Used Morch DP-6 or modified Origin Live Silver?

The Morch DP-6 is a dual bearing design, while the UP-4 is a unipivot. The DP-6 has a ball bearing damped with silicon in the horizontal. It uses two sapphire bearings in the vertical. Damping in both planes is separate. Vertical can be adjusted. One of the sapphire bearings is used to provide azimuth adjustment.

I agree with Greg that $800 for a good used Morch DP-6 is good money spent. I have found the Morch arms very fluid and accurate. I heard the DP-6 as nearly straight neutral and the UP-4 as just a hair on the warm side of neutral.

Personally, I think that the Morch is a better sounding arm than the Silver with the midrage a little more forward inthe presentation, but that may well differ depending on table and cartridge, I'm sure. And, I've never heard one with the now famous HiFi mod. The Silver has less "adjustments" and is, therefore, easier to set and forget. The Morch is a bit more work and likely no the arm for someone fearful of "working with" their tomearm

Thank you all for your responses.

Twl,
Obviously I know you're the inventor of the mods, no need to recuse yourself. I've read all of that amazing thread and everyone who's tried it declares it's a keeper. You should be proud of your baby.

It's good to know that azimuth adjustment is "optional".

I had the same reaction as you to the concept of vertical damping. Damping the arm at the beginning and end of a warp would momentarily increase effective tracking weight. This "should" have only a minor sonic effect. Damping the arm at the top of the warp would prevent a momentary decrease in effective tracking force. This "should" help prevent mis-tracking that might otherwise be audible. Theoretical conclusion: a judicious amount of vertical damping should provide audible benefits on warped records, though possibly minor ones. I suppose experimentation would be in order.

Thanks for the tip on the Expressimo Heavyweight. How would you compare it to your suspended weight mod?

Gregm,
Thanks for the Morch insights. There aren't many users of this arm so it's hard to find a review. Your observations were especially pertinent since our music is also 99% classical, including lots of large scale works. That's what steered me toward the 901 vs. the 501. The 901 reportedly shines in large scale works.

Yes it will be a fairly exotic setup, though hardly in Twl's league. The rest of my stuff is downright pedestrian by comparison. I doubt I'll ever buy another TT. I can't say that about anything else in the system.

4yanx,
At last! Someone who's heard both arms, even if un-modded. Your comparison is about what I would have guessed, but my expectations are based entirely on reading rather than listening. Always best to get an ears-on report. I don't particularly fear working with a tonearm, but then you know what they say about fools and angels!

All,
The Morch was just snapped up by someone else. (If it was one of you, grrr!) Looks like it will be an OL Silver after all. Thanks again for the help. Maybe I'll upgrade to a DP-6 next year, after paying off all this exotica. Really like the idea of a 12" arm. I haven't needed to adjust for skating or non-tangent tracking in over 25 years.

Doug

Doug, I think that you will be well served my the Silver. Please realize that when I indicated a preference for the Morch DP-6, it is a matter of rather small degrees. Both are fine arms. I felt the Morch presented the midrange a bit better and had slightly tighter bass. If the HiFi mods retify this, you are all set. Plus, when the two are compared on a retail price basis, this speaks very highly of the Silver. Best of luck.

Doug, this rig you are assembling will definitely exceed what I am using. You will be quite happy with it, I'm sure.

As for the Heavyweight on the Silver arm, I have used the standard OL counterweight, the Heavyweight, and am now using my prototype hanging counterweight. For overall performance, they fall in that order: standard, Heavyweight, hanging counterweight.

For normal OL users, the Heavyweight is the best available option, because it is just a "drop in" part that installs quickly. It makes a nice improvment in tracking ability and sound, and is worth the money.

I am just an inveterate tweaker, and had to try some ideas that I had about counterweight theory. Again, it proved out that my hunch was correct, and the hanging counterweight definitely outperformed the Heavyweight. It would do fine on a Teres, but I don't think it will work well on a suspended table, because all that flopping around will cause the hanging weight to do too much swinging. On the Teres is sits dead still, except when you swing the arm over to cue a record. It stills itself pretty quickly, and isn't problematic at all on the Teres. I am not selling the hanging counterweight, but if you want to make one you can email me, and I'll give you instructions on how to make it.

Too bad about the Morch being gone, but I don't think that you'll be hurting any with the OL Silver, especially when modded with the HiFi, and possibly with the hanging counterweight. With both those mods, there is a very substantial improvement to the sound of the Silver arm, which is already, by itself, quite a nice arm. There is no doubt in my mind that my modded Silver is in the category of the "super arms". No doubt whatsoever. I wouldn't be at all worried about comparing it against anything there is. At the very least, it would give a very good account for itself, and maybe it might even win. For the money that is invested, it is no contest. The performance increase from the mods is very big, and every user that has tried the HiFi has been shocked at the amount of improvement. I have had no negative comments from anybody, and they are all ecstatic with it. The hanging counterweight is not as big of an improvement, but it makes the arm more liquid sounding, and unencumbered. More lively, open, and responsive. Tracks better too. I don't want to get carried away with superlatives, but this is a damn good arm with the mods, and I really like it. I have under $800 in it, since I bought it before the price increase, and mods were practically free.

Thanks 4yanx. I have NO doubts this rig will blow my current one away. (For $6K+ it had better!) I'm not at all unhappy about going with the OL. It's been on my shortlist for months and actually became the arm of choice after I read the HIFI mod thread. I only went looking again after the evil Chris Brady created the drop-dead gorgeous Teres 265. My partner thought the OL Silver a bit plain by comparison. The Morch certainly answers in that category. Oh well.

Instrumental/voice timbres matter most to me and I can't tolerate digital nastiness, but Paul needs to hear clean attacks/decays and clear, powerful bass. We're a tough pair to satisfy but I think this setup will. Twl's outriggers reportedly control the arm and help the bass, which should be especially good with a Shelter 901. Dammit! I may just order the Classic Records re-release of 'Pictures at an Exhibition' (Reiner/CSO) right now.

Twl, I doubt my store-bought amp will outshine the HOLY GRAIL. :)

I had exactly the same concerns as you about the hanging counterweight (reading your thoughts on that mega-thread was very educational). It might be a disaster on a Linn, but on a Teres, no problem. No floppin' around! I won't be set up for about a month and need to get my feet wet before going too crazy. I've never adjusted VTA/SRA or even used a VTF gauge. Once I climb up the learning curve a bit I'll let you know if I want to try it. Thanks.

Interesting that you find the hanging counterweight,
"makes the arm more liquid sounding, and unencumbered. More lively, open, and responsive." In his review of the OL Encounter for StereoTimes, Paul Szabady said, "The Encounter was in complete control. In comparison, the Encounter's less expensive brother, the Silver, sounded a bit like an over-achiever, less confident in its ability and so pushing harder to make a good impression and occasionally losing control."

Your description of a modded Silver and his description of the Encounter sound strikingly similar to me. I'm very encouraged.