Unipivot arms - which one and what are the benefits?
- Thread starter foxwelljsly
- Start date
sq225917
Bit of this, bit of that
I've been thinking about it and theres no real benefits. Single point contact simplifies vibration transfer, but there's reduced lateral stability. Easy azimuth adjustment, but it rolls with wraps because centre line of mass doesnt run perfectly through a line from pivot to stylus. Easier to get a lower COG that acts around pivot point, at least with Aro, Kuzma and other cylinder weighted arms.
That said I prefer current arm to all others I've tried.
That said I prefer current arm to all others I've tried.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
i think I was a bit uncertain before, but now I'm not so sure. When is a unipivot not a unipivot? I've always heard and read that N.A. arms come under the unipivot umbrella. Life could be simple inasmuch as one pivot =unipivot and >one = gimbal (or something else?). Even though it's hifi, surely one must be able to accurately categorise an arm format.
Chops54
pfm Member
To all, I have two Nottingham arms and I like what they do. Whether they are unipivots or not is of no concern to me and I have no desire to upset anyone but I do think they should be correctly described. I have heard them described as captured unipivot which may be a more accurate description. At least that tells someone a bit more about the bearing construction and how the arm might work.
Tony L
Administrator
If so you are doing so entirely wrongly! The OL designs are dual point in the vertical plane and a standard ball-race in the lateral, i.e. they are pretty much a SME 3009 conceptually. The NA is just as much a unipivot as a Gray, Hadcock, Aro or whatever, i.e. a single point provides both vertical and lateral movement. Uni = one, and the NA is a single pivot arm. One point resting in a cup, that is all. The thing that is so hard to explain to someone who has never seen one is the rotational (azimuth orientation) is restricted somewhat (though not entirely) as there is effectively a slot constraining that motion, though allowing the bearing (singular) free movement in the lateral and vertical plain. Basically its a unipivot that doesn’t flop about when you cue it.
wylton
Naim and Mana member
Irrelevant given that it's no longer available, but it's worth mentioning, just how well sorted the Naim Aro is. It's only oversight really is the lack of overhang adjustment in the headshell; I don't buy Naim's explanation, that it would in some way degrade the mechanical integrity of the arm, I think it was more likely done to make life easier for dealers to set up the cartridge, given how bad some of them are. Difficult too, to understand why they designed it specifically for the Troika, but there you go. I have some experience of Hadcocks for example, that will go out of alignment very easily and I have heard the same about Nimas too. The Aro is relatively easy to set up, and once set up, stays set up and it handles very well, even more so now, with the availability of the Tiger Paw Elevator arm lift. I won't enter the debate of sound quality, suffice to say that I have owned an Ittok and an Ekos too.
'Pompey' as an abbreviation. A number of possibilities for the origin of the name, one of which is the abbreviation of ’Portsmouth Point’ to ‘Po’m.P.’ when handwritten in a ship’s logbook (see Wikipedia page on Portsmouth FC).
For many years I used a Hadcock unipivot on a modified Thorens TD160, a lot of the time listening through headphones. Very fiddly and time consuming but with good results, I thought, for the money. My later LP12/Trampolin/Lingo/Ekos1 was a cleaner more CD like sound and not a night and day difference in terms of musical enjoyment (all IMHO - I’m deaf of course
).
Darren
So gentle when he tries to understand.
No Need to be embarrassed. We are all learning from one another.
I've owned Mission 774, countless and varied Regas, Syrinx PU 2s, Syrinx PU 3, a few Roksan Tabriz, rather a lot of Ittoks, a lovely Zeta and a Kuzma Stogi S.
Had decks in for service or on loan with Ekos, Aros, AO PU 7s and lots of cheaper Linn or Project arms .
Currently have a Stogi Ref. and an old WTA.
Finances allowing I would have kept the 774, PU 2, PU 3, Zeta but my dumbest move was selling the Stogi S.
From a brief listen to the prototype in his attic, many moons ago, J7s unipivot would have been high on my list.
Stogi Ref, I can live with, WTA, I would never part with but a Stogi S/Benz Glider on an Oracle blew my mind (briefly)
as I had just agreed to sell the arm & cartridge. Stogi Ref and Koetsu on said table sounds fine but doesn't have the same magic.
Had decks in for service or on loan with Ekos, Aros, AO PU 7s and lots of cheaper Linn or Project arms .
Currently have a Stogi Ref. and an old WTA.
Finances allowing I would have kept the 774, PU 2, PU 3, Zeta but my dumbest move was selling the Stogi S.
From a brief listen to the prototype in his attic, many moons ago, J7s unipivot would have been high on my list.
Stogi Ref, I can live with, WTA, I would never part with but a Stogi S/Benz Glider on an Oracle blew my mind (briefly)
as I had just agreed to sell the arm & cartridge. Stogi Ref and Koetsu on said table sounds fine but doesn't have the same magic.
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Not sure what this means; has 'as' been put down for 'is'? If so, it's clearly not an abbreviation. It may have been derived from abbreviations of other words, but is, i.m.o., just a colloquialism.
Interesting because I've had a Benz Ebony and Urushi Vermillion of both my arms (uni + gimbal) and to my mind the K performs better on the gimbal. With the Benz it's less clear-cut; almost swings and roundabouts. If you think about it, the darker presentation of the K needs the balancing sharper effect of the gimbal.
Chops54
pfm Member
What makes you say that?
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Hmmm! I'd expect a fair bit more from the stylus, let alone the suspension. However, time to think of trading up with a generous px to a cart. further up the Benz ladder rather than re-hash the old?
Mike Reed
pfm Member
Think this might be the LP Simon has, in which case maybe think about climbing the ladder? Most (all?) Benz cart's are 'LP' but the one described as such is generally the Wood, which is a very respectable mid-priced Benz. I've been told by a respected cart collector of this parish that the top of the line LPS is quite superb (at a relatively affordable price, or was, before the £ plunged). My Ebony L was a lovely cart, only sidelined by my Proteus.
Chops54
pfm Member
I’ve thought about trading up a few times Mike but I just can’t justify the spend right now. I also have an Ace that needs attention too. I know if I upgrade my cartridge(s) I’ll end up doing something with my phono stages etc and even though I can afford it I have other things to consider first.
Well, I didn’t like the results from the additional pair of holes (on the correct place). I guess the Aro headshell is too thin to accommodate more holes. I got the best results with the left hole modified - enlarged by about 1mm backwards. Another upgrade, which I did, was to replace the balance weight with a copper replica without the silicone. Strangely the latter seems to be damping the sound. The copper balance weight is giving a better decay. Some carts don’t need a balance weight, which means better sound.