Unipivot vs Linear Tracking

I own the Scheu Premier mkII(80mm platter) along with the top of the line 9" Scheu Tacco unipivot AND the Cartridge Man Conductor linear tracking, air bearing, tonearm(HiFi Plus review). Both cost ~$3,000 US.

Unfortunately, I do not have the Premier with dual armboards(nor two of each cartridge), so it is impossible to A/B comparisons. Nor am I anything close to an expert at setup, so I have no idea if I have ever heard an optimal cart/arm matching in my system.

Which sounds better on the Scheu?

I really don't know. The amount of time between setups is so great, I would be lying if I even tried to venture a guess. I can say both knock my socks off when mounted and properly dialed in. So much so, that in the last year and a half, I haven't been able to get up the guts to sell either off.

Both have the advantages and disadvantages. Aesthetics go to the Tacco. Ease of use/setup goes to the Conductor.

Primary dowsides: As with all LT's, pump noise and air hiss is an issue to deal with, especially if your turntable is close to the listening position.

The Unipivot always causes stress/fear when cueing an expensive cart. Nothing like seeing it do it's version of a drunken jackhammer.

There just happens to be a NEW series II Graham Phantom out,as of now!....Supposedly some "serious" mods have been made to it!

If I'm lucky,I'll have it in about a week or two.Along with a newly modded pre/phonostage(new V-teflon caps and a new figamajig P/S....power factor correction circuitry)....

Maybe I'll feel differently about my previous experiences with my pal's wonderful LTT set-up.Of course I'd be shocked if I could match what I've heard in the past,but I'm confident I'll have a pretty acceptable level of performance.

Only problem is the 400 hour break-in of the new phonostage caps.I'm not one to leave something on continuously to break it in.

So,acording to the jabs I've been getting from my friends,I should have some meaningful feedback by Thanks Giving -:)

At least I'll be able to play LP's again.Something ALL of "you" guys have been able to do,that I could NOT for WAY too long!....

Hence,my angst!

Hello Raul, well I think, to the inherent quality of the turntable itself. The LT has - normally - are very wide soundstage and is very silent between the notes. This can be limited from the TT itself (from the construction, there are limitations in the music flow), probably these old Micro Seikis are better in that than most of todays designs.

Dear Thomasheisig: Thank you and one more question: that very close relantionship between a quality TT and LTT can/could show with any cartridge ( I mean the ones you own. )?

regards and enjoy the music.
raul.

James
With the Conductor, air pressure is not critical as much as volume of air flow since it is a low pressure design. There is some low level "hiss" from the air escaping the air beam, which is not audible from the listening position. Cleaning of the air beam should be using alcohol swipes, and avoid the small holes on the beam. There's also a dust filter on the air pump, which is a simple to maintain.

For high pressure designs - Air Tangent, Walker, Kuzma, ET, etc. the pressure, moisture/oil removal and the smoothing tanks are critical. I've only seen the Walker close up, and his latest design takes care of all these parameters for relatively trouble-free playback.

As to how pressure impacts on bass - my gut feeling is that this is rather a relationship between the air's mass and design, and the system's (tonearm/cart) resonant frequency, rather than the pressure. The LTTs I've heard have not lacked bass at all, in fact I think they reproduce bass more "accurately" since theoretically there's no bearing chatter. You'll be surprised how similar the Schroeder and Conductor sound, both carbon fibre arm tubes.