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What’s your favourite tonearm?

koi

koi

pfm Member
I have used quite a few over the years paired with different turntables.

Mission 744/lp12
Linn Ekos/lp12
Naim Aro/lp12
Well tempered/with own arm
Garrard 301/Morch dp6
Thorens td124/Morch up4
Mitchell orbe/sme 3009

Currently Using two arms on a Nottingham Analogue Dais/Ace Anna/Alphason

My two favourites are Naim Aro /Linn Lp12 & Dais/Anna

Didn’t realise how many Turntables,Tonearms I’ve used over the years.

Anyway what’s your favourites, if it’s been done before apologies :)
 
12" Ittok and SME V

Still have both.
I really hated the flimsiness of the Haycock and was not impressed by the 3009.
I quite liked the 9" Ittok and Technoarm.
 
One I forgot Ittok 9” on my Lp12 that was rather good changed to Ekos as recommend at the time,wasn’t a great difference to be honest.
 
Hifi opinion is a funny old thing , for me the Ekos was one of the biggest departures linn have taken. Whether you prefer it or not, it is massively different.
The javelin is also interesting in as much as it manages to magnify the weaknesses of the aro whilst not really capitalising only any of its attributes.
I’m a bit blinkered though because my opinion is limited to the performance of these arms in an lp12.
 
Historically the SME 3009/3012 as it was the first arm to bring together all of the adjustment parameters and ergonomics every good arm should have (precise alignment, VTF, bias, VTA, azimuth, a damped cueing device etc etc) and did so with an aesthetic style, fit, finish and ease of use that still shames the vast majority of arms to this day. It has clearly been surpassed on sound-quality terms, as one would expect half a century later, but it is unquestionably one of the most important products in audio history.

Runners up: Decca Professional and FFSS cart, Fidelity Research FR66S/FR64S, Dynavector DV-505, and for retro flat-earth, the Zeta.
 
Following on from Tony’s points above- for sheer ergonomic common sense, beautiful engineering and very fine performance, it has to be another SME that gets my vote- the V.
The arm I’d always hankered after because it is a thing of beauty, is the Wilson Benesch ACT

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The arm that falls down on all the parameters mentioned above and which I’d never touch with a barge pole is the Aro. When I first saw it I thought it was an April fool’s joke.
 
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The older Audio Note Arm Three, had it on a AN TT2 and a Townsend Rock II.
Still regret parting with the Townsend to this day, had the original plinth as well.
Have a Gyro se now with the Tecnoarm A and that isn’t too bad either.
I’m hoping for a SME Series V for my 50th birthday from my wife (note the word ‘hoping’;))
 
eevo1969 said:
The older Audio Note Arm Three, had it on a AN TT2 and a Townsend Rock II.
Still regret parting with the Townsend to this day, had the original plinth as well.
Have a Gyro se now with the Tecnoarm A and that isn’t too bad either.
I’m hoping for a SME Series V for my 50th birthday from my wife (note the word ‘hoping’;))
Click to expand...
Wait till she sees the price....you’ll know better than me what her way of expressing YMBFJ is.:eek:
 
Yes, loved my 3012 (with 401), but it WAS the very early seventies. Had a few since, incl. Tiktok, Five etc., but all have been 9". The one arm I really count as probably my best is my current 12" chrome PU7. That little flip-clip securing the arm after lifting off is a boon, and sonically (for a gimballed arm) it's up there. Apart from a Decca FFSS/International, the Ace Anna 12" is only my second unipivot. Very nice sonically etc. but no clip !!!
 
Barely feel qualified to comment as I've only really owned low to mid range stuff, from what I've owned the ones I've been most impressed with have been the standard Thorens arm on my old TD125 which considerably bettered a 3009 I replaced it with thinking it would be an upgrade. Also impressed with the Mission 774 on my current TT, have never got on with any of the Rega arms or variants like the Tecnoarm.

So out of those I've heard I'd probably have to say the 774.
 
The arms I have used included...
Hadcock GH-228
SME 3009 mk 2
Audio Technica/Signet AT-1100
Syrinx PU2 (three samples)
LV-X (detachable headshell)
LV-X (fixed headshell)
Ittok (two samples)
Zeta
Syrinx PU3
Aro
And a few others..

The least favorite was def. the AT-1100...huge midrange bump that gave piercing vocals.
The Ittok was superb with the Supex SM100E
The Zeta was superb with the Koetsu Black Gold Line, and also with the Karma (yes)
The Aro seemed a little lackluster in frequency extremes.

The Hadcock did an outstanding job with the Entre 1...and for the price/performance would have to be my favorite tonearm. In terms of snap and rhythm the Ittok was great. The Zeta was less colored than the Ittok and offered greater bass extension and sound layering-but only after stripping down the arm-clip and cueing device.

Finally a (modded) Realistic/Radioshack Lab400 turntable with its own S-arm was at least as good as my LP12/Geddon/Aro when equipped with the same Lyra Helikon SL-probably the highest end cartridge that has ever graced a Realistic turntable. That was the point when I gave up on vinyl. BTW, I tried out that Realistic on some $50,000 Wilson Maxx 2 and massive Krells, and it really was that good!

Having said that, a friend of mine has a LP12/Ittok/Linn MM cartridge and it sounds amazing on his active Tukans (2x250) mated with Seizmik 12 sub.
 
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