"S" shaped tonearm ?

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.

Feil sent me an email indicating that he mentioned present day arms he does not sell. I'll buy that, but not his argument that is based on the notion that if it is current practice it has, by definition, to be better than anything that was built before.

I don't want to leave the imnpression that Feil is shady in any way, although he does seem to push what is current and, to me at least, this seems to go against the current that I see favouring old and quite old analog equipment (Lenco, Thorens rebuilds come to mind).