Discuss The Viv Lab Rigid Arm

@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.

Neon, I would check with Expert Stylus in the UK. They seem to source Ortofon related parts , or suitable replacements. I gather you think the OEM cantilever is not salvageable.

@intactaudio , Dave, JR is a pen pal. There is a new design for the stage of the WallyScope. I am in part responsible for the design change. I have the exact same microscope JR uses except it is on a laboratory grade stage which makes it easier to adjust. To look at zenith you need to put reference marks on the cartridge or whatever the cartridge is sitting on then you snap lines across the reference marks then on the long axis of the stylus. The program then automatically calculates the angle. In all my cartridges that is Zero degrees +- a few minutes. 

I am not your usual casual audiophile. I was in the business for a decade and I am a technocrat and tool collector. If it can be done I can usually do it, in analog fashion anyway. I do not have any CNC equipment because I do not make production runs. All my furnisher are one offs. I have way more capability than JR ever dreamed of.  I will put a picture of the SteinScope on my system page so you can see if you can figure out how I made it. 

@clearthinker , Thanx for doing the calculation. I'm lazy. IMHO VTA towers are a complete waste of money. A scale on the tonearm's barrel is a very useful touch. It is always nice to have repeatable measurements. The real riot is that people will say up is brighter down is duller (I may have that reversed). As the stylus tilts off the axis of the cutter head in either direction the contact line can no longer fit into the smallest modulations, this high frequency ones. Moving the tonearm up or down creates a mechanical low pass filter. You loose the high frequencies in either direction. This is a great example of people letting their brains fool them. 

@rauliruegas , All I can say is that people are entitled to like what they want but then they are not true audiophiles. A true audiophile knows that technology advances and there is always better, more accurate sound around the corner. You have to wade through all the BS to get there, but that is life with humans. A true audiophile is never entirely happy with their system. The view this hobby as an evolutionary process. In our day audiophiles built their own equipment. Wait till you see the subwoofers I come up with!

News Flash, The Atlas Lambda SL has landed somewhere in the US. I will have it in a few days. It's New Cartridge Time! Break out the Champaign and the SmarTractor. 

@mijostyn 

You are quite correct that many people including a lot here allow their brains to fool them about what they are hearing.  That is of course because their brains are far more complex than mere hearing machines and do not accurately report the sound they are listening to.

This is why I took the handle CLEARTHINKER in part in the hope of explaining this to those people.

I think I am pleased not quite to be a true audiophile within your definition.  I changed my pre-amp and phono amp in 2020 and I sometimes buy a new cartridge (usually high-end Ortofon if something interesting is announced - must be flea-weight mass for the ultra lightweight Aeroarm).  But my system is pretty much in a steady state now and I love it the way it is.  Anyway, Clearthinker points out that technological changes are not always sound quality advances.