Presumably the only things you have to measure are spindle to pivot, VTA and overhang?
(Obviously TF as well)
I’m sure that’s down to lots of end-of-side type distortion. 
I’d imagine it’s attractive on some stuff but, would annoy long term, I expect.
What stylus profiles have you heard used on it? SPU blunt tool or something a bit more line contacty?
Ohhh you’re gonna love the answer to that one.
It’s a funny one Pete, as Ritchie says it really does go against everything. That said it sounds considerably better than a lot of arms I’ve heard.
?
Is that down to the geometry, though? Or the bearings? Or other reasons? Obviously it could be the geometry, but I’d be careful ascribing the performance to a single specific aspect without being able to isolate the variables.
That’s the bit i actually do understand. The Fidelix guy then goes on to describe a bearing that doesn’t “suffer” the alledged negative effects of standard bearings.
More commonly known as a ‘marketing’ bearing.
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Got sum unknown, sub d103, cheap as chips mm on it at the mo. 
There is a up gradey version of the cart with a posh stylus profile. I have heard that and I expect when I get my hands in one it will be an upgrade.
Tbh, all this is bollo’ really. I’m currently streaming some Miles Davis via Tidal and it sounds epic 
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I’ve honestly not experienced that, I’ve sat here for hours on end listening to it. I don’t have your engineering knowledge telling me it must be wrong though.
Sounds like Kevin might have though.
It’s like when people hear ‘detail’ in amps - often that’s just a bunch of odd order harmonic stuff.
I suppose it’s a bit like sharpening in photography where you add local contrast to highlight boundaries.
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Technically this is a very fair comment. The Viv labs 7" does a lot differently so hard / impossible upon simply listening to ascribe a cause, The very rigid arm tube (They also do a carbon fiber one but I’ve not heard that) the damped bearing, the length, no offset, heavy base etc I can only comment on it in combination, although many say the 7" is superior to the other lengths so perhaps there is some anecdotal indication there?
I guess each variable brings a possible + & -. Holistically these ‘differences’ add up to something interesting. I did watch / listen keenly to the Viv / cart track the Shure audio Obstacle course and it coped rather well with a MM (In the swing headshell)
Rigidity is a myth in tonearms (apart from for marketing purposes). Under dynamic conditions they’re all over the place. What actually holds the cartridge in place aganst the motion of the stylus and cantilever (which is coupled to the body by the spring provided by the cantilever and suspension) at the frequencies of interest, is actually the mass of the cartridge + effective mass of the arm. The actual arm tube only holds things steady in a static sense, i.e. below a certain frequency (the arm/cart. resonance). Unfortunately it also acts as a channel for vibration and other nasties under dynamic conditions. Ideally you would get rid of it entirely. Rigid materials tend to have sharper resonances and breakup, similar to fancy materials in speaker cones, which can certainly add audible nasties when used outside their operating range. Often materials like good old fashioned paper are preferable due to their more benign resonance and vibration characteristics.
Fundamentally vinyl replay is a bunch of mechanical resonances that either work together or don’t. Pick your poison, really.
I’m also minded that mostly the lone advocate obsessing over a single idea against the wealth of engineering practice and science is most often wrong. See Occam’s razor and all that.
(For the record, I see conventional offset tonearm geometry as a necessary evil, but just ignoring the downsides of going to a straight arm also feels wrong)
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All fair comments Pete. The offset no offset is of course trading in compromises, there isn’t a perfect solution. I do see the Viv being a tough sell simply as it does fly in the face of more established thinking. I could say correct thinking but my experiences with it have been positive, hence the conflict. Hard one for a dealer to spin to a long standing client though… “Oh yes, you know what I sold you / told you a year ago…”
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I understand that and am also curious. Guy needs to pull his fucking finger out and get on with his experiment.
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Even Stronzi agrees with that
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This experiment may have to come first.
When I decide which TT is going to carry it 251mm from the spindle and have the necessary holes cut.
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Just send it to me and I’ll try it out for you
Drill everything, it’s good for you.
