Yes…a very fine arm…very difficult to get a static balance though.
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Setting the tracking weight with my Ekos SE / Kandid I just set the dial to 1.75 the adjust the counterweight until tracking reads 1.75 on my digital scale. The dial can be used for fine tuning if required. Saves trying for a perfect balance when the dial isn’t accurate anyway.
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Exactly, hence the reading on the dial being off by 0.12 does not necessarily mean that the dial markings are so inexact, but rather more likely that the zero was never dialed in all that precisely, unless it was really made to hover.
…when I had P9/RB1000, I removed the printed values from the dial. … but, the arm had to go back to Rega for a minor repair…it returned with the printing restored!
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@Naim.Marketing Given the release of the Aro 2, does this mean existing Aro 1 owners will be able to get their hands on the super secret silicone lubricant that is used to lubricate the pillar bearing? I am sure mine could use an oil change after all these years. I am to understand there is no real alternative and no one knows what it is. There was a discussion but it was moderated, links removed, and no response was given on the secret lubricant name.
Any help out there to ensure I don’t buy snake oil.
And yes, it turns smooth, but I am sure it could use some added as there was residue present in package when received many years ago.
Scott
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Hi Bart, not having had the opportunity yet to get hands on with the Solstice or the new ARO 2, and with some comments that it appeared similar to a “Rega alignment”, I decided to go straight to the horses mouth and ask Roy for clarification on the geometry and alignment used.
The bearing to spindle measurement of the new ARO 2 is 212.5mm, so very similar to the original which was 211mm +/-1.5mm.
In the ARO 2, the Evo cartridge alignment is a very precise version of the Baerwald alignment. Roy considers this is the right choice for limiting the maximum values of tracking error and tracking distortion across the entire music playing part of the disc.
Hope that helps.
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Yes, I zero balanced the arm first. Then adjusted the cart with the protractor as you know already on my other thread.
There’s no difference with your P10 arm between the scale of the arm and the real weight with the balance ?
What I didn’t know was how precisely you balanced it without weight. You mentioned the difference between dial and gauge before, but I can’t recall how much effort you spent on balancing
My point is that if the stylus does not hover at 1 mm about the platter for an extended time (and who does that really, certainly not I), then the zero on the dial is not really zero and the difference between dial and gauge is meaningless
There is, but it does not indicate that the dial and the spring are this imprecise, all it means it’s that my zero baseline was never really zero. Because why bother, that’s what the gauge is for
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So… if ARO 2 is very similar to ARO 1 - as these quoted dimensions suggest - then ARO 2 is a potential (easy-ish) fit on an LP12, then…? And its NOT ‘Rega’ geometry, then…?
I must be missing something… Can’t be this simple, surely… ?
AFAIK it needs to hover level. Whether that’s 1mm or not depends on VTA.
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@Cymbiosis explained the issues here: New from Naim – Solstice Special Edition turntable - #1629 by Cymbiosis
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I guess that’s true. But still, my nerves are not built for extended hovering (and getting there!) 
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The weight is too big , from what I think to have understood
Thanks Richard - interesting!
If this is so this is great news and I must have misunderstood Jason when he was showing me the Solstice. However I do believe the mass of the arm as I held it, is a problem but obviously a variant without the ultra heavy mounting arrangement and a revised cable outlet could possibly fit the bill and be viable if the powers that be decide favorably. In the meantime I wait in eager anticipation to get my hands on one myself properly 
KR
Peter
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Same here. It also saves the additional step of zeroing out the arm.
IIRC, some users on the Lejonklou forum claim it’s the optimal technique for SQ with the Ekos SE. I can’t comment on this either way, as my ears don’t seem to be well tuned to the finer nuances of tracking weight adjustment, so I just stick with my Riverstone gauge, follow the manufacturer’s recommendation, and make sure the gauge is accurately calibrated.
Peter, do you think that the geometry of the existing Aro Keel would be ‘close enough’ to accommodate the new Aro2 (even if it meant that the third mounting hole cold not be used with Linn cartridges)? I would expect the tolerance of the mounting hole to bearing centre distance on the Keel to be much tighter than the +/-1.5mm quoted on the Aro drawings, which would have been for the days of the separate arm board. But then if Naim Audio were to achieve the mass goal for the Linn, the arm length could be changed in the process so that it too was optimised for the Aro Keel.
Anything is possible if the powers that be in Salisbury put their minds to it and yes the Keel is 211mm. The tolerances worked to on the Keel and also the Kore/A are much tighter. However as it stands the single hole fixing for the Aro 2 is very different to the original Aro so the existing Keel/A is not compatible without quite a bit of work I’d suggest but… Nothing is impossible!
KR
Peter
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Hey blacksheep, what scales do you use? Do they need to be a specific type or can I just buy a relative cheap one of the River?
I was wondering about this when I put my counter weight on my LP12 after having the Keel fitted as was not sure how far to push the weight on.