Linear tracking arms

These two guys have it right. Having been an owner of two Graham arms and now using a state of the art air bearing linear, I agree with everything that has been said.

It is more difficult and parts intensive (pumps, hoses, regulators, gauges, etc.) to get an air bearing installed and working, and unless it's done right, it can be worse than a pivot arm.

The Air Tangent from Sweden immediately comes to mind. I had one of these beautiful $10K arms over three months and never got it to perform as well as the Graham 2.2.

The Rockport and Walker linear air bearing arms provide another level performance over a Graham 2.2 or any other pivot arm. These two linear versions also represent a HUGE investment compared to the best pivot arms.

Unless the remainder of the system is up to the task, this is probably not be the first or most economical place to upgrade your music.

Thank you all.It's not that I was going to buy anything now;I am just trying to catch the concept.So,this type of arm is very difficult to implement right and requires too much attention and some luck.I got it at this level.

Amen to all above. In addition, I am told there is a danger that a linear tracking arm which is not stratospherically high-quality will shorten your cartridge's life a good deal.

Well stated by all, I would just add, that is why you only see good linear tracking arms on the 25K walker, 60K Rockport, etc. The order of importance for extracting the most sound out of your lp's is. The Turntable is most important, then the Tonearm, and then cartridge. So most people knowing this spend accordingly.

Tobias, when a linear arm is cued, as the canteliver and stylus drop onto the lead-in groove; if the arm is not level or there is undue friction on the shaft, the canteliver will take the sudden shock of a side load from the leverage of the lead-in groove. this "jolting" action will eventually disable the canteliver attachment assembly. if there is very little or no friction (a properly designed air bearing) and the arm shaft is level, then the Jolt will be minimal and no problem will develop. the other issue is the mass of the arm assembly, which if too great will make this issue more probable. a unipivot arm has some "slop" and a very slight deflection angle (whereas the deflection angle on the linear arm is direct) to absorb the jolt so this is essentially a non-issue with them.....but, of course, this slop (and the geometry) is the design limitation of the unipivot.

this might sound like all the trouble isn't worth it......but i assure you it absolutely is. the only trouble is checking the shaft level about every 2 or 3 months and sliding the shaft back and forth once before playing to remove any dust from the shaft. with such a high-mass turntable nothing really affects the set-up.