Why are you guys guys interested in these super high mass tonearms?Synergy with vintage carts (as mentioned), and of course heavier modern carts (Sensitive Sound for example at 20-23 grams). Not to say heavy = good by any means, but it happens to work well in some cases.
- ...
- 118 posts total
@offnon57 Well at $150 on the 64fx, you got an absolute steal. That arm should go for $1K+, easy, if in good/clean condition with original counterweight and silver internal wiring. More if you have the original head-shell. Plus for most low-ish compliance MC cartridges, it’s hard to imagine any $1K used arm options, and new arms sub-$5K (!), matching that FR64fx in performance and build quality. I need to get a Clearaudio arm board cut so I can use mine again, especially since I have an extra Koetsu to pull out. It was a joy to use; silky smooth action. I currently have a Graham Phantom Supreme 10" ($6.7K new) and Clearaudio Universal 12" ($6.5K new) mounted; I expect this FR64fx should easily compete with (if not beat) them. |
@chakster , Your Lustre 801 has only the (thin) armwand made from steel. The same apply for the SME ''R'' kinds. The effective mass by FR-66/64 S depends from the used headshell and counterweight. I never used any of the FR headshells because I consider them all as worthless. For the FR 66/64 series 3 different counterweights are made: standard, 170 g and 250 g. One should use the weight which can be moved nearest to the pivot. The least inertia is the result. The worst headshell is S3 ( 19,5 g). The other are to short for the usual headshell wire length. So the effective length is not easy to adjust (stylus ''distance'' to the pivot). I prefer headshells made from magnesium with ''movable 4 pin connector''. This kind make azimuth adjustment possible as well the added space for the stylus adjustment. |
If anyone missed Fremer’s SME tour: https://youtu.be/usXKl8p6kuk Fast forward to 31:23 to watch Brian Laker (service manager) talking about new and very old SME models. They use magnesium for arm wands on the top models. |
- 118 posts total