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In Reply to: RE: mistracking for 500mm straight tonearm posted by John Elison on October 20, 2016 at 15:31:39
I own an RS Labs RS-A1 tonearm, although it is not in regular use. This is a 7 or 8 inch tonearm that is designed to be mounted with underhang. When I have used it, I am always impressed with its innate "smoothness" and musicality; when I have compared the sound of one or two cartridges mounted alternatively in the RS-A1 or in a conventional 9-inch tonearm with headshell offset and using overhang, I've had to admit to myself that in many ways I prefer the RS-A1. Recently, there is a newer product available, the Viv Rigid Float tonearm, that also is straight-line design meant for underhung mounting. It has received many favorable reviews outside the US, and I saw one in the flesh just recently in Tokyo. The designer contends that even though there is "more" tracking error on average with his designs (there are 7, 9, and 13-inch versions available), eliminating distortions produced by the additional skating force at the null points created by headshell offset, and eliminating the anti-skating mechanism per se, are keys to the pleasing sonics. I find his logic appealing. (The Viv also has a unique floating bearing which may in part contribute to its excellence, but the RS-A1 is just a simple unipivot.)
Follow Ups:
Thank you Lew,
I have also read about the RS Labs RS-A1 - looks 'out of this audiophile world'.
How would you describe there character of the sound? Why do you only 'sometimes' use it if you feel it does sound the best? Are you worried about tracking error?
I have three tonearms. Two are straight and one is conventional off-set. I am modifying my ebony 12 inch arm to accommodate an off-set headshell as I am worried about tracking error. . However, I have positioned my 500mm straight arm as to John Ellison's suggested null point of 78.872mm and it sounds fantastic. I am so happy.
Anyhow, I will still go ahead with the mod on the ebony 12 inch arm for experimentation.
Bob
"You have to leave something to your imagination"
All tonearm designs are compromised to one degree or another. Vinyl is also plagued with different types of distortion, but it still sounds good. In fact, it might sound good because of its distortion rather than in spite of it. Regarding the RS-A1 tonearm, I have never read anything bad about its sound quality even though it is a very unconventional design. On the contrary, all reviewers claim it to be the best sounding tonearm they've ever heard. On the other hand, you might be one of the few people who actually uses it because it is so difficult to use. In other words, sound quality is not at the top of the list of reasons people prefer their tonearms.
As for me, I prefer SME tonearms because I like virtually everything about their design. Furthermore, I prefer an offset tonearm because I prefer to minimize tracking error distortion.
To each his own!
Best regards,
John Elison
is simply mounting the cartridge without destroying it, because the unipivot is so unstable while one is trying to work at the headshell end. The whole apparatus is prone to tipping over if one is not careful. I know Dave Pogue had issues with cue-ing his at the beginning and end of each side, but that so far for me has not been a problem. Yes, the SME is bulletproof. I've got 3 other tonearms in active use, and all of those are conventional types. I was merely pointing out that these alternative designs may tell us something about which distortions are significant in our perception of reproduced music and which are not.
When I borrowed an RS-A1, love/hate ensued. Loved the sound, hated the ergonomics. Finally resorted to getting a gum massager at CVS whose angled head enabled me to pick up the arm from a record (and redeposit it) without destroying too many cantilevers and even getting the stylus in the right spot every once in a while.
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