Tonearm identification
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Balifly
Listening
kyle
Super Member
Balifly is correct. It's a Mayware and it looks like a IV that I have. It really only works with very high compliance cartridges and even then isn't very good.
If you do decide to use it, it needs rewiring because the cheap wires it uses will have corroded inside the insulation.
It's a unipivot that doesn't react well to anything but perfectly flat records which seems to negate one of the good things about unipivots.
On the upside, the panasonic table is very nice. I'd buy it and get a better arm.
The attached image is mine. The slider weight was removed and used elsewhere.
If you do decide to use it, it needs rewiring because the cheap wires it uses will have corroded inside the insulation.
It's a unipivot that doesn't react well to anything but perfectly flat records which seems to negate one of the good things about unipivots.
On the upside, the panasonic table is very nice. I'd buy it and get a better arm.
The attached image is mine. The slider weight was removed and used elsewhere.
Honestly, I was considering buying it FOR the tonearm, hoping it was something good. I acquired a grease bearing Garrard 301 for virtually free with a Leak mono tonearm. I'm not a man with a big budget, so I am trying to find a decent tonearm to pair with the 301. I come from some pretty cheap turntables, so just about everything will probably be an upgrade, but that doesn't mean I want to install junk. The technics also has a Ortofon sl 15 e cartridge, but I do not know the condition of the stylus tip.
If what you say is true about it not reacting well with non-flat records, then it will probably be a bad match for me. My records aren't awful, but not many are perfectly flat.
kyle
Super Member
If you are buying the table for that arm you should do it any way. Sell the arm and table separately and you could have enough for a more appropriate arm for the Garrard. That's assuming the Garrard doesn't need a ton of work and upgrading. You might find that the Panasonic is the table for you if it's in working condition.
Both tables will have very good resale values so if you sold one of the tables, the Leak and the Mayware, you could buy a really nice new arm for the table you keep. You might even have enough for a decent cartridge as well.
Both tables will have very good resale values so if you sold one of the tables, the Leak and the Mayware, you could buy a really nice new arm for the table you keep. You might even have enough for a decent cartridge as well.
That is sort of what I was thinking. I'm going to look at the Technics tomorrow. I know the seller, and he is holding it for me at least until then. It looks sort of rough, so I'm not sure what sort of value it will provide, and shipping will be a pain, but it may be worth it. My Garrard appears to be in good shape, but I have not disassembled the motor to check/replace the grease yet. I do not intend on selling the Garrard at the moment... I sold off a later oil bearing one a few years ago because I didn't play records enough to justify keeping it, and I regretted it since. I will need to build/buy a plinth for it, though.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
Were you guys using the silicone damped unipivot arm incorrectly? This is one of the variable mass arms similar to the Polk, JH Reproducers and Sonus arms with Mayware putting out a few versions of it.
Sure does need a high compliance cartridge, though and if roughly handled the pivot or the point that it pivots on can be damaged.
Properly set up with appropriate cartridges it can sound very nice. Great, maybe it isn't but it isn't as bad as some say, or do I need to clean my rose-colored glasses?
Sure does need a high compliance cartridge, though and if roughly handled the pivot or the point that it pivots on can be damaged.
Properly set up with appropriate cartridges it can sound very nice. Great, maybe it isn't but it isn't as bad as some say, or do I need to clean my rose-colored glasses?
It's not a terrible arm, it's actually quite nice when set up properly with the appropriate cartridge.
kyle
Super Member
For the price of a Mayware in OK condition you can get a used Rega RB300 which is a better sounding and more versatile arm which won't restrict you to cartridges that are becoming antique. That's just my opinion but there are many alternatives that sound better than the Mayware. I have one so I'm not really talking through my hat.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
I agree with the idea of not looking for an ultra low mass arm for what is out there today in cartridges. I'm at a loss as to why there is such a desire to get those old cartridges, but then I have not tried a multitude of different aftermarket styli with them. The Infinity Black Widow commands a few hundred or more and it wants even higher compliance cartridges than the Mayware, which I owned when the Micro Acoustics cartridges were new. I am curious if the new cartridges from Ortofon and AT are as good as the old ones, you know moderate cartridges, the new AT VM line for example and how it stacks up to the AT 15 for example. Are we deluding ourselves chasing the 35 year old cartridges and strapping on a stylus made by some aftermarket company thinking what we have cobbled together is better than what is out there new today?
It's actually a very good arm, though that one doesn't look in the best of condition. Not everyone likes unipivots since when cuing, they seem tippy, but in actual use they are very stable since the single point provides a rigid and exactly located bearing, which is damped. I liked the way it sounded, looked, and, importantly, felt when using (once the tippiness seemed normal). It also has variable mass which makes it quite adaptable. The early model had a rather flimsy headshell, but later ones had a more substantial one (and a thicker arm tube, which might help with less compliant cartridges).
It is an upgrade of the JH, and apparently made without permission or acknowledgement. Polk was just the original Mayware's distributor, and the Sonus was a later model that put the pivot point at record level, made by Mayware (or whatever Japanese maker made the Mayware) for Sonus.
It is an upgrade of the JH, and apparently made without permission or acknowledgement. Polk was just the original Mayware's distributor, and the Sonus was a later model that put the pivot point at record level, made by Mayware (or whatever Japanese maker made the Mayware) for Sonus.
I don't understand the early comment about Formula IVs having problems with warps. That is the opposite experience I've had and is contrary to practically everything I've read about it - low mass damped arms are famous for dealing well with warps.
If the arm isn't set up properly - for example if no damping was applied - perhaps there might be some issue, but no arm is immune to improper use.
If the arm isn't set up properly - for example if no damping was applied - perhaps there might be some issue, but no arm is immune to improper use.
No. You should donate it to a worthy recipient. I have a candidate in mind...
But, of course, actually yes - they are lovely arms to use, and work well with high compliance cartridges, but also things like Decca Londons and other low compliance cartridges that needed damping because of the energy they put into the arm. By the time the later models with heavier headshells and thicker arm tubes came around, in the UK at least, Mayware was selling a range of well reviewed moving coils which they matched with the arm, though they were also available separately. Which suggests the range of possibility with the variable mass.
I had the first model with the light headshell and replaced it with an SME Series III, which might have been even better with the AKGs I was using at the time, but for the time, that was a very high standard. The Formula IV was a popular replacement for the AR XA arm since it was light and could be adapted relatively easily (though of course that is a loose use of 'easily', since it involved a fair amount of metal work).
But, of course, actually yes - they are lovely arms to use, and work well with high compliance cartridges, but also things like Decca Londons and other low compliance cartridges that needed damping because of the energy they put into the arm. By the time the later models with heavier headshells and thicker arm tubes came around, in the UK at least, Mayware was selling a range of well reviewed moving coils which they matched with the arm, though they were also available separately. Which suggests the range of possibility with the variable mass.
I had the first model with the light headshell and replaced it with an SME Series III, which might have been even better with the AKGs I was using at the time, but for the time, that was a very high standard. The Formula IV was a popular replacement for the AR XA arm since it was light and could be adapted relatively easily (though of course that is a loose use of 'easily', since it involved a fair amount of metal work).
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
no. why would you use something you have owned for years and never used? Well that is based on knowing nothing about what you have available to use and whether there is a cartridge that will work well with the arm or if you have better arms in use now.
Blue Shadow
Waiting for Vintage Gear from this century
I don't use all of it, but I have probably tried everything that worked when I got it.
But if you have never used it, why start now?
But if you have never used it, why start now?
bimasta
Addicted Member
I got it as a curiosity. I'd read about it, knew its "prowess" with hi-compli carts... and it was only $5 at a yard sale. I was into MCs at the time but had some nice MM/MIs it might suit, but never got around to it.
The worst thing about that yard sale was I got there late. When the seller saw me studying the Mayware he asked "You into this stuff?" When I said Yes, he said "Should've come earlier, the good stuff is all gone."
Turns out he'd been a dealer, analogue specialist, wiped out when CD stole the show. This was before the current "Vinyl Revival'. He kept the stuff for years but finally got rid of it. Turns out I missed about 60 cartridges of all kinds, all NOS/NIB, over a dozen tonearms, many tables, cables, SUTs — in short, everything a well-stocked specialist audio store would have during the so-called "Golden Age" — and all of it sold for dinky prices like the Mayware.
He started to tell me what I'd missed and I said "Oh no man PLEASE!!!! I don't want to know!" He stopped, and nodded "I feel you brother."
It happened two other times. A church rummage sale. I got a NIB Ortofon Concorde (the audiophile version, not the DJ: nude fine-line stylus) for $4. The sadist running the sale said "You should've come earlier, we had 40 of them." Oh well, I got the one, and a Yamaha T-85 for $5.
Finally, a pawnshop in "Beverly Hills adjacent". Not a regular pawn shop, a collector who took a short-term rental to offload his stuff. His prices were higher but still crazy-low for what he had. I got a Linn LP12/Ittok/Valhalla/with Koetsu Rosewood Longbody for $125, a pair of new Meridian Active speakers with Target stands for $400, and Audio Reasearch SP6 for $150 — that day, cash. And he gave me a Magus tube preamp on loan to try (for $75 if I took it).
His shelves were still full — Oracle Delphi, four Fisher and four Scott tube monoblocks with four matching preamps, Musical Fidelity 300W Class A power amp (weighed ±200lbs), and 40–50 other things I thankfully don't remember. I wanted all of it: the resale of stuff I didn't keep would easily cover what I did keep, and a profit. I mean, for one pair of the Fisher monos + Preamp, he only wanted $150. Same for a Scott combo. And they'd been recapped and restored.
I asked him to hold it all for me. "You know I can't do that," he said, but he liked me and smiled "But I feel a cold coming on, a bad one. I'll probably have to close for a few days... I'll lock up as soon as you leave."
I ran to my bank next day. I was a brand new customer, with no history in the US (20 years overseas), and it wasn't easy to get a loan from a bean counter who knew nada about audio or me. But eventually they gave me a line for $20K. During this negotiation, I called the pawn-guy twice daily with "Hold On, I'm Coming" updates, but always got his answering machine.
When I arrived, cash in hand, the store was locked, empty, with a FOR RENT sign.
The worst thing about that yard sale was I got there late. When the seller saw me studying the Mayware he asked "You into this stuff?" When I said Yes, he said "Should've come earlier, the good stuff is all gone."
Turns out he'd been a dealer, analogue specialist, wiped out when CD stole the show. This was before the current "Vinyl Revival'. He kept the stuff for years but finally got rid of it. Turns out I missed about 60 cartridges of all kinds, all NOS/NIB, over a dozen tonearms, many tables, cables, SUTs — in short, everything a well-stocked specialist audio store would have during the so-called "Golden Age" — and all of it sold for dinky prices like the Mayware.
He started to tell me what I'd missed and I said "Oh no man PLEASE!!!! I don't want to know!" He stopped, and nodded "I feel you brother."
It happened two other times. A church rummage sale. I got a NIB Ortofon Concorde (the audiophile version, not the DJ: nude fine-line stylus) for $4. The sadist running the sale said "You should've come earlier, we had 40 of them." Oh well, I got the one, and a Yamaha T-85 for $5.
Finally, a pawnshop in "Beverly Hills adjacent". Not a regular pawn shop, a collector who took a short-term rental to offload his stuff. His prices were higher but still crazy-low for what he had. I got a Linn LP12/Ittok/Valhalla/with Koetsu Rosewood Longbody for $125, a pair of new Meridian Active speakers with Target stands for $400, and Audio Reasearch SP6 for $150 — that day, cash. And he gave me a Magus tube preamp on loan to try (for $75 if I took it).
His shelves were still full — Oracle Delphi, four Fisher and four Scott tube monoblocks with four matching preamps, Musical Fidelity 300W Class A power amp (weighed ±200lbs), and 40–50 other things I thankfully don't remember. I wanted all of it: the resale of stuff I didn't keep would easily cover what I did keep, and a profit. I mean, for one pair of the Fisher monos + Preamp, he only wanted $150. Same for a Scott combo. And they'd been recapped and restored.
I asked him to hold it all for me. "You know I can't do that," he said, but he liked me and smiled "But I feel a cold coming on, a bad one. I'll probably have to close for a few days... I'll lock up as soon as you leave."
I ran to my bank next day. I was a brand new customer, with no history in the US (20 years overseas), and it wasn't easy to get a loan from a bean counter who knew nada about audio or me. But eventually they gave me a line for $20K. During this negotiation, I called the pawn-guy twice daily with "Hold On, I'm Coming" updates, but always got his answering machine.
When I arrived, cash in hand, the store was locked, empty, with a FOR RENT sign.
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