Straight arms are geared more towards scratching because they hold the groove better but also wear your records a little bit more. S-shaped tone arms are more for just mixing so unless you're going to be doing a lot of scratching go for the s-shaped arm.

the post that says beginning advise (spelled wrong)

--> How to setup your tonearm weights, straight arm vs S arm and more

___________________

soulful/latin/deep house + jazz

straight has better tracking

S has better S/N ratio

___________________

www.djdukes.com
<---Latest Set--->

If you want more technical reasons why s shaped is better for most users here's why:

http://www.kabusa.com/str8_doc.htm

If you scratch, just get m44-7. Those hold a groove like no other. Forget the str8 arm.

___________________

quote:

Make it idiot proof and someone will make a better idiot. He who laughs last thinks slowest!

have a read of this: http://groups.google.co.uk/groups?q...s4all.nl&rnum=4

By the way, the majority of the Stanton TT range (certainly all of the recent ones) come in the "str8" and the "st" variety, and I believe that each corresponding model is the same price. So the only choice you should need to make is whether you want a straight or S-shaped tonearm, and not base your decision on TT features or price.