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12 in Tonearm

108.184.201.105
Posted on May 3, 2015 at 20:04:30
rockpassion
Audiophile

Posts: 502
Joined: July 9, 2002
Contributor
  Since: January 4, 2006
 I will soon be ordering a Woody String Theory tonearm. I would like to order the 12 in version. My question is, I have a VPI HW-19 MK IV with the superarm board. I will have to replace the armboard which is no big deal but I want to make sure it will support using the 12 inch tonearm.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Richard

 

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I don't believe you will have enough room for a 12 inch arm., posted on May 4, 2015 at 05:50:11
volunteer
Audiophile

Posts: 5666
Location: Louisville, KY
Joined: January 7, 2012
 Support isn't the issue. Space is. You may need an outboard mount. Best to call VPI and talk with them.


-Wendell

 

RE: 12 in Tonearm, posted on May 4, 2015 at 05:55:21
Not Yet There
Audiophile

Posts: 538
Joined: April 8, 2006
 The HW-19 cannot accommodate a 12 inch arm. Simply not enough room.

 

Why a 12" arm? /nt\, posted on May 4, 2015 at 06:16:25
Opus 33 1/3
Audiophile

Posts: 4184
Location: D.C. Area
Joined: February 19, 2014




Opus 33 1/3

 

RE: 12 in Tonearm, posted on May 4, 2015 at 13:58:36
AudioSoul
Audiophile

Posts: 4594
Location: north central AZ
Joined: July 9, 2005
A 12' arm will not fit the VPI. Why do you want a 12" arm in the first place? If it is for the supposed better tracking don't waist your money. I have had a Jelco SA-750D 9" and 750L 12" on the same Thorens TD-124 and I could not hear ANY difference. There is a lot of supposition and not enough science to back the theory up.......

 

RE: 12 in Tonearm, posted on May 4, 2015 at 14:42:25
rockpassion
Audiophile

Posts: 502
Joined: July 9, 2002
Contributor
  Since: January 4, 2006
 Thanks AudioSoul I will drop back to the 9-9.5 inch tonearm. I appreciate the information.

Richard

 

RE: 12 in Tonearm, posted on May 5, 2015 at 10:10:07
majick47
Audiophile

Posts: 799
Location: Pembroke MA
Joined: June 27, 2006
 A 10" arm might fit the VPI, check with VPI before purchasing a tonearm, they have plenty of experience/knowledge as to what length/design/brands tonearms will fit. I believe Jelco makes 10" arms.

 

Actually, there is science, posted on May 5, 2015 at 10:10:13
M3 lover
Audiophile

Posts: 6604
Location: SW Mich
Joined: May 29, 2005
Contributor
  Since: July 4, 2007
 to explain why longer tonearms may have reduced tracing error. See section on arm length in Keith Howard's article.

The question is, what is audible? Some folks hear a difference, others do not. Of course other factors enter in as well. For a given arm design, such as the Jelcos, the longer the arm the greater the mass and that may affect cartridge compliance matching. Also, some folks consider that shorter arms may be more rigid but I suspect that is a matter of individual arm design.

So like so much in this hobby there is seldom a simple black or white answer.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho

 

RE: Actually, there is science, posted on May 6, 2015 at 07:07:29
collinslaw@fuse.net
Audiophile

Posts: 524
Location: Northern Kentucky
Joined: August 5, 2011
 my experience between the two lengths involves a vpi table. when i bought the table, it had an sme 4 mounted. i wanted to try a vpi arm so stumbled onto a good deal on a 12 inch. i know we have a second variable of the unipivot and gimballed arm, but i think this observation will hold true.
i noticed the biggest difference on final cuts on records. there was a much more relaxed feeling. on janis ian's between the lines lp, the last cut on side one is called watercolors. a very beautiful song, why are the best ones always on the inside cut, anyway, with the sme, her voice could sound very hard and brittle on that cut, the vpi arm allowed a much more relaxed sound. this has carried over to any record with a challenging inner cut or like those 70's rock albums where the engineer was trying to cram an extra minute or two onto the album.
my good listening friend reported a similar experience. other than this, i can't report much else.
Tom Collins

 

RE: Actually, there is science, posted on May 6, 2015 at 08:07:47
Lew
Audiophile

Posts: 10912
Location: Bethesda, Maryland
Joined: December 11, 2000
 You could probably "fix" those inner groove problems by tweaking the alignment. For example, the much maligned Stevenson algorithm will produce a null point within or near to the innermost grooves. (I own a few vintage Japanese tonearms that were designed for Stevenson, and with those, the innermost grooves often produce the "smoothest" sound.) But this is not to dispute the obvious point that a longer tonearm will give a flatter arc across the LP surface with commensurately less tracking error, on average.

 

Lew beat me to it!, posted on May 6, 2015 at 10:09:26
M3 lover
Audiophile

Posts: 6604
Location: SW Mich
Joined: May 29, 2005
Contributor
  Since: July 4, 2007
 I was about to ask if you utilized the same alignment procedure with both arms? As he advised, different alignments are designed to minimize distortion over different portions of a given record.

"The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing, if you can fake that you've got it made." Groucho

 

RE: Actually, there is science, posted on May 6, 2015 at 10:26:16
collinslaw@fuse.net
Audiophile

Posts: 524
Location: Northern Kentucky
Joined: August 5, 2011
 for my part, the same alignment set with feikart protractor. also, the vpi allows azimuth adjustment and the sme did not.
Tom Collins

 

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