which tonearm is the most pleasing to use?

[sonddek]

Strangely, using3 fingertips down the midlle of my old WTA i foudn I could place the arm on a track quicker than any other arm I have used. No need to cue either, just let go. Easiest and quickest tonearm ever for me, if not the most satisfying in the looks and engineering kudos department !

I recall that fluid dynamics was an important part of the first year curriculum. Plenty of engineering kudos in the goo tub. No manufacturing bragging rights, but that's for Harley Davidson fans with their tassles, 'taches and pot bellies.

 

[mmaatt]

The Artemiz2 is my favourite arm of all time, form follows function: I love the loose pyramid bearing coupling and swinging counterweight.

mat

 

[paskinn]

Unusable? No off-centre focussing, inaccurate rangefinder calibration from one lens to another, no warning when shooting with lens cap on, rotation of camera required for focussing horizons, no zooms, no real telephotos, no practical macro capability, occlusion of viewfinder with moderate sized lenses, parallax error, no accurate focussing of wide aperture wideangle lenses on off-centre subjects even when there is time, don't get me started. There's a reason why Leica is dying. SME on the other hand...

Am I to assume that you don't like Leica? BTW, if you shoot with the lense cap on, you don't deserve a Leica (mind you, I did photograph my finger!)

 

[cheviot]

this does seem to be the clear leader in the view of the majority

but looking at it I still come back to what I said at the top: I just can't see myself enjoying using that.

By any objective assessment I'm happy to believe that it's a very fine arm indeed, but that's not the same thing.

Question: if it were a camera, what camera would it be?

Don't know about a camera, but if it was a car, it might be this

 

[Mike Reed]

Don't know about a camera, but if it was a car, it might be this

I see where you're coming from........ (but would prefer the SME !)

 

[sojourner]

this does seem to be the clear leader in the view of the majority

but looking at it I still come back to what I said at the top: I just can't see myself enjoying using that.

By any objective assessment I'm happy to believe that it's a very fine arm indeed, but that's not the same thing.

Question: if it were a camera, what camera would it be?

**********

Just to add that I've nothing against SME as such, I think this looks rather good in fact:

Not a Leica, but...

 

[John]

How can an arm be a pleasure to use if it doesn't have a finger lift?

You actually USE the cueing device?

An ergonomic finger lift is a must as far as I'm concerned, and not one of those that shares the cartridge bolts, as I really dislike using a cueing device. The LP12 bouncy suspension with its give and felt mat which allows one to easily change records and manually cue records on the fly make it a pleasure to use.

 

[ridley]

Well now, as a new owner of a 12" Ace Anna (from a Five), I'd say your s.q. improvement claim is VERY cart. dependent.

That may be true, i'll quantify my statement by saying it sounds better with a London Decca Super Gold, a Nagaoka MP500 & my fave Lyra Klos, IMO.
What cart are you using on your Anna?

 

[Willie Eckerslyke]

DV505. No question about it - it's a marvellous arm to use and admire.

But the Ekos SE probably sounds better.

 

[sonddek]

Am I to assume that you don't like Leica? BTW, if you shoot with the lense cap on, you don't deserve a Leica (mind you, I did photograph my finger!)

Not at all. I just don't think M system is competitive with post war camera designs. It's an insult to the SME which is still a contender. As for lens caps, I'm always leaving the bloody things on, and I do it for a living. With a film rangefinder I could miss a whole filmful of opportunities.

 

[Mike Reed]

That may be true, i'll quantify my statement by saying it sounds better with a London Decca Super Gold, a Nagaoka MP500 & my fave Lyra Klos, IMO.
What cart are you using on your Anna?

K. Urushi. Was using on the Five. N.A. and Lyra do seem to be sonically matched by the cognoscenti; furthermore, Koetsu and Lyra must lie at opposite ends of the tonal spectrum, yet I had two Lyras prior to the Ks.

 

[Mullardman]

Hmmm.

Lots of 'macho' stuff here about using cueing devices etc. Reminds me of when I was playing one of my records on a dealer's very expensive TT (Can't exactly remember which, but it may have been one of those very special Roksan things that pre-dated the TMS ) Anyway, he rather superciliously said. "Oh... using the coward's lever eh?" Twat.

I have been cueing records for well over half a century, but over the last few years I have simply lost the hand steadiness to do it without a 'lift'.

There is nothing clever or 'macho' about destroying your own records and your expensive cartridge by ignoring the limits of your dexterity.

FWIW, I use an Ittok LVIIIMk2. The cueing device works well.

Mull

 

[topoxforddoc]

I don't think we should just look at this as an arm issue. You have to look at the arm and cartridge as a combination - just like cameras and lenses. There have been some classic combinations, both modern and classic
SME3012R plus SPU
Hadcock and Decca
Ittok and Asak
etc
As for me, I use a Hadcock and Decca as well as a Schroeder and Allaerts. Very different to set up and to use, but both excellent as transcribers of music.

 

[topoxforddoc]

Oh and as for cameras. Like all things it's horse for courses. If you're sports photographer, then you'd be mad to use anything other than Canikon. But if your metier is documentary/PJ work, then that's where a Leica comes into its own. Sure not many documentary photographers use Leica, but some do. At the end of the day, it's the quality of the shot that counts, not the equipment you use.

My favourite camera is a 1958 Leica M2 with a 35/1.4 summilux - small discrete and easy to use in a crowd. I get to photograph lots of famous people too and they like the idea of film and wet prints. That's not the way that picture desks work now, so I'm glad I don't have to earn my living by doing it.

 

[Tony L]

I've owned a fair few tonearms in my time, off the top of my head: Lenco L70, L75, Linn LVV, Ittok, Audio Technica AT1120, Rega R200, RB250, RB300, RB900, Mission 774SM, Zeta, Hadcock 242SE, NA Spacearm, SME 3009 SII, SII Improved, M2 etc, plus I've set up many, many more for friends. I've come to the conclusion that there is no substitute for quality engineering and precision. I want to be able to adjust each parameter accurately, repeatably, and in isolation of every other parameter. It is amazing how few arms meet what appears to be a very simple and logical requirement. In fact of my list it is only the SME M2 that properly allows this, and as it allows you to very accurately and methodically adjust a cartridge right into it's optimal performance zone I'd argue it was the best arm on my list. The worst from a user perspective, by far, is the Hadcock 242 where every parameter is so linked to every other to such an extent as to make it a total nightmare to set up - one tends to settle for 'near enough', whereas I prefer to nail things down to tiny fractions of a gram of VTA and bias, ultra precise VTA and azimuth adjustment etc. The Hadcock is a decent sounding arm though, but there's no way I'd swap a SME for one!

 

[RJohan]

The one in Revox parallell tracker was a wonder to use. The whole kit sounded shite, though (I had one for 6 months). Don't ask me how you adsjusted it...

JohanR

 

[John]

I don't think we should just look at this as an arm issue. You have to look at the arm and cartridge as a combination - just like cameras and lenses.

Indeed, that's why I included turntable as well. The same arm/cartridge combo might not be as pleasurable to work with on a different deck. It's the whole package that's important!

 

[Robert]

Interesting comments about the RB1000.
I use one currently on a P9 but it looks and feels like a toy next to a modern SME.

I mean, you can see the polishing marks, feel the casting imperfections and it just doesn't feel or look like a £1k arm IMO. Does sound great though.

In 2012 I'm returning to Michell and SME for my record deck. Just beautiful engineering and a pleasure to own.

 

[John]

Interesting comments about the RB1000.
I use one currently on a P9 but it looks and feels like a toy next to a modern SME.

I mean, you can see the polishing marks, feel the casting imperfections and it just doesn't feel or look like a £1k arm IMO. Does sound great though.

In 2012 I'm returning to Michell and SME for my record deck. Just beautiful engineering and a pleasure to own.

Interesting, those needle drops from your Rega always sounded great. Didn't realize you were a past owner of a Michell deck, what specific deck/arm combo are you looking at?

John

 

[Robert]

Hi John,

It does sound great IMO and I'll likely hang on to it, even if it gets replaced in the main system.

I used to run a full Gyro with the original Papst AC motor an QC supply with SME IV.
Really enjoyed it and while this should always be about sound, that combo always looked fabulous and more importantly was great to use. I might try the SME310 this time. I originally ran the Gyro with the first 309 which used an aluminium tube but these are now magnesium like the IV.

Wasn't a great fan of the Orbe upgrade - I think the Gyro sounds more enjoyable.