Linear tracking - a myth debunked?

[Pio1980]

It's a short armtube, but it's an armtube. The resonances would likely be must higher in frequency than in a longer arm tube, and probably more easily damped, but it appears that the counterweight stub is significantly longer and thinner than usual, and it may be a more important source of resonance problems. I assume it's longer because the counterweight needs to be pretty thin to fit between the record and the arm mechanism.
All that said, I suspect that the arm doesn't handle warped records well. Obviously no one thinks that badly warped records are good, but most records have some imperfections in flatness. So it is an important consideration for arm designers.

To the contrary, a cart in this arm will figuratively track anything from a pizza to a potato chip.
Re resonances, my Souther arm has added supplemental damping for the rails, gantry, and arm tube. The arm tube is filled with very small loose glass spheres to render it acoustically dead.

 

[E-Stat]

To the contrary, a cart in this arm will figuratively track anything from a pizza to a potato chip..

Exactly. The Souther/Clearaudio arms are like linear Vestigals that have no trouble navigating the worst warps. You'll still hear warp wow, but the stylus will stay planted in the groove.

 

[bimasta]

Just a rod. The current models use carbon fiber.

I confused it with the Versa LT. But I may be wrong on that one too, it happens with increasing frequency. (Pun away, but make 'em good, not the blatantly obvious.)

 

[Pio1980]

Clearaudio got the rights to both the Souther and Cantus linear arms and uses either concept in their LTAs. The developer of the Cantus was the Scandanavian agent for Souther and had Lou's blessing and encouragement. His relationship, afaik, with Peter Souchy became less amicable in the end.