A local audio recently bought a tonearm form a small Lithuania manufacturer. They have a web site, a but foolish in navigation but it is what it is:

http://www.turntables.lt/

http://www.turntables.lt/gallery.html

http://www.turntables.lt/research.html

The tonearm left s pleasant impression, though you would never know until you put tonearm on your own TT and spend a few days with it. I am not interested in tonearm but I would like to let know that Lithuanians do it.


Effective length: 240 mm (9,5") or 308,8 mm (12")
Mounting distance: 223 mm (9,5") or 295,6 mm (12")
Overhang: 17 mm (9,5") or 13,2 mm (12")
Offset angle: 23° (9,5") or 17,63° (12")
Effective mass: 12 g (9,5") or 16 g (12")
Height adjustment: applicable to 20÷42 mm height platters
Downforce range: 10÷30 mN
Tonearm bearings: carbide points and sapphire thrust pad
Antiskating: lever antiskating mechanism on sapphire bearings
Armtube: western redcedar (Thuja plicata)
•  C37 Finewire Standard
•  C37 Finewire Cryo, Eichmann Bullet plugs
•  C37 Finewire Cryo, WBT Nextgen
•  Combined (tonearm wiring: Cardas; tonearm to preamp: Tasker C286 balanced; RCA connector: Neutrik).
Available in Rhodium, Gold, Gold Matte, Black, and Seashell White editions.
Frame and adjustment parts manufactured by Stevila Ltd.
Support frame and other part plating done at Lithuanian Institute of Chemistry.

Well, how to maintain their site it is the matter of their own business of cause. Still, I think what they do with site is silly. The people who go there do have ALREADY a specific interest and they look for information, not for a presentation style. Those modal, tweeter-size dialog boxes that are popping up are ridicules. Still, again, it is their site and they allowed doing whatever they want.

What I true missing at their site is a lucid explanation of relation between the objective scientific data that they collect and the applied listening experiences. For instance they have some graphs with tonearms tube of different materials.

Western Redcedar
Ebony Macassar
Cocobolo
Pernambucco
Pao Ferro
Panzerholtz (Tankwood)

Sure, all materials would do deferent sonic transfer, not to mention the different thickness of the tube’s walls and different filling of the tubes will affect sonic transfer as well.  They put some diagrams indicating how one tube differs from another. So, what? Those differences are visible on the graphs but they are not interpretable in teams of practical sonic advantages and disadvantages person we might get from a whole playback. I presume (and this is VERY bold assumption) that the people who manufacture Reed arms do know those advantages/disadvantages and if they do then they need to outline their observations. The people who buy or consider buying the Reed would have no idea what type of tube to order. No one dealer would be able to give this assessment as well –the dealers are all idiots from the perspective of sound understanding and they are too ignorant from audio-intellectual perspective. So, since the Reed offer different options the results of those options shall be explained by Reed marketing in teams of user benefits (if the read people do know it themselves of cause).

I am not picking on Reed specifically, they are very broad demands I would have to any tonearm manufacturer.

The next subject of my bitching is that I still waiting a tonearm manufacturer with bolls would show up but they I see do not exist. If I manufacture a tonearm and if I feel that my tonearm is sonically good then I would make a statement where I would position my tonearm in sonic hierarchy to other tonearms. For instance I consider the best sonic tonearm of all time was SME 3012, some might disagree but they are clueless and they are worthless to talk with them about tonearms sound. So, I make a tonearm and if I feel that my tonearm is better than 3012 then why wouldn’t I enumerate the very specific sonic advantages my tonearm has over 3012? Of course I would – this is how the things shall be sold in my view. Where is the Reed's and other's statement about the sound of thier tonearm in relation to 3012? Not there….

perrew wrote:

FWIW Ive heard people with Reed arms like the Red Cedar, which is also the cheapest alternative, arm wands due to neutral sound.The Panzerholz is heavier and some think might be too heavy for 12" arm.

I never understood all those conversations about heavier wands or lighter wands… What all this silliness came from? The Mass of the wand, along with mass of cartridge, shell and the shit that we pile up sometimes in shell make the effective mass of the whole construction. The effective mass talks to cartridge compliance. That is it. If you have wand with less mass then juts add a few grams to shell. There is absolutely no advantage or disadvantage of light or heavy wand. You have too heavy wand – juts add more mass on the other side of tonearm. The few grams of the wand difference does not make any affect to dynamic balance of arm. The material, stiffness and construction of wand do but mass do not.

perrew wrote:

what does the 3012 do better than the FR-66s arm?/P

It is incorrect question to ask. The right question shall be: what 3012 does bad that it need to be “improved” by FR-66s ?

Romy the Cat wrote:

I never understood all those conversations about heavier wands or lighter wands… What all this silliness came from? The Mass of the wand, along with mass of cartridge, shell and the shit that we pile up sometimes in shell make the effective mass of the whole construction. The effective mass talks to cartridge compliance. That is it. If you have wand with less mass then juts add a few grams to shell. There is absolutely no advantage or disadvantage of light or heavy wand. You have too heavy wand – juts add more mass on the other side of tonearm. The few grams of the wand difference does not make any affect to dynamic balance of arm. The material, stiffness and construction of wand do but mass do not. The Cat

Romy, I agree, I also never understood why mass so important, thats why I said "some" think it to heavy. I should have just written the Panzerholz is heavier, but still the people I talked to said it to heavy.

Romy the Cat wrote:

It is incorrect question to ask. The right question shall be: what 3012 does bad that it need to be “improved” by FR-66s ? The Cat

I presume you think it incorrect question due to your preference for 3012, but still posing it your way makes me feel you think the 3012 can be improved upon by the 66s, I thought you thought it could not?

perrew wrote:

FWIW Ive heard people with Reed arms like the Red Cedar, which is also the cheapest alternative, arm wands due to neutral sound.The Panzerholz is heavier and some think might be too heavy for 12" arm.

Romy the Cat wrote:

We are at severe devaluation of reference points and nowadays any Moron with a rudimental knowledge of HTML and a few vocal cronies can become a “reputed manufacturer”.