While it's generally accepted that the tonearm is not as important in influencing sound quality as the main bearing, power supply or motor, its role is still vital in ensuring the stylus is able to track a record.
The tonearm needs to react quickly to the minute movements generated as it supports the stylus tracking the record, so being both rigid and light are advantages. However, this is quite a challenge for what is basically a pivoted lever with a counterbalance or a tensioned spring to attempt, let alone ensuring an even stylus pressure at all times. This is pretty much impossible to do in the real world, as some of the mechanical requirements are contradictory. So it’s fair to say tonearms have to balance these engineering compromises in the best way they can, and at a price that music lovers are prepared to pay. Some of what we consider to be the best examples of this combination of art and science are listed below:
The Linn Ekos SE features advanced materials carefully selected for their sound performance and low resonance properties to minimise interference, resonance and microphony, allowing you to extract stunning musical performances from your vinyl collection.
The Linn Ekos SE has a machined titanium arm tube to reduce resonance within the arm, a stainless steel bearing housing, where the wall thickness has seen a nearly threefold increase over that used in the original Linn Ekos, which helps reduce unwanted tonearm movements. Ultra-low friction bearings and temperature compensated precision springs ensure that the exceptional performance of the Linn Ekos SE is maintained regardless of whether you are listening to your first track of the day, or after many hours of music.
Recently, a number of improvements, including a new heavier counterweight and revisions to the headshell to allow for easier fitting and the use of non-Linn cartridges, have been introduced. The anti-skate platform has also been revised and now has a paint-free finish. Every Linn Ekos SE tonearm is built to last using the latest manufacturing techniques and handcrafted to the highest quality standard, so that you get the very best musical reproduction from your vinyl collection. The Linn Ekos SE is the reference against which other tonearms should be judged.
With the Arko tonearm, Linn have returned to fundamentals, by removing all bar the mission-critical elements of tonearm design, boiling these down to their essence, and then honing what was left to superlative standards. Perfectly poised and rigorously refined, Linn Arko is effortful simplicity.
This tonearm features an ultra-stable gimbal platform which facilitates superb bearing concentricity and alignment. Its arm wand travels in space with minimum hindrance; the affixed cartridge bobs and moves with the warps and grooves of the record, with finesse and fluidity.
The award winning PU7 Ti tonearm features a foam damped titanium arm tube resulting in slightly higher effective mass, which is better for moving coil cartridges. It also has adjustable azimuth thus allowing perfect alignment with the record surface.
The 4 ball race bearings are of the highest quality and there is a right angle arm lead option, which is perfect for the Linn Sondek LP12.
Each arm is handmade, ensuring the highest build quality.
The Blackbird is a new turntable tone arm with a revolutionary patented* ‘Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm’ bearing which outperforms traditional tone arms. The sideways uni-pivot bearing directly opposes stylus drag at a single point of contact, eliminating microscopic play in the time axis and avoiding the scrubbing and roll movements which can degrade the performance of conventional uni-pivots. The Blackbird‘s SUPA bearing delivers unprecedented performance.
* UK patent 2599073, international patents pending
The latest Roksan Nima tonearm combines solid aluminium alloy tubing (which is now fully grounded), a stainless steel alloy and a polished acrylic uni-pivot cup assembly. This remarkable arm is made of no less than ten individual precision-machined components.
The unique design of the O-ring transit locking mechanism of the uni-pivot bearing assembly not only provides a safe transportation method, but also avoids damage if the arm is accidentally lifted off its bearing. In order to transport the arm, all you need do is gently lift the bearing cup a little and the assembly is held by the O-ring.
Anti-skate is adjusted easily by the position of a thread and weight. Azimuth correction (necessary with uni-pivot arms) is provided by an O-ring decoupled, mirror-chromed counterweight, which has its mounting hole offset. This not only allows for azimuth correction, but cleverly lowers its centre of gravity, a very simple and cost effective solution, and this pretty much sums up what the Roksan Nima design represents overall: a tonearm capable of delivering wonderful music, at a fraction of the cost of many of its competitors.
The Rega team has worked tirelessly to improve every aspect of this new Rega RB330 tonearm. Offering improved ergonomics, usability and sonic performance.
Featuring a new bias assembly, re-designed stiffer vertical bearing housing, integrated arm clip and an improved spring housing with easier to read numbers. Other improvements include a Rega made, low capacitance phono cable terminated with high quality ‘Neutrik’ plugs, improved lower friction, precision horizontal and vertical bearings and a re-designed 100g mild steel balance weight.
The ultimate uni-pivot arm? Many of us believe so. Despite the Naim Aro’s extreme simplicity, it was – and remains – so very capable in extracting so much music from the record’s grooves. A versatile tonearm, achieving great results with many different cartridges, even though originally it was designed with just one cartridge in mind, the Linn Troika.
Despite its discontinuation, the Naim Aro continues to have a loyal following and many products have been brought out in recent years to complement it. These include the Linn Aro Keel, Aro Rubikon, the Aro Lifter, the Tiger Paw Elevator arm lift and an adjustable counterweight from Tiger Paw called the sKale for Aro.
Gone, but not forgotten, please contact Peter if you wish to buy or sell an Aro. Sadly, some of these complementary products are no longer available.
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