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bernie_f wrote:

Hi Romy. I completely agree with you regarding the VTA <-> VTF relation on every arm out there (the lever rule also seems to work with tonearms ;-)). Also i agree that if you want the correct absolute measurement of VTF you have to do it on the record level. But we should not forget, that any cartridge has a range of VTF that can be applied without damaging the suspension of the needle. So what i do after mounting a Pickup is to set VTF to the middle of the correct/recomended range and then find the sweet spot by listening to the result and changing in small increments. Then i measure again and take this VTF as my personal reference point for that pickup in case of removing and remounting it (listening to the settings is always the best way for setup). Regarding the relation of applied damping <-> VTF on the Schröders: the damping is applied by changing the distance between the magnet on the base and the magnet on the arm that is hanging from a thin string. The small distance between the two (ca. 0.3mm on average damping) defines the amount of damping that is the result of Foucault currents between the magnets (like the electric brakes on busses or trucks). A change of +/-0.1mm is clearly audible. Bass definiton and the resolution of decays are the things to listen to when adjusting the right ammount (like on conventional arms too). So when you decrease or increase the damping you rise or lower VTA too, but in very, very small margins. Changing the VTA some degrees up or down does almost nothing to damping, since the gap between upper and lower magnet stays the same (because the magnets are in the form of two spoons with a small gap between them). Antiskating by applying some twist to the string holding the armwand. This is done with the screw on the top of the base. On this Photo you can see the construction in detail: http://www.schroeder-tonarme.de/images/TaDPSsemibackview.JPG This arms do work really well. But have to be readjusted from time to time. When the avereage room temperature changes or the average air humidity changes (summer<->winter). This is the result of the string changing some parameters. This will be avoided in the future with new string-fabrics i hope... Thanks Romy for giving us the opportunity to discuss this topics on your fine site... ciao bernie from vienna

I did not invest a lot of time looking into Schröder’s arm. The Schröders make some noise but I know that value of this noise. I was told that Schröder’s arms are promoted by this douchebag from Oswald's Mill and only this single fact is indicative that this arm needs to be broken on half and burned in incinerator. I am not kidding. I do not know what in Frank Schroder’s head but he is in association with Oswald’s Mill – and this is worse than practicing a cannibalism. If Schroder’s arm is distributed by Jonathan Weiss then Schroder’s arm have no sound, users have no common sense in understanding of sound, evaluating design concepts or recognizing the results. What it has a lot however is semi-secretive handshakes, mutual assurances in marketing cronyism, deception and lie, fear of exposure and huge amount of efforts to shape up a fake marketing façade beside empty self-essence. Anything that was touched by Oswald Mill’s dirt has a stamp of Devil, similar to any audio equipment “reviewed” by Michael Fremer.  So, it is no surprise to me that Schröders arms have a number of “questionable features”.

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