rnorton
Super Member
So do $3000 sneakers, I guess. Appeals pretty much to the same crowd.
Converting Technics "S" tonearm to straight?...
- Thread starter cube-tube
- Start date
So do $3000 sneakers, I guess. Appeals pretty much to the same crowd.
Audiophile heresy!
I couldn't agree more.
Replacing a "S" shaped tonearm wand with a straight wand?
I think it's ridiculous. There's very good reason for designing tonearms with "S" shaped or tapered tubes. These designs reduce unwanted resonance. The primary reason for the current crop of straight tubes and integrated headshells is that it's a helluva lot easier and less expensive to manufacture. Cheaper/easier + "audiophile" marketing = Larger profit.
I don't mean to suggest that straight tube/integrated headshell tonearms are 'bad'... just saying let's be honest in recognizing the real reason for their existance. It's not superior performance.
honestly though, this whole thread makes me consider the notion of modding my stock Thorens arm to replace the aluminum tube for CF, and replace the goofy proprietary headshell for something more conventional like the ADC one. Kinda would like to get my hands on an extra one to experiment with though for fear of damaging it and making my table unplayable.
Hifirob2
NEC and Klipsch rock!
The SL-2000 model came with a black arm.
rnorton
Super Member
Has this been proven or is it just 'accepted truth'? I'd really like to read a good technical paper on this.
gusten
Addicted Member
The S-arm was made to fit a standard SME headshell, as far as I know. There are advantages with a straight arm, as I see it, particularly if it has an integrated headshell and no joints. But a good designed headshell which put less torsion forces
on the arm and bearings would also be good.
gusten
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spray paint works pretty well for this, or you could experiment with heat shrink to see if it has any damping effects or something.
cube-tube
Super Member
I don't know really, other than the fact that everyone seems to think that there's something drastically wrong with the Technics arm or "S" arms in general, hence why a lot of people with the SL-1200 series tend to swap out the entire tonearm with other arms such as Black Widow's, SME 309's, etc, etc.
Personally, I have nothing against this arm at all and I think the entire deck sounds pretty darn good, even in totally stock form. But I figured if there's any gains to be made, or advantages of going with a straight tube arm, I could possibly build/adapt something very similar to the Funk Firm arm for tons less and retain the auto functions.
That's perfect actually! I was looking for angled headshells but didn't find any with the correct mount. The ones I found look like a small DIN plug end.
Hmm... Good point. Easier and cheaper seems like the way to go these days, even with high dollar equipment.
And speaking of unwanted resonances, I'm starting a new thread in a few minutes about a little cheap, quick and easy mod for the stock tonearm.
DENNYDOG
Addicted Member
I did it just to play around and have fun with it. I figured it would be cool to make a 12" arm out of carbon fiber. I had a parts turntable laying around so it really didn't cost me anything besides the cf tube and the tonearm leads.
I never completely finished it but had it together enough to find out it worked very well. There were a couple cosmetic things I didn't like. A little bit more work and would be a pretty sexy arm.
I never completely finished it but had it together enough to find out it worked very well. There were a couple cosmetic things I didn't like. A little bit more work and would be a pretty sexy arm.
flavio81
Turntable technician
I was also looking at designs like this other RS Labs headshell... But I think this will be beyond my capabilities.
I always thought that headshell design was a very bad idea; it would have very increased levels of warp-wow compared to a regular tonearm. You want to place the vertical pivot in a way that record warps change the cantilever-to-record angle as little as possible.