If you had £1300 to spend on a Tonearm?

[mikeyb]

Thinking about selling my Fidelity Research FR64FX arm, in fact I had it advertised last week then withdrew it as I changed my mind, I'm swithering again

However, can I better it if I did sell it, and with a budget of around £1325 ( I choose this figure as that's what I've been quoted for another second hand upgraded arm I'm looking at, which is essentially retail price for that arm if you know what I mean ) can I do better that the Fidelity?

I like Electronic, Rock ( classic/soft/metal/prog ), Blues ( Keb 'Mo/SRV ), some Americana to give you an idea of my tastes.

I've been reading up on the AO PU7, The Wand Plus, Audio Technica 1010T ( modded by Phonomac ), Tiger Paw Javelin, plus a few others.

This will be fitted to a Panzerholz plinth using an SP10 mk2 turntable, my Fidelity arm is 230mm pivot to spindle so this seemingly works/looks fine, I'm not averse to using 10" or 12" arms, I just want the best sound for the best price, so I'm looking at used prices.

Hana ML cartridge in use just now.

Spec:

Stylus: Nude Microline
Cantilever: Aluminium
Magnet: Alnico
Rec. Tracking Force: 2g
Trackability: 70µ/2g
Compliance: 10×10-6 cm/dyne
Channel Separation: 30dB @ 1kHz
Frequency Range: 12Hz to 45kHz
Impedance: 8Ω (ML)
Suggested Load Impedance: <100Ω (ML)
Suggested Load Impedance: 47kΩ (MH)
Cartridge Weight: 9.5g

Any thoughts?

I'll be posting this very same message on several Forums to gather opinions, be interesting to read the results.

Thanks

[DiveDeepDog]

I've got the same FR, its possibly on my list to move on as I feel I've got better arms (12"PU7,SME4) however, it's the only one with detachable headshell which does add quite a lot of flexibility.

Its heavy effective mass, 20g may not suit the cart, however I've never heard a 103 sound as good as it does in the Fr. There may be compatibility issues??

[hifi_dave]

I'd keep it unless you can find a 64S.

[mikeyb]

I've got the same FR, its possibly on my list to move on as I feel I've got better arms (12"PU7,SME4) however, it's the only one with detachable headshell which does add quite a lot of flexibility.

Its heavy effective mass, 20g may not suit the cart, however I've never heard a 103 sound as good as it does in the Fr. There may be compatibility issues??

Swappable headshell is definitely a plus, however my cart swapping days are pretty much done as I like the Hana so much so the headshell isn't as important as it used to be.

I had a 103r prior to the Hana which I really liked, I've had a Zu version of the 103 too, the Hana suits me better.

Vinyl engine resonance calculator puts the Hana at just over 9 on the FR arm so it's a fair match I'd say?

Phonomac ( Angus ) has fettled my FR arm so it's sounding better than it's ever did and I'm not 100% convinced it's the right decision to sell it yet.

[chris@panteg]

I wouldn't sell it in any hurry if I were you, very nice arm and apparently a great match for the Voyd which I use, currently fitted with an SME V.

I thought about seeking one out but I'm very happy with my V.

[karma67]

imo a pmat-1010 mk6. once the lock down is over give angus a shout,im sure he will let you hear one.

[AJSki2fly]

If you really want to sell it, look at these https://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp/cn3/tk-850m_mk2.html or https://www.jelco-ichikawa.co.jp/cn3/tk-850l_mk2.html , you might want to also read up on the TK-950 range but I was told that tonally not as good as the TK850's. I believe JELCO make many arms for other companies and have done for years.

I had a tk-850m on a Voyd TT and it was excellent, in fact it replaced an SME IV which I traded on. I mounted mine on a http://www.purusaudio.pt/easyVTA.html which made it perfect fo quick and accurate set up when switching headshells, cartridges.

Hugo at Ammonite sells them at a good price and offer advise.https://ammonite-audio.co.uk/product...logue/tonearm/

[topoxforddoc]

I'd keep it unless you can find a 64S.

+1

Your budget won't get a significant improvement on the FR64FX. The FR64 series arms were true high end back in the 80s. The AT1010 is a very fine arm, but it would just be different, rather than better.

[karma67]

an unmodified one maybe but these arms are taken to a very high level by angus.have you heard one to form your opinion?

[mikeyb]

Many thanks for all the help and suggestions, I'm now busy reading up on them all and checking specs to see if compatible with the Hana.

Keep me busy for a while