you again, in many threads we need you.
" livelier ", well that's exactly what SAEC owners including me think about those double knife tonearm designs.
As a fact I owned 3 SAEC's and I bougth due to the comments of Japanese audiophiles opinions I found out elsewhere including the advertasing through the USA distributor Japanese Stereo in CA ( seveal years ago ) and those opinions came in comparison between the SAEC 506/8000 vs the Micro Seiki MAX 237/282 that I owned too and those audiophiles said exactly the same as you for the 3012R and the Kuzma where for the Japanese the Kuzma was the MAX 237/282.
That's why I bougth the SAEC's when I already owned the Micro Seiki's and yes the SAEC was " livelier " and the MAX tonearms just as your opinion of the Kuzma till I learned first from where came that " livelier " and second why the MAX was really a superior tonearms. The livelier came from the knife bearing with its tiny " rattle " and in the other side that the SAEC's are not a well damped design: more or less like the 3012R. When I learned and even that the SAEC's looks just great and were build with a very high quality levels I prefers the MAX all the way down and till today. The MAX is perhaps one of the best tonearem designs and along the Lustre GT-801 the only dynamic baknce design that just does not ring like a bell with its VTF set up mechanism..
Even that great MAX/Lustre dynamic balance characteristics I ended using both through gravity forces that's the natural way for VTF. Dgarretson, as I said before each one of us like what we like, it's our privilege. Welcomed, R. |
