12 inch tonearms

Dmgrant1,

I have a Moerch DP-6 with two 12" arms (6gr and 13.1gr), a VPI 12.5 with two arm wands, and a Schroeder Reference with 9" 12gr arm. I have the VPI and Moerch set up on the same turntable right now with identical cartridges (that particular TT (Garrard 401) has three arm pods and I have three AT OC9/II cartridges from the same lot). I have also done back to back comparisons between the Moerch and the Schroeder, though not with identical cartridges. That comparison comes as soon as I stop working seven days a week.

To my ears and in my system, the Moerch gives tremendous bang for the buck. It is really a good arm. I will be interested to hear how it sounds versus the Schroeder when I move it from its current TT (Nak TX-1000) back to the TT with the Moerch and VPI. My educated guess is that the Schroeder will have slightly more detail, be smoother, more refined in sound, and will move me closer to the music.

I like the VPI because I can do cartridge swaps in less than 30 seconds which is what you need when doing A-B cartridge tests. Swapping armwands on the Moerch takes time as you have to set VTF and VTA and possibly azimuth. On the other hand the Moerch is nice because it has different weight armwands. Thus, I play high compliance cartridges on the 6gr arm and low compliance cartridges on the 13.1gr arm. Of course, if you don't swap cartridges frequently, this won't relevant to you.

Hope this info helps.

This has really opened my eyes to all of the possibilities. Sounds like maybe the VPI is the easiest one to set up and start with?

Rgordonpf, having owned many tts and arms, including the Schroeder and now a Shindo 12 derived from the old Ortofon 12 spring loaded arm, I have to say that ease of setting up an arm is not an indicator of it sound. I loved the Schroeder I had with my Loricraft/Garrard 501 tt. I even used it with a Decca Jubilee. It was very critical what the separation space was between the magnets, but when right it song.

Please listen first and worry about setup afterwards. I now know the benefits of a 12" arm and would buy a Schroeder in a flash were it possible to mount it on my Shindo/Garrard tt. Perhaps some day I will have this capability. I must say that the sound I get with all Shindo is extraordinary.

Tbg, I don't think you read Rgordonpf's post very carefully. He offered good comments on four different arms based on personal use. He pointed out one (the VPI) was particularly useful for anyone making frequent cartridge changes because ONCE the VTF and azimuth has been set, a second arm tube allows cartridge swaps without going through as many set up steps again. I did not read any of his statements relating sound quality to ease of initial set up.

Also Dmgrant1, don't confuse Rgordonpf's comments on ease of swapping cartridges on the VPI with initial set up. The VPI is somewhat unique in that not just the arm tube is changed but the whole upper arm above the pivot point. This means once cartridge mounting, alignment, VTF, and azimuth have been set, upper arms can be exchanged with only resetting VTA by a marked dial being necessary. Initial set up on a VPI is not particularly difficult but not necessarily easier than with others.

Regardless of which arm and which length you choose, ease of set up will relate to having the appropriate tools for the task, steady hands, and a bit of patience.

Pryso, you are right. I should have directed what I said to Dmgrant1.

I once had another arm where you entirely removed the arm, counter-weight, and cartridge and could immediately replace it. It was the Keith Monks which used four mercury baths for contacts. The VPI has a much better implementation.