Tangential tone arms worth considering?

[Frazeur1]

A couple of things, yes, some compressors/air supplies for some of the air bearing tables can be quite loud. The one used for my Holbo is absolutely silent, but it is more of a lower pressure aquarium style pump, not some hulking compressor that some makes utilize. Various manufactures all use different things, and obviously as you said, tout one design over the others.

On an air bearing table, and possibly on most linear tables, I would maybe not recommend a fully suspended table. It in and of itself can be trouble with these designs-potentially. I cannot imagine setting mine up on a fully suspended table, I would probably bin the thing, or quit all together.

What brought me to the Holbo was a more overall simplistic design in general, it doesn't look like an oil rig either. Bostjan Holc of Holbo has designed a fairly simple, in relative terms, table that just does its thing without too much fuss. And he was great to deal with, answered any of my questions and delivery was smooth. Obviously not having an air bearing table before this one, I had a bit of a learning curve, and still am tweaking things in here and there. Overall though, it has been a lot of fun and the thing just works and plays great music. So do a lot of other tables though!

Other tables I had considered were the Well Tempered tables, Pear Audio, Nottingham, were main ones. I had owned an LP12 and also early Well Tempered Amadeus several years back. Loved the WT more than the Linn in general, but my curiosity with linear arms eventually got the best of me. And, I had been away from analog for some time. FWIW.

I am sure with time and effort, you will find a table that will suit you, take your time and have fun with it!

[sbank]

Have you considered Trans-Fi Terminator arm? They are very good sounding one setup right and pretty affordable considering. Have a built-in micrometer for VTA adjustment which is nice and you can easily switch cartridges with optional extra arm wands. A bit fiddly to get it right, for my tastes, but any linear arm would fall in that category. If interested in talking with an owner, PM me and I can give you email of a well-versed friend who has one mounted on a highly modded Techie with Mike New copper platter and the works...Cheers,
Spencer

[dowser]

I have a Harmon Kardon ST8 linear tracker that uses the Rabco arm that I fully refurbished 4 or 5 years ago, and very good it is too. I’m actually about to list it for sale, but as I’m in Switzerland I doubt it would make sense shipping to U.K.

Richard

[Exophile]

Thanks for the thoughtful replies. Given your feedback on the Holbo, that makes it more of a contender.
Thanks for the transfi terminator arm pointer. Had not seen that at all! have to spend a bit more quality time on looking at this.
Re shipping harmon Cardan, it would be to California. But I could have hand-carried it from Switzerland yesterday. Just flew back from Basel-Zürich. Y bi uurspryngligg e Basler Bebbi :-) That's why my replies are a bit late.

[alphaGT]

There is a LOT of shopping that can be had within your budget! A tonearm I’ve had my eye on is the Reed. A real first class arm. But, completing your setup within budget may be pushing it, depending on your associated gear. I really think you should reconsider used equipment. When you get to gear they cost this much, people tend to take care of them, and many receive very little use. With enough quality photos, or hopefully a personal visit, you can tell if it were cared for or not. You can better than double your buying power by buying used. Not one single piece of my stereo is new, even the cables are used, except for power cables I made up myself. And I do not feel the least bit cheated by it, in fact quite the opposite, I can’t believe how much I got for my money! I’m not saying you shouldn’t shop new, but perhaps you shouldn’t dismiss used right off hand? Just food for thought.

Russell

[Exophile]

Hi Russel, I hear you. If there is something from a dealer with some sort of warranty, that may be an option. As I am still pretty new to high end, and certainly clueless about better turntables, I don't think I could evaluate whether a table is working properly or not. I may have to go to some trade-show to get a better overview of the field. I am in no rush. At that price point, I won't do an impulse buy.

[alphaGT]

Hi Russel, I hear you. If there is something from a dealer with some sort of warranty, that may be an option. As I am still pretty new to high end, and certainly clueless about better turntables, I don't think I could evaluate whether a table is working properly or not. I may have to go to some trade-show to get a better overview of the field. I am in no rush. At that price point, I won't do an impulse buy.

Wise thinking!

Russ