ochremoon Posted July 2, 2021 Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) Does anyone have any experience of these low mass tonearms? How do they compare with the SME 3009 and other low mass arms like the Fidelity Research Fr-24 Mk II and Audio Technica AT-1100? All of these are available for around the same price. I'm looking at pairing with a Shure V15 Mk III and other high compliance MM carts. Edited July 3, 2021 by ochremoon corrected error
mloutfie Posted July 2, 2021 Posted July 2, 2021 (edited) Ma-505 would be more suitable for medium compliance but would still go well with v15. It was one of the arm I was planning to buy but in the end I went with at-1010 Edited July 2, 2021 by mloutfie 1
ochremoon Posted July 3, 2021 Author Posted July 3, 2021 3 hours ago, mloutfie said: Ma-505 would be more suitable for medium compliance but would still go well with v15. It was one of the arm I was planning to buy but in the end I went with at-1010 Can you say why it is you originally wanted to buy one and why you instead went with the AT? I have been leaning towards getting an AT-1100 for some time. I haven't heard or even seen a MA-505 in the flesh, but have been offered one unused and still in the box, so am tempted, but it would need to be an upgrade on the AT arm.
mloutfie Posted July 3, 2021 Posted July 3, 2021 @ochremoon at-1010 is considered audio technica best arm and quite flexible with cartridge because of its damping settings makes me choose it over ma505. At1100 will limit your cartridge choice. I would go with ma505 if that's the choice. Ma505 can be had for quite cheap because it's used as OEM for many turntable.
ochremoon Posted July 3, 2021 Author Posted July 3, 2021 (edited) @mloutfie maybe I should've explained that I'm looking specifically for an arm that is designed to work best with high compliance carts (I already have the other bases covered). Sounds like the MA 505s are better suited to medium compliance carts. Edited July 3, 2021 by ochremoon I'm half blind
mloutfie Posted July 3, 2021 Posted July 3, 2021 at-1100 is the high compliance of at-1010 so I would say from audio technica it's pretty much the best they've ever made for high compliance cartridge 1
andyr Posted July 3, 2021 Posted July 3, 2021 18 hours ago, ochremoon said: Does anyone have any experience of these low mass tonearms? How do they compare with the SME 3009 and other low mass arms like the Fidelity Research Fr-24 Mk II and Audio Technica AT-1100? All of these are available for around the same price. I'm looking at pairing with a Shure V15 Mk III and other high compliance MM carts. My high compliance Stanton 'WOS CS100' (@ 30) goes magnificently well with my lightweight Magnepan 'Unitrac' arm, Chris. (7gm eff weight.) Andy
Tax Posted July 3, 2021 Posted July 3, 2021 I found the Shure V15 worked well with my SME 3009 arm. I also used an Audio Technica AT155LC and found it to work quite well. 1
Guest 12ax7b Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 Actually the MA505mkIII with the straight armtube is a very light arm, much lighter than the other 505's and hence suited for high compliance cartridges - weight 4-8gm without extra sub weight. I think from memory its about 7gm effective mass. The S shaped arm tube option has a much higher effective mass and suits medium to low compliance cartridges.
ochremoon Posted July 4, 2021 Author Posted July 4, 2021 6 hours ago, 12ax7b said: Actually the MA505mkIII with the straight armtube is a very light arm, much lighter than the other 505's and hence suited for high compliance cartridges - weight 4-8gm without extra sub weight. I think from memory its about 7gm effective mass. The S shaped arm tube option has a much higher effective mass and suits medium to low compliance cartridges. Thank you. That's what I thought originally.
ochremoon Posted July 4, 2021 Author Posted July 4, 2021 On 03/07/2021 at 5:55 PM, andyr said: My high compliance Stanton 'WOS CS100' (@ 30) goes magnificently well with my lightweight Magnepan 'Unitrac' arm, Chris. (7gm eff weight.) Andy I'm sure it does, Andy, but that arm's a bit exxy for my current project.
andyr Posted July 4, 2021 Posted July 4, 2021 (edited) 11 minutes ago, ochremoon said: I'm sure it does, Andy, but that arm's a bit exxy for my current project. Well, you did say, Chris: On 03/07/2021 at 5:23 PM, ochremoon said: I'm looking specifically for an arm that is designed to work best with high compliance carts (I already have the other bases covered). The Unitrac is a 'sleeper'! Andy Edited July 4, 2021 by andyr 1
EDGEAUDIO Posted July 5, 2021 Posted July 5, 2021 Another nice Arm that suits most high compliance carts is the Grace G-707 MkII. Very simplistic Tonearm design that gives great performance and terrific tight bass signal. I've run a few Shure Carts with pleasing results. I currently have an ADC XLM installed with outstanding clarity at 1 Gm VTF. The MKII arms are normally all black and have an insulated counterweight which is considered superior to the MKI arm. 1
ochremoon Posted July 5, 2021 Author Posted July 5, 2021 23 hours ago, andyr said: Well, you did say, Chris: The Unitrac is a 'sleeper'! Andy Very true, Andy, I didn't mention budget. I guess I'm just experimenting to find out what type of arm/cartridge combination I like best at the moment; when I know the answer I will be ready to spend on the best I can afford.
ochremoon Posted July 5, 2021 Author Posted July 5, 2021 4 hours ago, EDGEAUDIO said: Another nice Arm that suits most high compliance carts is the Grace G-707 MkII. Very simplistic Tonearm design that gives great performance and terrific tight bass signal. I've run a few Shure Carts with pleasing results. I currently have an ADC XLM installed with outstanding clarity at 1 Gm VTF. The MKII arms are normally all black and have an insulated counterweight which is considered superior to the MKI arm. Yes, I was wondering about Grace arms. Thanks for the tip.
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