The pivoted arm experiment is over


I started the thread titled "are linear tracking arms better than pivoted arms" and as a result of the many thought provoking threads that were posted, I decided to revisit pivoted arms again.

First of all, I want to say thanks to Dertonarm for starting me on this journey and all of the help he gave me in setting up my arm. As some of you recall, I purchased a Fidelity Research FR64s, a NOS Orsonic headshell, and an AQ LeoPard tonearm cable. This was all mounted on a new armboard on my VPI TNT table. After I had removed the ET-2 from the TNT and while I was waiting for the new arm and all of the other parts to arrive, I went ahead and did some maintenance to the TNT. I removed the bearing assembly and took it to a machinist for inspection. He didn't like the fact that there was .004 clearance between the spindle and bushing. He pressed out the old bushings, machined new ones, line bored them, and pressed them in. There is now .001 clearance between the spindle and the new bushings. The machinist also micro polished the spindle, cleaned all of the remaining parts, put in new oil, and declared it finished. Dertonarm was emphatic that I install the FR64s 231.5 mm from the spindle to the center of the bearing instead of 230mm as the manual recommends (as well as the template FR provide with the arm. The machinist made a tool from barstock that fits over the spindle of the TNT and has a hole drilled at the other end with the center at exactly 231.5mm. He machined a tramel point that fits in the hole so you can mark the armboard with the exact spot for the correct distance. This tool was used on my new armboard and the hole was precisely drilled for the FR64s. I used the Dennesen Soundtracker to set up the cartridge as recommended by Dertonarm and VTF was set using a digital scale. I have the SDS for my TNT and speed was checked and set using the KAB strobe. I am telling you all of this so that you understand that I went through great pains to install this arm correctly. The cartridge I used during this time was my almost new Benz Glider SL.

I found the FR64s much more difficult/time consuming to set up compared to other pivoted arms I have used over the years. Some of you may disagree, but this is my experience. Most pivoted arms, once you have the cartridge installed, you slide on the main counterweight, make sure the anti-skating is set to zero, move the counterweight until the arm floats level, set the counterweight scale to 0, and then turn it until you have the correct VTF and bingo-Jed's a millionaire. Then you set your anti-skating for whatever makes your socks roll up and down, and your pretty much done. After that you just start dialing your cartridge alignment in with your favorite alignment jig and readjust your VTF. Not so with the FR64s. The FR64s has a main counterweight, a dynamic stabilizer weight, and an anti-skating weight that all must be installed. I am not going to go through all of the necessary steps to get this arm set up, but trust me, if you have never set up a FR64s, it is more difficult than your average pivoted arm that I am used to. Again thanks to Dertonarm for all of the help during this process and Syntax offered some help to me as well which I also appreciate.

Before I removed the ET-2 I broke out a NOS Maxell UD 35-180 tape (I love this tape by the way). I recorded a selection of songs (at 15 ips 2 track on my Otari MX-55)that would showcase the FR64s arm's ability to boogie in the bass as well as track the many dynamic swings that many of these cuts have. I recorded the following songs:

Lyle Lovett-My baby don't tolerate
Lucinda Williams-Righteously
Herb Alpert-Rotation (from the MoFi version)
Talking Heads-Burning down the house
Herbie Hancock-Rocket (from the 12" single)

After I had the FR64s installed for about a week and had it as tweaked out as I knew how to make it, I re-recorded the above selections in reverse order on the same tape. That way at least I had one cut that would play back to back.

Now some of you had sent me emails asking if I had any preliminary findings to share and I demurred. I never claimed to have the fastest ears in the west so I like to take my time and make sure I know what I am talking about so I don't have to eat a plateful of crow later (which I have certainly done before). Well, the jury is in for me, and it is my opinion that the ET-2 is much the better arm. The only thing the ET-2 gives up to the FR64s is a bit of bass punch, but I don't think the bass from the 64s sounds as natural as that from the ET-2. The bass from the 64s almost seems detached from the rest of the music if that makes any sense. There is a myth that linear tracking arms don't have good bass or can't reproduce the bottom octave at all. This is nonsense in my opinion. I can speak for the ET-2 and tell you confidently that it reproduce great bass.

MikeL and I sort of got into an off-topic discussion on the TP forum. MikeL stated (and please correct me if I not capturing the essence of what you said Mike) that he thought his Rockport linear tracking arm was superior to pivoted arms because it tracks the grooves the way they were cut and that as a result, it doesn't have any phase errors. MikeL went on to say that all pivoted arms only have two null points where the geometry is correct and that results in phase errors across the remaining points outside of the null. I didn't agree with Mike's point about phase-I thought Mike was confusing zenith with overhang. Incorrect zenith will affect phase, but I certainly had never heard that pivoted arms caused phase problems across the record except for the null points. What Mike did say and I agree with is that you can tell a big difference between linear tracking arms and pivoted arms. For me, a properly set up linear tracking arm sounds like a master tape with all that implies vice sounding like a good recording. There is a "wholeness" about the sound of linear tracking arms. Music just flows like it does in real life and it feels right. The FR64s and other pivoted arms don't capture that. They almost seem like they are stitching the music together as they go-almost digital like in comparison to linear tracking arms if that makes any sense to you. Another apt comarison would be looking at a picture taken by a cheap digital camera and comparing that picture to one taken from a top-notch film camera. You really can't compare the two in terms of ultimate sound quality as the linear tracking arm is just cut from a different cloth. I know that will set some people's teeth on edge, but sorry, the truth is the truth. I really do think the secret is the fact that the linear tracking arm is tracing the record the way it was cut instead of tracing an arc across the record with incorrect geometry 99% of the time. You can argue that the errors are slight when using 10" and longer tonearms, but errors they are. Also, the other benefit to linear tracking arms in my mind is no anti-skating is required. That is one less thing to fiddle with and neurose over. The sound of music from a linear tracking arm lives and breathes in a way that music does in real life and it is all cut from the same cloth. Pivoted arms that I have heard can't capture that. Unless you have heard a good linear tracking arm in your system, you won't know what I am talking about and you can be happy with what you have.

In closing, I know that the FR64s is not the most expensive pivoted arm in the world and some of you may sniff your upturned nose and say I should have used a "better" arm. I am really not going to listen to any of that drivel. I spent around $3K setting up this experiment and I know that the FR64s is considered a damn fine tonearm which is why I bought it. I am also finished with discussions about linear tracking arms being harder on cartridges and they can't have great bass. I had many years of great service with my Van den Hul MC-10 in an ET-2. My Denon 103R did develop a slight twist in the cantilever, but that may or may not have been caused by the ET-2. You are supposed to use high compliance cartridges with the ET-2 and not low compliance cartridges like the Denon 103R. The Benz Glider is a much better match with the ET-2 and it sounds way better than the 103R. Even if it is true that linear tracking arms cause greater wear to the cartridge suspension-so what? Most audiophiles change their cartridges more frequently than they change their underwear and they would never know. MikeL has the same experience that I had and that is he saw no wear over years with his Van den Hul. But even if it is true that linear tracking arms cause greater wear and tear to a cartridge, that is a small price to pay for the superior sound over the life of the cartridge.

I reinstalled my ET-2 last night and I haven't stopped grinning since. There is no doubt that if I would have made the recording of the ET-2 with the bearing improvements to my TNT, it would sound even better than it does. My LP setup has never sounded better now that my TNT bearing has been massaged and the ET-2 is back. I stayed up until way-late o'clock last night because I just didn't want to stop listening to music. Over and out.
mepearson
Lewm, I've not heard the Trans-Fi yet but I have customers that really like it.
Ddriveman,
the original geometry of the FR-64s is largely due to the misunderstanding of this tonearm in particular among some audiophiles.
When mounting the FR-64s at 231.5 mm distance, the geometry results in the following optimized parameters:
- overhang 14.5 mm (original: 15 mm)
- offset angle is now 21.4°(original: 22°)
- effective length is now 246 mm (original: 244 mm)

As far as I know Mr. Yip does not recommend using his MINT tractor for the FR-64s with this altered mounting distance. And I agree.

This altered mounting distance with consequently altered overhang/offset and effective length does result in a MUCH better tangential tracking error curve.
Here on Audiogon I have stated several times, that the geometry of the FR-64s in particular is quite different from the IEC-based geometry and I can only encourage everyone interested in really getting the very best from this tonearm to use the original 1st version of the Dennesen Soundtractor (aluminum made - beware, there are several fakes around which altered geometry !!).
When optimized, the maximum tracking error curve is pretty impressive and gives a maximum error of only 1.3°.
dear Lewm, I was hoping that Mepearson may have observed differences in cantilever deflection since he was using the same cartridge on the same table. I have sat in front of my table for several records watching the stylus to see if I could observe any excessive movement or deflections. I could not see anything unusual (except for one offcenter record where the whole arm moved in and out a little) but i did not have a reference point. I understand the mechanics and principles of the stress that Dertonarm shared in the other post and commented several times in the previous post but the key question is whether the stresses will impact the integrity of the music(it performance of the cartridge) or reduce the life of the cartridge. Mepearson's work is the best comparison I have seen short of an earlier work done by a review in sterophile back when the airtangent arm first hit the market. I am heavily invested in the linear arm tables currently owning 3 different maplenoll tables as well as a small handful of cartridges so understanding this cartridge life issue is very important to me. That being said, I do not have any complaints concerning the quality of the sound coming from my system. Could it be better? most likely yes as I have learned best is nothing but a transient state as technologies and human ingenuity continue to improve our systems.
Mepearson,

i've been in Syracuse NY though the weekend for the NCAA BB tournament and missed this thread until just now.

congrats on the great effort to figure out what sort of arm is right for you. and we all had fun along the way exchanging viewpoints and biases, as well as some great insights.

regarding our exchange on the TP Forum; i think you related my perspective correctly. i do think that a linear tracker has the potential to be exactly correct regarding the the 'phase' (relative timing of musical pieces) of the music. whereas a pivoted tonearm can only be exactly accurate in phase in two momentary spots. not to say that a properly set-up pivoted arm might not be very close on phase when not on those two spots. furthermore; the clear sonic attribute of a greater sense of space and soundstage stability and completeness with a linear tracker is the clear result of this advantage.

human hearing is particularly sensitive to phase differences as that is what locates things for us. we get lots of practice hearing phase.....every waking moment of our whole life. one big reason PCM digital sounds relatively flat to us is that the decimation process reduces phase accuracy in high frequecies. reel to reel tape has such a solid sound because phase is always perfect.

my idea for this perspective came from hearing Fremer speak in a seminar at RMAF about how the Feikert software used for cartridge set-up has found that getting phase correct is really what causes a cartridge to 'snap-in' to the ideal azimuth. thinking about that, and how a pivoted arm will swing in and out of ideal phase depending on the point on the arc it makes sense that a linear tracker won't have to suffer that. Mikey did not make this connection although maybe he thinks this too. i don't know. and maybe, the simpleton that i am, i'm missing something (or many things) here and i'm (all) wrong.

maybe the word 'phase' is not what i should call this characteristic; if there is a better one then someone please chime in.
Mikelavigne, Mepearson, as the "phase issue" related to stylus polished area deflection is coming up in this thread more and more, let me add a few comments.
Yes, phase shifting and its impact on our listening experience is both - huge and little explored.
And yes, - I think it is the right phrase.
However, phase shift takes place with each and every tonearm and cartridge. If to different degrees. We have lots of cartridges on the market with built-in-phase-shift due to their design. We have a huge percentage of phono stages (tube based and ss based - but mainly tube based, I admit...) and SUTs with considerable phase shift towards the lower frequencies.
All these fountains of phase shift do have a higher impact on the sonic result than the tiny deflection of the tracking error. Especially so as this again depends on the size and shape of the respective stylus.
And - hands down - every linear tonearm NOT graced by an "zero-time-automatic-progression" does by principle do have a phase shift too,- due to declination needed and happening to stimulate its progression.
The answer to the question - when reduced to the arc or line of zero tracking error is within the groove. Lets look at the dimensions of the groove and the corresponding polished area of the stylus and you have the answer.
And now - all the other sources of phase shift, within the cartridge, SUT, phone stage AND - last not least - the huge phase shifts in each speaker, crossover and room resonances (ever with Mikelavigne's fine tuned room...) jump into place.
Believe me - regarding influence, we are talking about a tiny young tree here while missing the whole forrest.......
Phase shift is all around our listening-systems. And the tracking error is the very least and most tiny source of them all.