Ron's Speaker, Turntable, Power and Room Treatment Upgrades

[DaveyF]

Other than the vacuum hold-down the Transcendence looks like a light-weight version of the AS-2000.

I think the Superarm 9 is fantastic. But for the second tonearm I am realizing (thanks, Peter, I think!) I would like on-the-fly VTA adjustability. What tonearm other than the Grahams offers that feature?

Looks are deceiving. The Transcendence has isolation. I think the new Superarm can adjust VTA on the fly with the VTA micrometer.

 

[DaveyF]

It is clear to me that the 3012R has no fatal flaw. Tang is the only member with a sufficiently large collection of turntables and of the top tonearms to make valid comparisons. Look at which tonearms are mounted on his AS-2000 . . .

Like I just said, go and listen for yourself to the two tonearms...and I think the results will speak for themselves.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Easy, boys. David, Fulsom, when did I ever wrote that I think there is a sonic bottleneck with the 3012R? I wrote simply that if I am never going to put a different cartridge on the headshell there’s no reason for me to have the detachable functionality. I’m sure you’re not going to suggest that the detachable functionality and the electrical break improve the sound of the tonearm. I don’t think it’s possible that those features could theoretically improve the sound.

All I suggested was that it’s theoretically possible that those features do something deleterious to the sound, and that since I don’t need that cartridge flexibility if there were an option to omit those features I would choose to omit them.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Looks are deceiving. The Transcendence has isolation. I think the new Superarm can adjust VTA on the fly with the VTA micrometer.

Look at the Basis website. I do not see on the fly VTA adjustment.

I know the Transcendence has isolation feet. So? I wrote simply that it looks somewhat like a lighter weight version of an American Sound.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Like I just said, go and listen for yourself to the two tonearms...and I think the results will speak for themselves.

I think you keep answering a question I have not asked.

 

[DaveyF]

I think you keep answering a question I have not asked.

If you haven’t asked the question, maybe it’s about time you did...

 

[ddk]

Easy, boys. David, Fulsome, when did I ever wrote that I think there is a sonic bottleneck with a 3012R? I wrote simply that if I am never going to put a different cartridge on the headshell there’s no reason for me to have the detachable functionality. I’m sure you’re not going to suggest that the detachable functionality and the electrical break improve the sound of the tonearm. I don’t think it’s possible that those features could theoretically improve the sound.

All I suggested was that it’s theoretically possible that those features do something deleterious to the sound, and that since I don’t need that cartridge flexibility if there were an option to omit those features I would choose to omit them.

The way I read it was that you have some reservations about the connections and I wanted to put your mind at ease, I guess I misread your post.

david

 

[PeterA]

Ron, I suggest you drive to Steve's house and ask him to play your copy of Carole King's Tapestry and also a reissue of Brubeck's Take Five. You like his system and know it is revealing. You will hear for yourself if his properly set up 3012R sounds good on both LPs. Then ask to hear the Graham and don't change arm height. Listen to both LPs. If one LP sounds better than the other, adjust the arm as you see fit for one or both LPs.

That should answer some of your questions.

 

[Ron Resnick]

The way I read it was that you have some reservations about the connections and I wanted to put your mind at ease, I guess I misread your post.

david

Thank you, David. I appreciate it.

I was thinking purely theoretically. I have no reservations about the 3012R.

 

[Lagonda]

Ron, the differences you heard in Peters system where with arm construction different from the 3012R. His arm is probably more sensitive to VTA/SRA than the 3012R. My 3012R is not very sensitive compared to my other arm.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Ron, the differences you heard in Peters system where with arm construction different from the 3012R. His arm is probably more sensitive to VTA/SRA than the 3012R. My 3012R is not very sensitive compared to my other arm.

Thank you for commenting. I think there is agreement that the 3012R is relatively insensitive to small VTA differences.

Does anyone have a theory why this is the case? David, what do you think?

 

[DaveyF]

Thank you for commenting. I think there is agreement that the 3012R is relatively insensitive to small VTA differences.

Does anyone have a theory why this is the case? David, what do you think?

 

[ddk]

Thank you for commenting. I think there is agreement that the 3012R is relatively insensitive to small VTA differences.

Does anyone have a theory why this is the case? David, what do you think?

It isn't true, VTA/SRA location is cartridge dependent nothing to do with the tonearm. My setups are very precise and you'll clearly hear major differences in sound with only raising and lowering the tonearm by one playing card, that's how it is when you are in the close VTA/SRA range for the cartridge.

david

Edit- To add some cartridges have a wider range of acceptable VTA/SRA setting and will sound acceptable and good within that range but IME all cartridges have that one target spot.

 

[PeterA]

It isn't true, VTA/SRA location is cartridge dependent nothing to do with the tonearm. My setups are very precise and you'll clearly hear major differences in sound with only raising and lowering the tonearm by one playing card when you are in the close VTA/SRA range.

david

David, one playing card is thinner than the variance in thickness of the LP's in one's collection. There is also the variance in cutting angles which represent a much greater arm height adjustment than one playing card thickness. Are you suggesting that this variance does not matter "...when you are in close VTA/SRA range" with the 3012R or with all arms with which you are familiar? Why would the Graham arm, and others, be designed to make easy and repeatable arm height changes after the initial set up procedure? Is it only for adjusting for different cartridge/arm wand combinations for the Graham arm? That kind of makes sense.

 

[Lagonda]

It isn't true, VTA/SRA location is cartridge dependent nothing to do with the tonearm. My setups are very precise and you'll clearly hear major differences in sound with only raising and lowering the tonearm by one playing card, that's how it is when you are in the close VTA/SRA range for the cartridge.

david

Edit- To add some cartridges have a wider range of acceptable VTA/SRA setting and will sound acceptable and good within that range but IME all cartridges have that one target spot.

But a setting that will let you play all record thicknesses at an acceptable level ?

 

[ddk]

David, one playing card is thinner than the variance in thickness of the LP's in one's collection. There is also the variance in cutting angles which represent a much greater arm height adjustment than one playing card thickness. Are you suggesting that this variance does not matter "...when you are in close VTA/SRA range" with the 3012R or with all arms with which you are familiar? Why would the Graham arm, and others, be designed to make easy and repeatable arm height changes after the initial set up procedure? Is it only for adjusting for different cartridge/arm wand combinations for the Graham arm? That kind of makes sense.

I don't know about cutting angles or grooves pressed into records Peter and frankly I'd go crazy if I there was a need. One can clearly hear when the cartridge VTA/SRA is set properly, ie the entire frequency range is in focus and not just parts of it and standard thickness deviations between average weight LPs don't seem to matter. The best way I can describe it is that it's like a lens that you close down to it's optimum f stop and precisely focus on your subject then everything within that depth of field in front and behind the subject remains in focus. Of course the inverse is also true if one prefers a shallow DOF focusing on a specific part of the image is what's needed, it's how I see adjusting each LP to taste.

On the fly VTA adjustment is a tool to help with the procedure one still has to know the target to hit it, a knob isn't going to find it for you. As far as repeatability goes the cards are as if not more effective than any kind of built-in gauge I've seen.

david

 

[ddk]

But a setting that will let you play all record thicknesses at an acceptable level ?

Within a wide range, of course if you set it for a thin Microgroove LP you can't go directly to a 200 gram one and expect not to have to make any changes but if you setup using average thickness LPs and do it right then you'll be fine with almost everything, even the extremes are still within acceptable target range.

david

 

[Lagonda]

Within a wide range, of course if you set it for a thin Microgroove LP you can't go directly to a 200 gram one and expect not to have to make any changes but if you setup using average thickness LPs and do it right then you'll be fine with almost everything, even the extremes are still within acceptable target range.

david

That is my experience with the 3012R to. But it’s not like that with all arms, some are sensitive to a point where playing a 180g and thin record with the same setting is a serious compromise. My tangential arm is like that, drove me crazy for a while !

 

[ddk]

That is my experience with the 3012R to. But it’s not like that with all arms, some are sensitive to a point where playing a 180g and thin record with the same setting is a serious compromise. My tangential arm is like that, drove me crazy for a while !

Let's not get into tangential tonearms ! Sure with some arms their geometry also affects other parameters like VTF, it's a different issue.

david

 

[Ron Resnick]

It makes sense to me that SRA sensitivity should be mainly a function of the cartridge, and not the arm. It seems to me SRA sensitivity should be significantly a function of the shape and design of the stylus.

So why do Lagonda and JeffT and others keep referring to the relative insensitivity of the 3012R tonearm to changes in VTA/SRA? Why have people tried to explain away Peter's protocol of adjusting VTA record by record by asserting that the SME V-12 tonearm is unusually sensitive to small changes in VTA?