Thom,the Galibier pages,especially regarding the seemingly fascinating Schroeder Ref. was a fabulous read,to me.I thought the points made about the, "not necessarily an advantage",12.5 vs 9 inch arm length was quite interesting to ponder.
Also,and to me,an arm like a Schroeder,which seems to be infinitely adjustable,is a HUGE advantage(like that Frank?).I really don't get the concern of some hobbyists about it being so adjustable.I,myself,see that as allowing it to be fine tuned to my specific voicing tastes.
I guess there are some people who don't really get the most out of their stuff because they are afraid to familiarize themselves with it,and rely exclusively on the dealer to voice a system.However as time goes on,and we become more experienced it is a GOOD thing to go "Hands On" and learn to extract as much from our stuff as we can.It has helped me to get MUCH more from my own set-up!!I would have a field day with an arm like the Schroeder REF!!One question,there is mention of the variety of cartridges that would mate to a specific wood's mass, in the arm tube.I did not see what mass tube(12 gm Bacote vs 15 gm Jacaranda)would best mate with my 7.5 gm Transfiguration Temper-V.
My only criticism,of the comments,on the Galibier site are of the early review of the Schroeder Ref,where it is stated that this is NOT the reviewer's set-up,and then the reviewer goes on to comment on the "ARM'S" characteristics.The reviewer does mention the comments are in "broad strokes",but how does one really tell the personality of the arm,when it is someone else's set-up.Here,in this particular review,we are told that there had been an arm and cartridge change,recently.Maybe climate conditions changed,or vta,or sra,or almost anything which could have slightly re-voiced the sound,so these comments,although fascinating,are to be taken with a grain of salt.Heck a cable cleaning,alone, could have contributed to a better perception of "Dimensionality".
That being said,I DO DEFINITELY feel this arm MUST be really special!I'm not,in any way,trying to be antagonistic,and loved my 2 hour lunch break,while absorbing all this juicy stuff.It's good to be the boss!!
PS--I DID play tennis,later that day.Got my ass kicked too.TRUTH IS,I DIDN'T EVEN CARE!!!
