Any real benefit to a 12" tonearm?

[FrankDeckard]

What is the real benefit of a 12" tonearm and does one need a larger table/platter to use one?

Thanks.

Happy Chanukah and Merry Xmas.

 

[YNMOAN]

The benefit is lower tracking distortion (but nothing like as good as a linear tracker in this regard). However just being longer does not guarantee superior performance - lots of other design elements impact as least as greatly as length (note: arm effective mass is increased).

You don't need a bigger platter (records are the same size), but you do need to mount he arm 3 inches (approximately) further out from the record centre than a 9 inch arm. Many decks will not accommodate such arm positioning which is partly why 12 inch arms quite rare.

 

[FrankDeckard]

That's interesting about the platter, because most of the tables that use 12" arms now have larger platters. Nott has a table with an enlarged platter, and so does the SME 20/12.

I've listened to the Shindo table with a 12" Shindo-modified SME and it had a regular-sized platter.

 

[YNMOAN]

Please be assured, the larger platter has nothing to do with the longer arm.

 

[shrink]

yes because what use would a larger platter be, when the record is still only 12"

 

[YNMOAN]

For what it is worth the SME 20/12 seems to have the same platter as the 30/2 (which uses a 9 inch arm).