click to expand
Every element of Kuzma's tonearm designs takes rigidity and energy transfer into consideration, so it should come as no surprise that this applies to their headshells.
In the photo (click to expand), take note of the longitudinal reinforcing ribs.
While they add rigidity, the narrow spacing presents a minor challenge, if you want to place washers underneath the mounting screws.
It's a minor point, but washers present a smoother surface for sliding the cartridge when making make fine adjustments during setup - especially when tuning zenith.
Note that for setup purposes, we've recently adopted nylon washers which slide even more easily.
After completing the setup, we'll audition washer materials for sonics. It's a simple matter to swap the brass washers back after dialing in the geometry (hint: remove/replace the mounting screws one at a time to preserve the geometry).
While the correct diameter washers are too wide to fit in the channels between the reinforcing ribs, the solution is simple: file flat spots on the washers. We prefer this solution to smaller diameter washers which of necessity, have barely more contact area than the socket head screw's diameter.
The easiest way to modify them is to hold the washers in either a bench top vice or a pair of Vice Grip pliers, and file the flats.
Simple ... no?
There's much to be said about washers, but in general, we've found brass and stainless to be our preferred materials. Experimenting with Nylon is worthwhile however.
The Schröder CB is an exception. It responds very well to nylon's compliant interface - allowing you to tune dynamics much more precisely.
Suffice to say, that if you employ washers, pay attention to their material and see what works for you, in your system. Some tonearm designs may have a different approach to energy management.
