aztwang wrote:
Have you had the time to compare both versions of the new Fatboy? Im wondering how the new gimball design compares to the "Gimball world" as a whole??
Peter, I think the VTA tower and the availability to adjust VTA on the fly is big especially being so many records are now 180 and 200 gr pressings.It seems odd that nobody else has jumped on the bandwagon. I am very new to this world after a 35 year hiatus and maybe I'm making more to it than reality but having to hold my tongue just right and roughly guess where VTA adjustment should be so that my record sounds the best it can be on my $20K-$50K 2 channel system seems counter productive. So much is made about proper adjustment of turntable and cartridge but yet it seems as many manufacturers are having their customers "guess" or at best estimate their records VTA adjustment...Am I missing something??
Cheers
I think you’ve asked the $4000 question.
HW posted that he thought that the gimbal had better bass definition and the unipivot had a sweeter top end, at least for the Fatboy. He also posted some thoughts on cartridge matching to these arms.
His opinion is worth more than mine.
I can share my thoughts though. I like the idea of the VTA on the fly feature, but in the practical application, I really don’t hear it as a critical issue. To change VTA by even 1 degree, it takes a pretty big change at the arm’s pivot 10” away. If the arm is parallel to the disk, nearly all of the records I’ve ever played sound good. This is the official Linn position too. They offer no easy adjustment. At the same time Lyra, a respected high end cartridge manufacturer, insist that VTA adjustment is important to get the most out of their cartridges.
Someone posted the other day that changing VTA is like a tone control. Others say it is like a knob that snaps the image into focus. My own experience as a listener leans toward the latter.
If I buy a Fatboy, I will probably go for the gimbal. I really like well defined bass. And I still maintain that a gimbal is easier to set up right than a unipivot, at least for me. I will say that the gimbaled Printed 10” vta on the fly adjustable Levinson arm, designed and built by VPI, has really impressed me. Assuming the VPI version of the gimbal is like what they delivered for Levinson, it will be very competitive with the Linn Ekos/SE.
As for the vta, I set it so that the arm is parallel to the disk, and I forget about it. If I change record mats or cartridges, I adjust it. But I don’t bother for standard or heavy vinyl.
FWIW, I have had many decent systems and listening spaces over the last 45 years, but have downsized to two at the present time. Both are dedicated spaces. One has a value of approximately $80k. The other approximately $45k.
It is frustrating that so many options can’t be evaluated until you buy them. This is what keeps Audiogon in business.
YMMV