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Michell arm choices.

Rockmeister

Rockmeister

pfm Member
One of these days I may well try a Gyrodeck, maybe an Orbe. Interested here in hearing about which arms people have used...ease of fitting, sound, benefits of things more costly etc.
So chaps. What works and what doesn't?
Ta.
Oh if it helps, I'm looking at something medium mass...around 12-17 gms for the arm and headshell. That's just for my chosen cart (Hana ML), but regardless all thoughts useful.
 
I used a RB300 which was good, Technoarm was excellent, great VFM, both the SME M2 and IV were a step up on the Gyro, my brother had a Syrinx, then SME 309 on a Gyro then an Orbe with a SME V then eventually a Wheaton Tri-planar, all very good and all progressively better than the previous.
I'm not sure of the effective mass of the above tonearms though I think the Rega based arms and SME 's are all in around 11g .
I'm currently using a Hana ML on a Brinkmann 10.0, seemingly a nice combination.
The Ao PU7 with the titanium arm tube could be worth a look.
 
To be honest, most arms seem to work well on an orbe, because the armplates are able to be thinner or thicker to compensate for weight difference between arms, at least up to a point - ultra ultra heavy arms should not apply (yes, triplanar, I am looking at you....)

I have used a variety of arms. from Rega to Origin live and finally to an SMEV - Rega was fantastic value, origin live I never got on with and felt it to be a backwards step to the rega, and the SME was great and a joy to setup and use, although over lockdown I made my own arm which I feel is better than all the others (but that's another story for another time). If you want to try it, then a rega is easy and cheap to source, although I suspect my first choice, if buying again, would be to use a Michell arm. Also worth noting that the designer used SME as his preferred choice

Bottom line is that Michell's can sound great and in my opinion look fantastic, so if you have an opportunity, get one, and don't fret too much about the arm, as most can be accommodated. Gotta go now - need to turn Duke Ellington over onto side 2......
 
Similar opinion to Darren. Really liked the TecnoArm which is a great starting point, went to a SME V but it never really made me grin so decided to try a PU7 which I am delighted with, I like the soundstage/air/space type presentation. Carts have been Dynavectors and AT, currently XX2 MkII. The PU7 can be made as 9-12” arm length and 11-20g effective mass.
 
I have been mulling over showing some pics, but am not sure I could withstand the inevitable flaming from SME lovers, and engineers telling me that it cant possible work - but that is certainly not something to hijack on this thread

I'm a little envious of Darren for getting a triplaner to work on an Orbe - I always wanted that but felt that the weight would be too much...but I loved the adjustability aspect of that design- its probably for the best, as I would have spent so much time tinkering that I would have had none left to listen to records.....
 
AGUYCALLEDSIMON said:
I'm a little envious of Darren for getting a triplaner to work on an Orbe - I always wanted that but felt that the weight would be too much...but I loved the adjustability aspect of that design- its probably for the best, as I would have spent so much time tinkering that I would have had none left to listen to records.....
Click to expand...

The Tri-planar wasn't mine, it was my brothers, as you correctly said Michell provides different mass armboards to match the tonearm used, I don't remember my brother having any issues mounting the Tri-planar on his Orbe though, it sounded great with his Koetsu.
 
Over a period of 20 years I've used SME 309, SME IV, SME S2, Mission 774 and currently a TecnoArm 2.
All worked very well except for the 774 which doesn't seem to like metal armboards.
I haven't used a Michell TT for all of that time but recently bought another - I missed it :)

The SME IV was the best match and any from that series would suit best IMO.
However the TecnoArm gets really close for far less money (especially now that SME no longer supply arms). Has little character of its own so you hear the character of the cart shine through.
 
Strange how the drawing of it on Michell's own site used to show it with a Graham then!

IMHO the Orbe is not as well matched by SME as many claim since it really needs an arm with some azimuth adjustment to allow for the fact that it bends the record into a cone when the clamp is applied.

Failing that you could use a cartridge which facilitates a little adjustment such as the Ortofon Cadenza series.

The Gyro without the clamp doesn't have this issue.

The Orbe is not really suitable for those who collect expensive records which need to be maintained in pristine condition since it often splits the centre label due to the clamp, and it isn't possible to use it without the clamp.

That said I don't think I'll be selling mine anytime soon.
 
I use a Linn Ekos on my Orbe. Not the usual choice, but it was left over from my previous LP12. I spoke to Michell & they said it would work very well on an Orbe. The arm plate was £50 or so, many years ago. I’ve not really felt the need to change it.
SMEV is the usual go to choice.
As for the Gyro, can’t see much wrong with the Michell Tecnoarm, which is a Michell-modified Rega. I would start with that & then hunt for an SME IV or V sometime down the line.
 
I've got a modified Gyrodec all mods, pylon suspension, acrylic armboard, external psu, and Orbe Spider plinth and Platter.
It sounds magnificent with a Moerch UP4 and Benz Glider SL
 
I always say it but I really like the Funk FXR on the Gyro and the Orbe: completely different league to the others I tried, and made the differences between these others (RB300, Nima, Audionote V2) seem not that significant.
 
I think that what we will gain from this thread is that pretty much any decent arm will probably sound very decent on a Michell.
Haven’t seen many people say “ I tried arm X on a Michell & it was awful”.
Maybe due to Michells being bloomin’ good in the first place?
 
I think the point in part anyway, was asking about fitting and technical issues, but I seem to be reading that Michell have most bases covered.

hoho
 
As far as fitting an arm to a Gyro is concerned, you have to get the right arm board for whichever arm you decide on. A call to Michell should be all you need in that regard.
Assembling the arm board & arm to the deck is fairly simple, with ample time, light & patience. The main thing is getting the arm height correct, after that it’s cartridge alignment, VTF etc, similar to any other cart set up.
With a few basic tools, I’d allow 2 hours max if it’s your first time.
 
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