GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Analog Playback
In the Thread: Schroder Tonearms

Post Subject: Performance?Posted by Stitch on: 2/18/2010

Just a few lines to the "Performance" of this piece of wood on strings for 7k $

I listened to the Schroeder Reference + SQ and some custom made ones which were normally not available (Schroeder model blahblah with Valhalla cable etc.)
(of course you can get them as a special item and you rave about it wherever possible....)
I prefer Top performance, that's why I make comparisons, I don't talk about artifacts which are necessary to compensate the flaws from the system in general.
Comparisons were made against
Triplanar VII
Kuzma Airline
Kuzma 4P
FR-64s
SME 3012R
Graham (2.0 / 2.2 + Phantom)
DaVinci 10" + 12"

all was done with multi Arm Turntables, same cabling, same Phonostage, always same cartridge in comparison, different cartridges (Lyra Skala, Titan i, Zyx UNIverse, Shelter 90x, Zyx 100FS, Koetsu RSP... etc.) to cross check the results....

To all these Arms the results are identical: Lack in the high frequency area and a bass without power, a dominant midrange (comparable to a Koetsu cartridge)

Loss in Detail, specially with some more demanding classic Records (Decca SXL...), Unable to hold the setting for a longer time...
Comparable to a Koetsu it can be an advantage to soften a shrill, analytic Playback System when the owners wants to have the analog "warmth" by ignoring some frequency areas...the typical compensation in High End today.
And the final "Quality comment" from Audiophiles "But I like it" is fine, but has nothing to do with real Performance.

And FAR away from a Pysical Presence some of the other Arms can offer (not all, but some)
When you read customer comments about that, you will always find that and of course, that this Arm changes the setting depending on weather.
and you will always find responses - guess from whom - a la

- "the Arm was not matched to that used Cartridge"
- "the Cartridge is not the right one for that Arm"
- "send me back that Arm, I will make a different tube for that Cartridge"
- "the turntable is not good enough for that Arm"
- "the System is not good enough for that Arm"
- "the customer is not good enough for that Arm" (= unexperienced)
- "the Listening room was not good enough for that Arm"
- "the writer can't afford the arm and is jealous"
- and so on and on and on

I have no problem with that, there are lots of units out there I would not touch and the owners are happy with it, but the self-loving nonsens to tell the world, that this crap is better than the seriously made Arms out there, is a joke.
And the next, when there is a discussion about that in Audiogon /Audio Asylum etc. and some write about the "Design flaws" from this Tourist Guide in Berlin (his real profession), after a while all is deleted.
Big Brother is watching you.
And after some time the History will be "re-written"

I have no experience with Mills Audio, but when I read that, I think, yes, those two match.

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