"S" shaped tonearm ?

I think definitely the J and S-shaped arms evolved out of designing 9" arms (as opposed to straight 12" DJ arms) to work with a universal headshell. I remember the SME arm of the early '70s being J-shaped. The Japanese turntables of that era were almost all S-shaped, which looked real "technical" at the time. But even the early generation Linn and Rega TTs had S-shaped tonearms with detachable headshells.

Later, in the quest for improved weight/stiffness ratio, the high end industry scotched the detachable headshell and S-arm for a straight arm and integrated headshell. This was fine and dandy but it also created a couple of new problems: Mounting the cartridge was going to be a lot harder, and a straight cylindrical tube would have a stronger single resonant frequency.

So now, some--but definitely not all--cartridges have built-in threads to make cartridge-mounting easier. Still, this old sight-and-fine-motor-challenged guy wonders how I'd ever successfully mount a cartridge without my beloved detachable universal headshells. And many straight tonearms are now tapered--slightly conical--rather than cylindrical to reduce the resonant frequency. This would increase the mass a bit; I wonder how much mass it adds compared to stretching the tube into an S-shape?

One question I have to ask though, wouldn't an S-shaped arm be stiffer in the horizontal plane? Also, bending the arm cylinder into three dissimilar lengths could help control, reduce, and possibly even cancel resonances.

Then there's the matter of build quality, tolerances, and skill of execution vs. design theory. In theory, an integrated headshell and straight arm has an advantage in rigidity between the pivot and the stylus. But the Technics arm's bearings are finished to a tolerance of .5 micron and a specified bearing friction of < 7mg. Might that not offset some S-arm's other disadvantages?

great answers! it seems to me denon offered one of there older high end tables with interchangable arms both straight and S shaped.the 60L ? i dont recall but does anyone recall there thinking on this? also there latest table the dp500m has an S shaped , this being there topend table while the two other tables they offer have straight arms, just marketing? thanks

Pbb says
>> I guess one does fall into that trap when one is a monger.<<

Sir, I deliberately did not mention and/or endorse any of my products.

It's generally a good idea to look before you leap.

Thanks.

Dear Jrw40: The tonearm subject is a complex one. The geometry on a tonearm is only one parameter to make a judge about.
In the tonearm subject IMHO it does not exist " black " or " white " like Pryso posted there are many parameter invlove to make a choose.

I own several tonearms: straight, S and J shaped, all of them with the right cartridge performs great. In many ways the S/J shaped tonearms are better than the straight ones, as a fact ( not in theory ) there is no single advantage on the straight ones against the S/J shaped ones ( I don't want to argue about internal continuity wire. ) and these ones has some advantages.

At least two of my tonearms, Micro Seiki MAX 282 and Audiocraft AC-4400 come with both arm wand types: straight and S/J shaped, figure what?, I'm using the S/J shaped ( I already try it the straight ones and I prefer the S/J shaped ).

In my experience there are " old design " tonearms like Lustre GST-801, Technics EPA-100 and EPA 100MK2, Microseiki/Audiocraft, etc, etc, that overall outperform many of today top straight/linear tracking tonearms.

The supposition that the straight tonearms are better ones it is only one more myth/marketing, because the in theory advantages can't be looking in the real world.
In the same conditions and with the right cartridge ( IMHO and experience ) I can't find any advantage on a straight tonearm against S/J shaped one.

This tonearm subject is very interesting and there are several things to talk about and of course several different opinions but I think that more important than only an opinion is to talk about experiences on the subject because at the " end of the day " that's what it counts.

As some of you know I'm on the tonearm design right now and I can tell you that this subject is really complex.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

>The supposition that the straight tonearms are better ones it is only one more myth/marketing, because the in theory advantages can't be looking in the real world.<

That is incorrect. Science trumps opinion.

The information I posted previously is based on composite information from 3 tonearm engineers/designers, not a hobbyist proffering an opinion.

As I posted previously:

Since the S shaped armtube is inferior in both strength and vibrational analysis, with no other advantages, there is simply no reason to do this other than reasons of aesthetics, ease of fabrication, or nostalgia.

Thank you.