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24.20.2.129
Hi Folks,
I am looking for an inexpensive (sub $400) 12 inch tonearm for my sp10 mkII.
I plan to mount a Denon 103 on the arm, so I would imagine older broadcast type arms are to be considered.
My thanks in advance for your suggestions and sharing what works well for this table and cartridge.
Paul
Follow Ups:
I mounted my cherry wood tonearnm (pictured and described below) last night in place of my JMW 10.5i. Again, I was amazed at how good it sounds, and not just "for the price." It has a DL103 on it that was retipped by the Soundsmith with a line contact, ruby cantilever stylus assembly ($350).
FWIW, I'm one of the few who recommend against putting a wood body on the DL-103. I tried it once and ended up removing the body and returning to the original plastic one because it sounded more open, fast, and dynamic that way. Great cart, and a very good match for the wood arm.
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your replies and the info on the cherry arm.
That arm is tempting, and nice to get a report first hand using the cart I have intended.
It's a long term project, but I'll post an update when I get the deck set up and settled in.
Thank you again,
Paul
There is also the Jelco SA-750L. It's high eff. mass (around 25g I think) so should suit the Denon well. Can be had in black too (750LB). Comes with extra heavy counterweight but you will need to buy an external phono cable. 2juki has the Jelco cables too (JAC-501/502).
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
The budget is unrealistic for a 12" tonearm. On the other hand, you can buy a real nice 9.4" tonearm for $299.
Edits: 05/03/12
get a good used SME 9", save up funds for a good 12" to match the table.
If you have good design and fabrication skills, making a 12" effective length unipivot tonearm is really not that difficult. The most expensive part will be the sapphire jewel bearing and matching stainless steel pivot, but that's less than twenty bucks IIRC.
Here's one I built a couple years ago:
There is a solid cherry tonearm available in 12" or 9" length, sold on Audiogon from time to time, for $250 or less. A friend owns one and says it is excellent. $400 is a pretty low bar for a 12" tonearm.
is the same as linked by Curious further down the follow ups. I first saw it on Agon. A couple of Inmates own this arm and speak highly of it. Unless one is very lucky with finding a used deal, it might be hard to beat for the price.
"For a nominal service fee,
you can reach nirvana tonight."
Thank you for the information.
I understand that the financial cap limits my options considerably.
I appreciate your help!
Paul
No problemo. Unfortunately, that cherry 12-inch tonearm comes and goes from the Audiogon "for sale" section. Right now, I do not see that they are available. Perhaps an inmate here who owns one can put you in touch with the maker. I am pretty sure they are made in the US, in someone's basement.
Paul cpc....
The 12" cherry tonearm is just what you need! I have one with an Ortofon Classic SPU N E mounted on it and it works to perfection.
Len Johnson is the designer/builder and he can be contacted at tonearmaudio
I am guessing that is what you want ? If you want a 12 inch pivot to stylus, this would be considered a 16 inch arm.
For not breaking the bank, the AT arms are good contenders. So are the ESL 1000 and 2000, made in Denmark, like the Ortofon SPU carts...
For a little more money, I would shoot for an early version Micro Seiki MA-505. This uncanny dynamically balanced (spring loaded) arm can be adjusted, while playing discs (!), for VTA, tracking force and anti-skating. Additional counterweight mass might be needed for some heavyweight carts, like my fave the Ortofon SPU GT, but will be fine stock with a 103.
For a bunch more money, the Fidelity Research FR-64S or FR64FX are highly recommended.
While a 103 is a great start, hot rodding the 103 with a new body transforms it. I highly recommend some other classic carts for your precious stereo discs, though. GAS Sleeping Beauty and Supex SD900 Super_ have been very delicious sounding, here. Competing with an Ortofon SPU (vintage SPU), these two classics always satisfy.
Now, for the 78 rpm and mono LP/45 discs, get one of those GE VR RPX carts, like the RPX-050, quickly, while the market is now very soft. This is a very endearing mono cart. It's the cart that really enabled hifi in every home, circa post WWII-early '50s. It still holds it's own, today, but requires about 6 grams of tracking force.
Best of Luck with your new toys and project...
for the 103 do you recommend?
Thank you for the many suggestions.
I will do some research and put these in the hopper.
Much appreciated.
Best regards,
Paul
Always has and always will as far as I know.
Best regards,
John Elison
but to the stylus tip not length
:)
He just meant the length from pivot point to stylus tip. Anyway, I agree with John.
Tonearm length is ALWAYS about the Effective length, from the pivot point to the stylus tip, NOT the overall length from, say, the far end of headshell to the far end of counterweight post, which is hard to define. Tonearm length is essentially the length from the spindle to the mounting center, minus the overhang, roughly 15mm in most 9" arm. By now, I am stating the obvious.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
of an SP10 to me.
...regards...tr
i am not against learning. i wonder if it will be displayed at THE Show Newport...
...regards...tr
...not much.
The 9" played right up with the Rega and Benz Ace as well as the DL-103R which sounded best. I had some issues with the cartridge/arm wires affecting the tracking but once sorted out with Cardas 33ga., it played amazingly well.
It's made in Pennsylvania. According to 213Cobra, it's an excellent arm, and it comes in well below the budget. Is it worthy of an SP10? Well, I think the SP-10 would certainly help maximize it's potential. For $400.00, I'm not sure what anyone could get unless they found a killer deal on a Sony, which happens from time to time. But you don't know when that time is going to come.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
a graham arm on a technics 1200 would maximize the 1200 also but its no match for it.
...regards...tr
I have no personal experience with it, only the favorable report of a friend. I like the assertion that the vertical bearing is "friction-free". That would be miraculous, indeed.
I have it and like it, switching off from my JMW 10.5i to it every once in a while. "Friction free" it's not, but it does exhibit amazingly low friction for the price.
you are the un-named "friend" whom I knew owned one of those tonearms and liked it. I did not want to put you on the spot by mentioning your name. Thanks for chiming in.
nt
I have a Luxman PD444 and th Cherry arm has been recommended to me.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
I've never been able to bring myself to put it to the ultimate test -- i.e., same cart on both arms. I have the arms on separate armboards, so it really wouldn't be all that difficult.
Maybe I don't really want to know. I mean, I have three armtubes for the JMW and to have all that beaten by a $200 arm (that's what mine cost before he boosted the price a couple times), well, I'm in no hurry to find out.
Thanks for your candor. Seems like the Cherry arm is performing pretty well.
"Hope is a good thing. Maybe, the best of things. And no good thing ever dies."
I should probably add that I haven't heard the current version which employs a separate cartridge holder (rather than having the cartridge mounted directly on the wood itself). Mine is the 12" version BTW.The arm has its shortcomings if you count them as such. No anti-skating provisions. No easy way to ground the arm. No arm lift, although the builder has ingeniously installed TWO finger lifts on the arm itself, one of which is mounted halfway back so it's easy to lift the arm at the end of a record. And you have to position the arm wires at the back end of the arm so they don't impede its operation, but this just involves common sense. All in all, I think it's an amazing bargain and I've never had any skipping/repeating issues with it. It currently has a Soundsmith-retipped (ruby cantilever) Denon DL103 on it.
Edits: 05/03/12
Opus 104
....you don't mind going without cueing and anti-skate. It matches very well with the Denon.
n
I'll second that. Or an AT-1503.
W
I think I could get by without those-especially if I did not have to break the bank to do so.
ATP-12t is definitely on my list as this seems to be a proven performer with this table and cartridge.
Thank you for your help!
Paul
nt
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