Whats The Best Sounding Tonearm Vintage/Recent Regardless of Price?

[Vrajbasi]

I am currently happy with my thales tonearms and am happy with the Kondo badged sme v-12 I do find sme tonearms and a bit hit and miss as no two seem to be the same. The fidelity FR66 i have is also a great tonearm full bodied and works pretty good with spus . I also like the SCHRÖDER LT i find it a very effortless tonearm also the Davinci Vertu is a great bit of kit the build quality is fantastic I am not sure of the availability of the Davinci these days. The classic Sme m-12r is very underrated I actually prefer this to the 3012r in my opinion as offer good value when you consider the many crazily priced products out there.

[Barry]

I am currently happy with my thales tonearms and am happy with the Kondo badged sme v-12 I do find sme tonearms and a bit hit and miss as no two seem to be the same. The fidelity FR66 i have is also a great tonearm full bodied and works pretty good with spus . I also like the SCHRÖDER LT i find it a very effortless tonearm also the Davinci Vertu is a great bit of kit the build quality is fantastic I am not sure of the availability of the Davinci these days. The classic Sme m-12r is very underrated I actually prefer this to the 3012r in my opinion as offer good value when you consider the many crazily priced products out there.

I have both (well actually the 3012, not the 3012R, the latter of which uses a stainless steel arm rather than aluminium of the earlier 3012) and agree with you - but the bearings for motion in the vertical plane are quite different, and hence the two will 'sound' different.

[Vrajbasi]

The Axiom 12" Reference is built superbly I love it for its very open and airy sound I don't use it so much when I get my new cartridge today I will probably first give it a go in the Axiom. The glanz arms are stunning too I was offered a new 104s recently at a really good price but refused wish I did, decided one day when i have the funds I would go for the 124sd I generally prefer 12 inch tonearms just find them more gracious and sweet sounding while not as dynamic the 124sd also looks like a strong contender.

[Barry]

Interesting you comments regarding the length of pick up arms. Longer arms benefit from lower tracking distortion, but are more massive and have higher inertia, to the detriment of speed. Shorter arms are said to behave in the converse manner. So there are some who think that arms having an effective length mid way between the two are an optimum compromise.

I have several arms covering all three options, and am of the opinion that it all comes down to effective mass and bearing quality, rather than length.

[Vrajbasi]

I recently had a offer to hear the SAT arm at home on my micro seiki while tempted the £34000 price tag certainly put me off golden rule never try things you cant afford.

http://swedishat.com/technology-2.html

[hal55]

Always preferred the SME 4 over the 5, just found it more enjoyable.
Not that you would ever find one, but the second Heybrook arm was a blinder. Would love to have it back.

[Vrajbasi]

Always preferred the SME 4 over the 5, just found it more enjoyable.
Not that you would ever find one, but the second Heybrook arm was a blinder. Would love to have it back.

I kind of understand as I have heard sme IV arms sound better than Vs and vice versa I have even heard a 309 sound better than a not so good V.

[Barry]

I kind of understand as I have heard sme IV arms sound better than Vs and vice versa I have even heard a 309 sound better than a not so good V.

Unless it was with the exact same cartridge and mounted on the exact same TT, and listened through the same amplifier and speakers, I can't see how you can be rigorous in your observation

[Vrajbasi]

Unless it was with the exact same cartridge and mounted on the exact same TT, and listened through the same amplifier and speakers, I can't see how you can be rigorous in your observation

Because I have been in the fortunate position to do exactly as you say and have at times owned several several sme arms all at the same time, the dealer who I use carries many in stock have been able to borrow quite a few too. I also speak from what I have heard in my system which I am familiar with.

[Barry]

So have I; same model SME arms, mounted on the same model TTs. But unless I used a single cartridge in one arm on a particular TT and then removed the cartridge and fitted it to another sample of the arm, which was in turn fitted to the previous TT, I wouldn't be able to come to such a definite conclusion.