Arm and cart resonance range -- discussion

The general opinion is, that it is fine when the result is between 8-12.
It is overrated and I don't give much for it. Today you have different materials in the Arms (Steel, Aluminum, Wood, Titan etc. etc.)
These materials all have different resonances. Next, you have different kind of bearings (from construction and from design). these differences can be huge.
Back to life
I have (and had) combinations which have been between 9.7 -10.0- 10.4
Nearly super, but I was amazed that some carts performed MUCH better in Arms where the "calculation" showed different datas.
This calculation is more or less a help but I don't give a dime for it. A good designed tonearm is much more important.
I wrote several times about that when I made my comparisons with my Arms and Datas and the result was always the same, the best quality Arms worked best with a lot of cartridges at superior level. And other Arms only with a few ones.
Btw. Cartridge design does not stop with compliance, how they react with a tonearm can be totally different, but you never read something about that.
Lyra for example are superior in top Arms only, when used in Arms with cheap bearings you get an analytical sound which is not a pleasure to listen to. It is quite interesting.

I agree with Syntax - the calculations don't tell you everything. There are some generalities that can point you in the right direction, but your ears will tell you whether your cartridge and arm are a good match. That's true for both the top quality arms and the less expensive ones.

David

Further agreement with Syntax. Those numbers won't tell you anything about how a particular combination will sound. All they can do is identify a serious mis-match, and those are rare.

The large majority of today's cartridge/arm combos resonate close enough to the 8-12 Hz range so that interactions with musical information (above 12) or warps/footfalls (below 8) will not occur.

Avoiding those two problems is the ONLY purpose of this calculation and those problems are rare - except for Grado's of course ...

There are many important parameters to consider when choosing a new arm and cartridge. These numbers should be at the bottom of the list if they're on the list at all.