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Are linear tracking arms better than pivoted arms?

My answer to this question is yes. Linear tracking arms trace the record exactly the way it was cut. Pivoted arms generally have two null points across the record and they are the only two points the geometry is correct. All other points on the record have a degree of error with pivoted arms. Linear tracking arms don't need anti-skating like pivoted arms do which is another plus for them.

Linear tracking arms take more skill to set up initially, but I feel they reward the owner with superior sound quality. I have owned and used a variety of pivoted arms over the years, but I feel that my ET-2 is superior sounding to all of them. You can set up a pivoted arm incorrectly and it will still play music. Linear tracking arms pretty much force you to have everything correct or else they will not play. Are they worth the fuss? I think so.
mepearson
dertonarm
1,042 posts
 
Cutting lathe/cutting head can not be compared to a linear tonearm at all.
A cutting head is not tracking a groove.
It is engraving it into a virgin vinyl. Thats why its active. It doesn't care for the groove margin - it literally creates it.

There are 12" tonearms out there which do feature a rigidity in both their armpipe and bearing which is the equal to the very best 9 and 10" tonearms.
hiho
451 posts
 

Deronarm: "Cutting lathe/cutting head can not be compared to a linear tonearm at all. A cutting head is not tracking a groove. It is engraving it into a virgin vinyl. That's why it's active. It doesn't care for the groove margin - it literally creates it."

That's exactly the point!!
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hiho
451 posts
 
By the way, I just read through more posts by Dertonarm and really appreciate your insight from the point of view of both design and operation. It's refreshing to read pieces that are not constantly going back to the same old pornographic sonic analysis like audio magazines. Hats off to you.
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dgarretson
2,588 posts
 
It may be interesting to factor in an arm's versatility with respect to navigating anomalous off-center and warped records. However at SOTA the question is always about the best of all possible worlds. It is therefore reasonable to ask which design is better assuming a physically "perfect" record? In any case for this crowd a second pivot arm like a 4-wheel drive vehicle is probably within reach to handle the occasional blizzard. A relatively small percentage of my LPs are flawed w/r to warpage or eccentricity. Assuming a decent biscuit, I am won over by the relatively superior tangency of the linear arm and the low-resonance achievable with a very short wand as available in certain linear designs. With a low-resonance short wand(as distinguished from degree of rigidity) all bets are off. Could anyone who has used a 1"-2" wand comment on their experience?
darkmoebius
900 posts
 
03-04-10: Hiho
I forgot the mention another solution such as the Thales arm that is a combination of pivot and linear tracker by self adjust to tangency in a PASSIVE system. Very clever indeed.
Thanks for the mention of the Thales tonearm, I'd never even heard of it - some very interesting reading.
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