Is this the best tonearm in the world?

That is definitely the most important question. How much fun am I having? The problem is that I don't have great confidence in my ability to associate that with the right culprit. But I definitely know what you mean about the organic liveliness of a good idler.

This is one of the things which makes fair and objective deck and arm comparisons so elusive. You really need to remove all other differences as far as possible and often it takes time to settle a preference.

 

A 7" tonearm must be a cantilever torture test device...I would love to see the arc it transcribes across a 12" album.

 

Viv drawing Layout1 (2) by Neil Tully, on Flickr

There you go

 

It’s too bad you didn’t try your 1200G with a different tonearm. My 1200G with a Fidelity Research FR-64S made my old TD-124 w/ a 9” Schick tonearm sound broken.

 

Ah yes, the Viv Audio Labs 'Rigid Float tonearm' was mentioned alongside the Yamaha GT5000's straight tonearm earlier in the thread. Until I read it, I was unaware that Yamaha had a straight tonearm (YSA-1) back in 1983! And that they sold the subsequent YSA-2 as part of the Yamaha's GT-2000X turntable in 1985.

 

Now where's that "Love" button? ..For to simply "Like" isn't enough for that post.

But so true, you can read reviews, forum posts, measurements and manufacturer hype all day long, but it isn't until time alone with only your ears and the gear playing that the honest opinions are formed.

 

I agree, every component has it's own sound signature which you may or may not like.

 

That’s fair, but you could have simply bought an Ammonite Audio Technics armboard for your SME 3009 and fitted it to the 1200G to get a much better comparison to your TD-124.

I do think the stock arm on the 1200G is decent, but easily improved upon.

 

The logic of modifying a 1200 is that the deck/motor itself is absolutely superb and capable of challenging many of the very best turntables out there, whereas the arm is very good, but not a giant-killer. In my case I was on the cusp of spending serious money on very expensive upgrades for my beloved Sondek, but fortunately I gave a 1200 a listen and came to the conclusion that it could match £17K of Klimax Sondek provided it was given a chance with a top level arm. Subsequently I was very happy with my Ekos 2 on a 1200 for a decade and it saved me a lot of money.

If your goal is top turntable performance with minimum outlay and hassle/maintenance, then upgrading the arm on a 1200 makes a lot of sense. That's why there are quite a few 1200s out there sporting SME V, Jelco and what-have-you. It's a recognition that the 1200 is held back by its arm.

The 1200G is worthy of a better arm, whatever your favourite. The next step up in Technics world is the SP-10R at over ten grand, so there is something to be said for a £3-4K deck and a fancy arm if your budget won't stretch to the 'broadcast' deck. I spent a little time listening to a customer's SL-1000R and decided that I was not sure that I could hear a significant advantage over my souped up 1210. I don't like to presume that something is better just because it's expensive. A 1200 variant is certainly good enough for me, but the arm holds it back. My room at Bristol attempted to show that an old 1200 with a fancy arm was more satisfying than a stock 1200G, and I think many listeners agreed. In that context I think an old DJ deck variant with a fancy arm at £3K all-in may be regarded as 'end-game' for many listeners whereas a stock 1200 wouldn't fully cure upgraditis, in my case, at least. IMO there's no virtue in keeping a stock arm on a 1200. The deck is worthy of being taken to the next level.

 

Actually, that’s a bit muddled but it’s Yamaha’s fault, as the arm they show on their own website’s GT-2000X page is actually a YSA-1 but it has a YSA-2 headshell, which is wrong!

The YSA-1 was a straight arm but it has a conventional length and a conventionally offset headshell. it was indeed standard on the GT-2000X and you can see it with its correct headshell here: http://www.thevintageknob.org/yamaha-GT-2000x.html

The YSA-2 was the short, straight, underhung arm with no offset and was optional on all the GT-2000 models. It’s shown slightly further down that same page.

 

The muddle was my fault, I assure you. So the YSA-1 was introduced in 1983 - a conventional straight tonearm, with overhang, offset and anti-skate that came as standard on the GT-2000X. The YSA-2 was introduced in 1985, and was optional for the GT-2000 tables. It was this arm that was the novelty: underhung, no offset, no antiskate. Thanks for clearing that up.