Weight of Hadcock GH 242 tonearm?

Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 13, 2020 at 16:16:54
PAR Audiophile Posts: 1732 Location: South London, UK Joined: June 4, 2019	There are three versions and only two of them weigh the same. "We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 13, 2020 at 18:15:46
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	The GH 242 export cryo version. It's the one advertised in the Asylum Trader. It looks like it's light enough to work well on a Michell Gyro SE. I've wanted to try two tonearms on that turntable for years and a nice lightweight uni-pivot would complement the SME 309 I'm using now. The GH 242 seems like a step up from a Jelco 'arm, which I've considered, but maybe not. Tom

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 13, 2020 at 19:17:15

John Elison
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You can find information on Hadcock 242 tonearm on the Vinyl Engine website:

Vinyl Engine Website

The seller is the U.S. importer, Bill Feil..., posted on September 13, 2020 at 19:30:30
viridian	...you might ask him.

RE: Weight of Hadcock GH 242 tonearm?, posted on September 13, 2020 at 20:23:42

mnawaz3@aol.com
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in my tonearm experiments i found that there was no difference in behaviour between light and medium weight arms on MOST MM cartridges. your 309 probably has similar specs to smeV. my smeV handled all the MM cartridges i threw at it (nottingham tracer, grado, goldring 1024, music maker 2, technics, black pearl, and a lot more.

i liked my vintage hadcock (more in fact, than smeV -- which is a good arm but kinda boring ). when i researched newer hadcocks, i remember them having similar effective mass to smeV. so i passed. my guess is that the newer hadcock will be a side-step but probably a positive one on some cartridges.

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 00:29:11

PAR
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The company who I think may be the UK distributor (?), see the link, lists it as weighing 5lbs (rather eccentric as we do not normally use imperial weights over here). Anyway that is 2.27kg which is way too heavy for a Michell Gyro (the arm plus the Michell (or other) mounting plate should total 1kg for the suspension to function correctly*).

However as that figure is placed just above the shipping cost I wonder if that is actually the shipping weight? There are contact details on this web page so you could ask for clarification. From its looks I would expect the arm itself to be lighter but who knows, it may have a very substantial arm pillar.

* NB: If you replace the Gyro spring suspension with the independently developed rubber modification then not only will you get a substantial improvement in SQ in every area but you may be able to exceed that 1kg limitation as the suspension is no longer really bouncy.

"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

http://www.britishaudiostore.com/hadcock-gh242-export-tonear

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 00:39:20

PAR
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Location: South London, UK
Joined: June 4, 2019

Unfortunately the Vinyl Engine listing just refers to the Hadcock 24. I suspect that may be referring to the original model. Mr. Hadcock passed away some years ago and his son is now running the business, one result being that there are now three GH 242 versions; Export, Integra and Super Silver. The OP is interested in the weight, a parameter they do not all appear to share.

"We need less, but better" - Dieter Rams

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 03:24:44
John Elison Audiophile Posts: 23900 Location: Central Kentucky Joined: December 20, 2000 Contributor Since: January 29, 2004	That 5-lbs is probably an exaggerated weight for the tonearm packed in a box for shipping. My SME V is a very substantial tonearm and it weighs 720-grams, which is only 1.587-lbs. The SME V has a sliding base and is built with considerable structural integrity. Consequently, I think most 9-inch tonearms probably weigh less than the SME V. Good luck! John Elison

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 04:18:35

tketcham
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Thanks, PAR,

The 5lb weight sounds too heavy. Unless the pillar is made of lead. :-) I guess I'll have to ask the seller or a British distributor.

I've read all about modifying Michell Gyro SE turntables to accommodate a second 'arm so am ready to undertake the task. And as for making sure the weight distribution is maintained, I had to have a custom lightweight acrylic mounting plate made to get my SE balanced out correctly using the SME 309. Once I swapped out the stock aluminum plate with the lighter weight plate the "Gyro bounce" was easy to establish.

I'd considered the replacing the springs with an elastomer type suspension but decided against it.

Tom

RE: Which Hadcock 242?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 04:19:18
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	I checked and they don't list the weight of the tonearm. Tom

RE: The seller is the U.S. importer, Bill Feil..., posted on September 14, 2020 at 04:21:01
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	That was my second option. Or asking a British distributor. Thought I'd check here first. Tom

RE: Weight of Hadcock GH 242 tonearm?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 04:34:26
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	Thanks for the information. I'm thinking of adding a second tonearm so that I can have a choice of cartridges when playing records: One 'arm with a LOMC cartridge for acoustic instrumentation and/or more delicate presentations and another 'arm with a MM cartridge that plays well with robust, lively music. Plus, I've been wanting to try out a uni-pivot tonearm, just for the halibut. Tom

RE: Weight of Hadcock GH 242 tonearm?, posted on September 14, 2020 at 17:54:56
mnawaz3@aol.com Audiophile Posts: 502 Joined: March 28, 2002	OK, this makes sense... i found the music maker cartridge to be the best at lively, rowdy music. no MC that i tried (40+) could match it its area of excellence. it is high compliance and prefers a light-medium arm 9-12gm. but it does not need a very light arm . guessing it would go great on your hadcock

RE: Got an answer..., posted on September 17, 2020 at 06:37:24
tketcham Audiophile Posts: 6701 Location: East of the 100th meridian USofA Joined: March 21, 2005 Contributor Since: October 1, 2005	I received a reply from a British retailer and he said the Hadcock GH 242 weighs 500g (1.1 lb). Effective mass is 11.4g.

Vinyl Asylum

Weight of Hadcock GH 242 tonearm?

71.168.98.24