Your Tone Arm History @ an arm which aesthetically you would love or have
- Thread starter Miss Ariel
- Start date
Rega RB250
Audiomods 5
Cartridge Man Conductor
Hadcock 228 x2
some of it's been snakes & ladders. as of today, however, I'm a proud owner of a Supatrac Blackbird, possibly the sleekest tone arm around, I think, based on a revolutionary principle, a one-man effort, excellent word of mouth.
the improvement on the Hadcock 228 (which I really like) is comparable to when a Fletcher Omega 3 retired my trusty old Rega P3 (which I also really liked).
Audiomods 5
Cartridge Man Conductor
Hadcock 228 x2
some of it's been snakes & ladders. as of today, however, I'm a proud owner of a Supatrac Blackbird, possibly the sleekest tone arm around, I think, based on a revolutionary principle, a one-man effort, excellent word of mouth.
the improvement on the Hadcock 228 (which I really like) is comparable to when a Fletcher Omega 3 retired my trusty old Rega P3 (which I also really liked).
vinylmonkey
pfm Member
Great picture @eksiil. I’ve a Fletcher Omega .3 and yours is the only other one I’ve seen. I think @Elephantears has a .5.
Elephantears
Trunkated Aesthete
Yes, and as far as I'm concerned it's my deck for life. But I cannot possibly rival the coolness of eksiil's tonearm setup! Amazing.
it is the 12" version & thank you, the TT does have that certain je ne sais quoi.
Thank you, my girlfriend took the picture, I'll pass on the praise.
I'd really like to know how many ended up being made. and if they're still supported...
sadly the .5 will probably remain outside of my reach. & thank you for the kind words, though it was my girlfriend's eye that framed the picture, pulling in the window & the lamp shade to reinforce the contrast between the curved lines of the TT & the straight, almost futuristic arrow shape of the Blackbird.
(the arm board is a bodge involving an oak parquet tile & an M20 bolt, for some industrial heft)
Joe
pfm Member
I felt it impolite to mention the armboard arrangement and its bolt but , damn !! chapeau mon ami !
Is it the final arrangement or a mock up for a more permanent solution ?
Joe
pfm Member
I only ask as I am in the design stage of re-doing my plinth and am thinking of making an arm board for it out of the same material...panzerholz. At the moment it is aluminium which is probably not optimal.
Its looks to be a similar design requirement as yours.....nicer bolt though.
Its looks to be a similar design requirement as yours.....nicer bolt though.
vinylmonkey
pfm Member
standards are being set here I couldn't possibly hope to match. these are both fabulous-lookig TTs. I must admit I don't even recognise yours, Joe -- the platter alone must weigh upwards of 10 kilos?
& thanks for the tip, Vinylmonkey. your Magna Audio solution suggests I didn't really need to seat my structure atop the 9" arm board... .
but I think I'll stick with my own sublunar efforts & the oak parquet tile if only because it matches the general theme of my hifi stand -- made up massive slabs of oak, planted in the early 1700s by Peter the Great (I've got the certificate...).
& thanks for the tip, Vinylmonkey. your Magna Audio solution suggests I didn't really need to seat my structure atop the 9" arm board... .
but I think I'll stick with my own sublunar efforts & the oak parquet tile if only because it matches the general theme of my hifi stand -- made up massive slabs of oak, planted in the early 1700s by Peter the Great (I've got the certificate...).
sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
Rega RB250
Audiomods 5
Cartridge Man Conductor
Hadcock 228 x2
some of it's been snakes & ladders. as of today, however, I'm a proud owner of a Supatrac Blackbird, possibly the sleekest tone arm around, I think, based on a revolutionary principle, a one-man effort, excellent word of mouth.
the improvement on the Hadcock 228 (which I really like) is comparable to when a Fletcher Omega 3 retired my trusty old Rega P3 (which I also really liked).
Great stuff - lovely looking deck.
A couple of suggestions...
Your anti-skate mechanism is not engaged, probably because the pulley is too slack. If you push the near end of the bias rotor down so that it goes vertical you can then gently pull the loose end of the pulley with the grip knots. As soon as enough force is applied you should feel it slip through and become taut. Then all you have to do is gently cue the arm as far as the label, and the pulley should slip through back to a length which causes it to engage before track one.
One of the pictures in the TNT review also shows a record playing with no anti-skate engaged so you are in good company.
With the Blackbird, anti-skate does not appear to be very critical, especially on a 12 inch one, but it's nice to get it theoretically right.
I do intend to make a comprehensive installation video soon.
My second suggestion is that the principal effect of your cartridge spacer is to raise the height of your pivot, thereby making tracking a little less awesome. Removing the cartridge spacer will require lowering the column to reset correct VTA, and your pivot will descend by the height of the spacer, giving the cartridge more grip when it gets rough. The TRAC in SUPATRAC stands for Torque Reaction Assists Contact - having a low pivot is an important feature made possible by a very stable bearing. Don't undermine good physics with voodoo! I accept that it may sound better with the spacer because mysteries, but my first instinct would be make the most of the TRAC.
Joe
pfm Member
Peter planted trees and gave out certificates ?
No wonder he was called 'The Great'
Peter did the planting, the people who felled the trees some 15-20 years ago had the certificates drawn up. I, somewhat sadly, profit from their decision. (I'm sure there were reasons, but they're almost never good enough when it comes to felling trees).
many thanks for your feedback & comments & thank you for the kind words.
I had a feeling you might not like the spacer, though Len Gregory himself marketed it to go with his cartridges. but having read the Supatrac files I know you think the integrity of the total "vibration-carrying structure" (I'm sure there is a better term) is essential. hence my decision not to put the arm on a makeshift pod and simply plonk it down on the substructure of the TT. when I find the time, I'll remove the Isolator & report back.
as regards anti-skate, in my 2nd system I run another 12" arm, a unipivot, (made by Tabbardn of LH) which has no such facility at all. I can't hear a difference (though it seems possible the carts might get unevenly worn).
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sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
I'm no expert and the Blackbird is designed primarily from instinct, but I do admire the Occam's razor approach of Rega, Well Tempered and Linn - simplifying, stiffening and removing junctions. If you need to isolate your cartridge from your arm, then I can't help feeling that some priority has been relegated somewhere.
sonddek
Trade: SUPATRAC
Although if you were to try, I would, of course, be all ears ;-)
1987 - 2016
Moth (RB250) & RB300 on a Manticore Mantra
2016+
System 2
LVX on Ariston RD80
SME 3009 S2 & RB250, now, The Vinyl Source rewired R200 on a 401
System 1
OL Encounter 3C
Conquerer 3C
12" Enterprise mk4
Want:
14" Kuzma 4 Point, just love it's design & slightly brutalist looks.
Moth (RB250) & RB300 on a Manticore Mantra
2016+
System 2
LVX on Ariston RD80
SME 3009 S2 & RB250, now, The Vinyl Source rewired R200 on a 401
System 1
OL Encounter 3C
Conquerer 3C
12" Enterprise mk4
Want:
14" Kuzma 4 Point, just love it's design & slightly brutalist looks.