S-shaped arm vs linear tracker vs straight arm?

[ferninando]

My personal preference is for S arms because they look right. IMO
But straight arms probably do just as good.
I have never had a straight arm so cannot compare.

 

[mhardy6647]

just note that most if not all modern TTs have straight arms.

Certainly not all.

Not to mention, of course, the legion of Hanpin SL-1200 clonies.

 

[ferninando]

no, not all. but those are not yor run of the mill TT/tonearm combos either.

 

[Jeff Levy]

Is the J shaped arm considered curved or straight? (Just bend at the headshell). This is my newest find. Sounds nice. very warm

 

[Jeff Levy]

Certainly not all.

Not to mention, of course, the legion of Hanpin SL-1200 clonies.

Certainly not all.

Not to mention, of course, the legion of Hanpin SL-1200 clonies.

wow! So, the J arm IS considered to be "curved"? really nice btw

 

[mhardy6647]

I would say so.

Just remember that any pivoting arm is trying to solve the same problem -- how to keep the stylus perfectly tangent to the groove. This would require a pivoting arm of infinite length. The effective length of arms is increased with an offset -- and there are various ways of doing that. They're all fairly valid and all fundamentally flawed -- fortunately, a lot of them get "close enough"

A linear (tangential tracking) arm solves the tangency problem... but may introduce others of its own.

 

[Jeff Levy]

AT 71E I THINK

 

[ARJohn]

After living with a straight arm for many years , Philips 312 , then going to an S arm records with a warp would jump out of the grove on records that played fine on the 312 . but gotta love the headshell swapping on the S arms .

 

[Jeff Levy]

The headshell pops out of my H/Kardon T-25 easy enough, though I never tried to swap it out. off topic... I have recently discovered that small changes in the weight can make a huge difference in sound (on my j arm anyway). Been messing with it ever so slightly and found a sweet spot at about 2.21 grams as opposed to 2g

 

[vwestlife]

Certainly not all.

The Crosley-style players are starting to copy that design:

https://www.urbanoutfitters.com/sho...lor=100&quantity=1&size=ONE SIZE&type=REGULAR

 

[prabie]

Linear tracking tonearms are high maintenance, even though some of them are among the best examples of high quality. S, J or straight are in no way related with performance, form is no indication of success. The delicate balance between mass, resonances and friction is the real answer.

Pedro

 

[bimasta]

This is my newest find. Sounds nice. very warm

Stunning. Never seen it before and can't see any identifier in the photo. Is it a Braun design?
An integrated player, or is tonearm a separate component? Can you give some more info, Jeff? I'm really intrigued,
I'd like to research it ... and find one...

 

[Jeff Levy]

Stunning. Never seen it before and can't see any identifier in the photo. Is it a Braun design?
An integrated player, or is tonearm a separate component? Can you give some more info, Jeff? I'm really intrigued,
I'd like to research it ... and find one...

The OPTONICA Turntable you mean? They were made by SHARP and marketed as the high end of their platform. They had one with TWO ARMS. one arm was am electric eye tracking arm very cool stuff. I can post more info, but I dont have all that much on them either. They got into the market late in the game and couldnt really hold ground. Very space age unit.

 

[Jeff Levy]

The OPTONICA Turntable you mean? They were made by SHARP and marketed as the high end of their platform. They had one with TWO ARMS. one arm was am electric eye tracking arm very cool stuff. I can post more info, but I dont have all that much on them either. They got into the market late in the game and couldnt really hold ground. Very space age unit.

btw... the thing has a 3 pound platter that downs into the base of the unit.

 

[bimasta]

I remember why it struck a chord when I saw your photo — I saw one at a Goodwill 2-3 years ago. Thick glass lid instead of plastic dustcover, right? It really intrigued me, some very interesting design features, but it was very beat up — with all the restoration in the world it would still look like crap, so I passed. I may start shopping for a good one.

Thanks for the info Jeff...

 

[Jeff Levy]

I remember why it struck a chord when I saw your photo — I saw one at a Goodwill 2-3 years ago. Thick glass lid instead of plastic dustcover, right? It really intrigued me, some very interesting design features, but it was very beat up — with all the restoration in the world it would still look like crap, so I passed. I may start shopping for a good one.

Thanks for the info Jeff...

Exactly. 1/4 inch tempered glass. There is a model w/ a "second arm" as well. An elec. eye arm that allows picking tracks. Its a very cool table for sure

 

[bimasta]

Yeah, I saw that when I was image-searching yours. But that second arm is a lot of extra mass for the main arm to drag around — and remember all that weight is really being pushed by the tiny fragile little stylus/cantilever. I wouldn't entrust a pricey cartridge to that arm — I prefer yours with the more conventional arm...

 

[rnorton]

Thanks everyone, this is the info I was looking for. I don't have any particular arm or TT in mind right now, I was just looking at some on the internet and saw the three different types and that question entered my mind. (I do have a Sony PS-LX520 TT, it is a linear tracker. Although I think it's not great quality, plays good though. However, I have nothing to compare it to. I think I paid about $90 or $100 for it new back in the day.

The 520 works well until it doesn't. Mine has thumpitis that has resisted all fixes.

 

[rnorton]

My Harman Kardon T-25 is a straight arm, (low mass) table. 1.1 pound base, not the huge 4 pound like on the T-65. Still impressive. Simple and beautiful. Sounds incredible. Quiet and faithful reproduction. I have that hooked up to a Telefunken TR-400 DC series receiver. Monster unit. Great phono preamp - great everything. Its a beast. I have this hooked up to PSB Alpha1 bookshelf speakers and it crisp and clean.

I have several pounds of modelling clay inside the platter and under the plinth of my T-25. Sounds better than the T-65's I've heard. All of that line above T-25 have carbon fiber arms that have mass below what you want with most carts. I'm running an OM-40 Gold (Van Den Hul) on mine.

 

[twiiii]

I just purchased Ortofons latest tracking record and my ancient linear tone arm proves AGAIN IT ALLOWS SUPERIOR TRACKING WITH LESS PRESSURE THAN STRAIGHT ARMS OR S SHAPED ARMS. My 20X2 easily tracks the 90 velocity band with the rated tracking pressure with out any sign of mistracking or edginess of the channels. When reducing the pressure .2 grams the channels mistrack equally, where with a straight arm or S arm you'll have to use higher pressure and bias compensation for the high velocity which will be to extreme for normal velocities.