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Audio Technica ATP-12T: Did I make a mistake?

Dear friends,

I would very much appreciate some advice as I think I may have made a horrible mistake. I was a little trigger happy yesterday afternoon and bought myself an Audio Technica ATP12T tonearm without first carefully reading the description. I have a few questions that I'm hoping sincerely that you all can answer:

1) Apparently, one of the screws beneath the front of the arm tube is "sheared off". The question is how was this done, why, with what force, and how does it impact the arm? In the photo, it's hard to tell, but it almost looks as though the metal is a little warped around the area of those screws by the headshell fastener, but I have nothing to compare it to so it's hard to tell. What purpose do those screws serve? Does this issue necessarily present a problem in terms of the functionality of the arm and should I be concerned?

2) I also did not measure my Lenco plinth to see if I had space to mount the arm. Would anyone be so kind as to tell me the diameter of the base of the mounting collar?

3) Should I be worried that the bearings may be shot on this arm? Is this likely to be the case that they need servicing?

4) I'm finding many pictures of this arm mounted on Lencos with the upper right corner cut away to accommodate the 242mm mounting distance. I plan to use Baerwald geometry. I'm wondering why there would be a need to cut away the Lenco top plate when it would be possible to mount at 242mm spindle to pivot by placing the arm behind the top plate and the arm tube, when in resting position, would run right along the edge of the platter. Am I missing or misunderstanding something here? Can I not mount it anywhere as long as the spindle to pivot distance is 242mm?

5) And finally, here is a description of why I bought this arm: I had been using a Rega RB300 tonearm on my Lenco. The bass response was amazing and better than any of the collection of various vintage arms I have used in the past. It was deep, plump, full, punchy bass and midbass. Unfortunately, the midrange lacked refinement and there was a grainy, artificial quality to the highs and upper mids with the Rega. I switched back to the arm I was using before, which is an original Grado Laboratory series tonearm. Instantly, the vocals became more natural and that grainy, artificial quality disappeared. Unfortunately, so did the bass. The Rega arm sounded much fuller and more authoritative. I am hoping the ATP12T will be full and rich sounding with great bass response. Is this just wishful thinking? Cartridges I am using are a vintage Shure SC35C w/ modern M35X light tracking stylus, a Stanton 380 w/ light-tracking Pickering V15 stylus, and I've been contemplating trying an Ortofon MC1 Turbo.


Here is the link to the arm I purchased:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Audio-Technica-ATP12T-Tone-Arm-/281722038075?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4197f1273b

Thank you in advance!


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Topic - Audio Technica ATP-12T: Did I make a mistake? - Mr Blue Sky 19:15:54 06/14/15 (1)

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