Unipivot VS Gimbal

nc42acc

nc42acc

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Any forum members have experience with the sonic differences between the unipivot vs gimbal tonearm?
 
Yes! I’m a gimbal man even though my own turntable is unipivot!. I find the bass better with the gimbal and easier to ensure proper setup. The unipivot sounds more airy, but the gimbal presents a more solid image.
 
Mike said:
Yes! I’m a gimbal man even though my own turntable is unipivot!. I find the bass better with the gimbal and easier to ensure proper setup. The unipivot sounds more airy, but the gimbal presents a more solid image.
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Thank you Mike!
 
I have both Unipivot (Nottingham AceSpace) and gimbal (Michell Engineering T8) arms and I think the bass is better with the gimbal arm.

But other differences could be in play. Like a 12” linear fiber arm tube in the Nottingham vs. a 9” tapered titanium arm tube in the Michell. And the fact that these arms are on different tables. This with a Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation cart.
 
Thanks for the great info. Here is my dilemma......I have an older VPI Prime Signature Rosewood with the 3D printed unipivot arm. I never became comfortable with the unipivot "wobble" trying to cue up an album. I want to upgrade to the VPI fatboy gimbal or trade it in for something newer and a step up in SQ. Give me your thoughts on which direction makes the most sense.
 
nc42acc said:
Thanks for the great info. Here is my dilemma......I have an older VPI Prime Signature Rosewood with the 3D printed unipivot arm. I never became comfortable with the unipivot "wobble" trying to cue up an album. I want to upgrade to the VPI fatboy gimbal or trade it in for something newer and a step up in SQ. Give me your thoughts on which direction makes the most sense.
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All depends on budget of course. Gimbal is the smart move. But a Kuzma with a 4 point would be next level.
 
I had the VPI Unipivot then upgraded to the VPI Fatboy Gimbal which was a nice improvement - easier to setup and use as well as better bottom end. A few years later moved to the Kuzma 4Point and haven’t looked back.
 
Ritmo said:
I had the VPI Unipivot then upgraded to the VPI Fatboy Gimbal which was a nice improvement - easier to setup and use as well as better bottom end. A few years later moved to the Kuzma 4Point and haven’t looked back.
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I don’t think a Kuzma setup is in my future. Switching arms hopefully will get me spinning more vinyl.
 
Unipivots have a soft spot with me because they work best with most of my carts which are med compliance. The Graham Phantom and Spiral Groove Centroid are standouts, the Basis Vector/SuperArm, are superb as well. Technically the Graham and Basis have two points of contacts (magnetic in one, mechanical in the other). My only issue with captive bearing/gimbaled arms is no matter if they use radial, spherical, knife edge or needle cones; there is a certain amount of pre-load incorporated into the design...and they ALL need adjustment at some point. You also have at least two or three more points of contact, and with it stiction issues as they age and get worn in.
 
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