Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

There seems there’s much for me to learn with cartridge behavior regarding the hierarchy of TAE: zenith, over/under-hang geometry and anti-skate - including potentials with different profile styli.

Or, instead of concentrating on stylus tracking angle error, maybe a little thought into motor stability theory is in order?

In my way of thinking, there’s something seriously going on with lateral movement or stability that needs to be addressed.

Validity lies in the sonic experience which no doubt is extremely positive by every firsthand account.

As typically understood, correlation of numerical data does not always explain what sounds good.

Neon, Based on the post by J Carr in which he discussed various cantilever materials and also expressed the opinion that in retipping or restoring a cartridge, one might be best off sticking to the original chosen cantilever material, on the premise that the cartridge was designed and voiced with that material, I would choose to stick with aluminum if replacing the cantilever on an MC2000.  On the same grounds, better yet would be to re-tip the original aluminum cantilever.  Now I do respect Raul's opinions, and he did say that he likes the boron cantilever on his MC2000, or what once was his MC2000.  But we also know what Raul and Mijo think about the phrase "I like it" when other people use it.

@lewm the issue is there is not a tapered aluminum cantilever available to replace a damaged OEM one. Not through any cartridge builder that I am aware of. I wondered if the one fitted to an Ortofon Cadenza Bronze could be a possibility, but you cannot source one. 

When this first occurred I didn't touch an album for 4 or 5 months. I was really quite upset with myself. Only after I was able to contact @nandric and buy his MC2000 was all right in the world again. Then I had a reason to consider a repair of the first cartridge. This way I had an OEM version to appreciate, and still have an alternative to use for casual listening. Now if I could have found a suitable replacement I would use it in a heartbeat. But I do not know of one. 

@mijostyn     You mention the unnecessary obsession with VTA.  I agree with you.  You guess the error from playing a 130gm LP on a setting for 200gm at 'a few minutes maybe'.  I have done the calculation, assuming a 9 inch arm and a 1mm thickness difference (I haven't measured, but it's no more than that).  The answer is 1.8 minutes, so even less than your guess.  That cannot be heard.

My Simon Yorke Aeroarm has a dial for adjusting arm height on the fly.  There is a big stiff round knob.  I could measure the angular turn for say 0.1mm of change, mark a reference point adjacent to the knob, and set absolutely for each disc, having measured the thickness in the playing area with a caliper (carefully!) and written that dimension on the inner sleeve.

But I don't.  If Michael Fremer still used Simon Yorke equipment he would surely do it, and have a very nice record player as well.

@neonknight Thanks for mentioning the Dynavector DV505. That seems like it could be the perfect solution for my situation in that it’s a flush-mount and doesn’t require a massive hole to be drilled in my plinth. I’ve ordered one. It’s a bit of a fiddly arm, but the Rigid Float is just as fiddly if not moreso. From my limited use, there always seems to be a feeling of there being some slop, e.g. if I pull the cartridge out and put it back in, I feel like the azimuth shifts slightly.The VTA adjustment is kind of a pain, too.

I’m not sure how the unique Dynavector design will track 78s--hopefully a slightly heavier headshell will have enough effective mass to track my lower-compliance cantilevers with higher tracking forces properly without resonances. Overall it seems a lot more scientifically-grounded than the Rigid Float.