Who made this tonearm?

[SGregory]

In the attached photo's is my tonearm from years back(at least 20 years). Fresh from its dark and dirty storage in the barn. Unfortunaltley, I lost the box and paper work it came in. I know it is a uni-pivot but for the life of me can't remember the name of the manufacturer.

I also attached a photo of the cable connection and need advise on what to replace the cables with. The newer style cables use the DIN 5.


I will ask forgiveness in advance for letting this thing set in a box and fall into such a state of dis-repair. The stylus is a Talisman S, but with no cantilever.

[fergs1]

magnapan unitrac unipivot. Look up vinyl engine in their library section, they will have all you need cheers fergs

[SGregory]

Thats it. Thanks.

[Salas]

That Magnepan tone arm looks like having very good potential. And its depicted with a Denon in its manual. What is the TT?

[SGregory]

The TT was originally an Ariston Audio RD80. The plinth was flimsy so I built a new one many moons ago out of MDF. Will probably redo at some point after I get the system up and running. As it stands today, I have to rewire it. Will use Cardas Shielded 4x33 in a single run to the RIAA amp for that. I can eliminate the special plug on the head shell and at the base of the arm by rewiring.

I think the photo in the manual shows the DL103D, high compliance version. Back in the day this was a common set up. I am concerned that the arm may not be a good fit for the 130R which is a low compliance cartridge. Will find out soon enough I guess.

[SGregory]

Too late to edit I meant to say DL 103R not DL130R

[sreten]

Hi,

I'd only consider a very high quality MM for that arm (and on a RD80).
Bang for buck a great MM would wipe the floor re a MC in that arm IMO.

The AT440MLa e.g. :LP Gear: audio-technica AT440MLa AT-440MLa phono cartridge

or on a budget the AT120E/T : LP Gear: audio-technica AT120E/T phono cartridge (retail $159.00)

Or looking for something dirt cheap that could work incredibly well :
https://shop.mantra-audio.co.uk/acat...artridges.html

The rest of my time I'd spend tuning / optimising the turntable / arm.

/Sreten.

[Salas]

This arm will do about 10Hz Fs with a DL103R. It is 16-16.5 compliance in reality (static 10Hz style) after calculating from the Fs I found on FFT and my arm's mass + 103R.

[SGregory]

sreten, thanks for the input. In general, I have always prefered MC, probably spoiled by the Talisman. I won't be sticking with this table and arm too long as I wish to build my own this year. Maybe when I switch I will put a MM on it and use it as a back-up. Audio Technica are a nice cartridge, I have listened to them in the past.


Salas,
I was thinking about uping the mass of the arm a little when I rewire. One thought I had was to pack the carbon tone arm with talcum. It would dampen it abit while dropping the Fs down a little. I recall 8 Hz being a good number.

[Salas]

I would not bother. 10-12Hz is further away from warps and eccentricity and I personally prefer it. That arm has a concept. See if it needs any attention, if moving freely etc.