[BC] Pickup arms (was turntable etc)

[Mark Durenberger]

Good info, Bob.  I thought the Shure SME-III arm did a pretty good job of 
addressing the issue(s).

Mark Durenberger

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Robert Orban" <rorban at earthlink.net>

> IIRC, it does not make the slightest difference in tracking error as long 
> as the distance between the pivot and the stylus is equal in both arms and 
> as long as the cartridge mount allows you to readily adjust the cartridge 
> azimuth. The only thing that counts is the azimuth angle  of the 
> stylus/cartridge motor with respect to the arm pivot, which allows for 
> zero tracking error at two (and only two) discrete points on the record. 
> There is some disagreement as to where to place those points (should the 
> mean square tracking error be minimized over the entire record, should the 
> maximum tracking error be minimized [minimax error], or should the error 
> be minimized at the inner grooves, where tracking distortion is more 
> likely to be audible?). Once you decide that, the rest of the design just 
> involves plugging numbers into some long-established equations, which I 
> believe were first published in the AES Journal.
>
> I would expect the two designs to have different resonant characteristics, 
> however. This is important; it is one important thing that distinguishes 
> one arm design from the next.
>
> Bob Orban