gofar99 Messages: 1949 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, A great concept that was not paired with great engineering and quality control. The magnetic lev ones now popping up seem to have the same issues. As a long time user of turntables and having 6 at the last count I have done a bit of research into what works and how well it works. IMO there is much ado about the last little bit of tracking error in tone arms. I sense a really sharp law of declining value vs cost. Most decent arms now (not the mega buck ones) can do around 2 degrees max of tracking error. It sounds awful until you look at the whole system. That amount of error is about the same as the LPs being played. Some are much worse. There is also error in the mounting of the stylus in the cartridge which can sometimes be mitigated by use of precision test LPs and suitable oscilloscopes. Some folks claim they can do it by ear...I sure can't get it as close as the test gear. Then it falls back on the quality of the LP manufacturing process where consistency is not the rule. A nice kettle of fish for sure.