Suggest a tonearm?

[wolfram]

Hi guys,

I've made good progress restoring my Michell Reference Electronic Transcription turntable ove the holiday. (Think transcriptors hydraulic reference with a much better motor and no oil bath).

I now come to the tonearm. It currently has an SME 3009 III - this was obviously picked for it's sound quality rather than it's aesthetic harmony.

The Matt black and gold tonearm, with it's late 70's design cues doesn't sit well with the polished aluminium and high gloss acrylic of the 'clockwork orange' Kubrickesque late 60's futurism.

I'm thinking what to replace it with and the SME 3009 II is an obvious candidate, but any one have other suggestions?

It needs to suit a range of current cartridges, not just 1970s high compliance MMs

 

[uzzy]

It currently has an SME 3009 III - this was obviously picked for it's sound quality rather than it's aesthetic harmony.

Well we were so disappointed in the store when the III arrived (as we were with the 44 405 from Quad). Again the arm only really suited hi compliance moving magnet cartridges.

I am not so sure there is a completely universal arm out there .. the Mayware Formula 4 came close. Cartridges such as the Denon 103 and Ortofon SPU want an effective mass of more than 18 grams, and so the only way to perhaps choose an arm is to find the cartridge that rocks your boat and then find the ideal arm to match it in.

Having said that if you go to Audio Origami they will build the PU7 to the length and effective mass you desire (within reason), if your requirements change send it back for a reworking (new arm tube etc)

An Audio Technica AT1100 with the straight arm tube and small counterweight it was low mass but they did a curved arm tube with removable headshell and a heavy counterweight which made the arm a bit more than medium mass. That to my mind was the closest to "universal" .. SME perhaps with a bit more thought could have done the same for the III to make it universal (but they didn't)

As for me, the Missus cannot get on with unipivots so for my Decca I use a Mission 774 with fluid damper .. however to use with other cartridges the arm effective mass may prove too low and may require an arm change should I say move to Denon 103 or others.

So use a cartridge resonance Evaluator to ensure the arm and cartridge match .. and then let your ears decide (https://www.vinylengine.com/cartridge_resonance_evaluator.php if compliance for the cartridge being used is shown at 100 hertz multiply by 1.75 to get the 10 hertz value)

 

[lostwin]

Moerch UP4 or DP6 have the curved aesthetic of arms of the same vintage but are more slender and modern looking. Love it on my Gyro.

 

[DomT]

Moerch UP4 or DP6 have the curved aesthetic of arms of the same vintage but are more slender and modern looking. Love it on my Gyro.

As a Michell owner these seem a good idea. I personally use an upgraded Jelco 750D but a) they are not made any more and b) I think that the Moerch is a better looking arm even if it may or may not outperform the Jelco.