View Full Version : Clearaudio Magnify Tonearm
The Grand Wazoo
02-08-2011, 19:14
I saw some photos of a Clearaudio Magnify tonearm today & was struck by the huge housing that encloses the bearings and runs forward to encompass the lift/lower and parking devices.
Pro's? / Con's anyone?
http://www.plaudio.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Magnify_front.jpg
http://img0.justhifi.de/tn_clearaudio_magnify_a6084_2.jpg
Looks like the top photo has been reversed by some eedjit!
Cons? Almost certainly the price. I bet it's no Jelco in price, but more than an SME V more like - and then some I bet.
The Grand Wazoo
02-08-2011, 21:18
I meant pro's & con's of that bleedin' great cowling Dave, rather than the whole arm. I'm not in the market for an arm, just the owner of a slightly enquiring mind, mate!
........I think it's getting on for £2.5k
Looks like the top photo has been reversed by some eedjit!
It's for them inner-to-outer reverse spiral LPs, dontcha know.
I guess the large housing is for stability of the bearing structure, although it does look rather large (says the Dynavector owner...)
I saw some photos of a Clearaudio Magnify tonearm today & was struck by the huge housing that encloses the bearings and runs forward to encompass the lift/lower and parking devices.
Pro's? / Con's anyone?
http://www.plaudio.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Magnify_front.jpg
http://img0.justhifi.de/tn_clearaudio_magnify_a6084_2.jpg
Looks like the top photo has been reversed by some eedjit!
It's for left-handed 'Bizarros'! (or has been photographed for inclusion in a 1972 version of The HiFi Year Book; sent by the Ursa Minor Publishing Company through a worm-hole to IPC Electrical-Electronic Year Books Ltd., or to the Hi-Fi Choice A5-sized compendiums. No wonder the latter are about to fold!)
Don't think the size of the housing matters too much, as long as it is sufficiently rigid.
What is more important is the size of the bearing. Assuming the bearings are not needle-point but use a ball-race, the larger the diameter of the ball-race the better. Just look at the size of the ball-race bearings used on the Origin Live arm (not the one that is a "tarted-up" Rega).
http://www.decibelhifi.com.au/images/conqueror_tonearm_front.jpg
The Grand Wazoo
02-08-2011, 22:44
I understand that the vertical bearing uses ball races and the horizontal bearing has some magnetic thing going on which includes adjustable damping.
I'm assuming the reason for the housing to be extended into the lift/lower & park device is to avoid the outriggers that those things are usually mounted on from flapping about. But if that's the case, then why isn't the same design used further up the Clearaudio range?
Just look at the size of the ball-race bearings used on the Origin Live arm (not the one that is a "tarted-up" Rega).
And yet it uses a bias cable hanging over a loop. Yuck!
Ammonite Audio
03-08-2011, 07:16
And yet it uses a bias cable hanging over a loop. Yuck!
But to be fair, when these OL arms are working properly, they can sound maginificent. The Clearaudio Magnify arms do at least bring something really novel to tonearm design.
sq225917
03-08-2011, 07:37
The Origin Live arm actually uses two unipivot cups, widely spaced for greater stability, not ball races. The Clearaudio arm linked to above is actually a Schroeder variant using an inverted tensioned thread arrangement.
And yet it uses a bias cable hanging over a loop. Yuck!
What would you prefer - a spring mechanism that has its own set of resonances?
What would you prefer - a spring mechanism that has its own set of resonances?
Not at all, it's just that the wire against the metal loop will have friction and is likely to cause jerks in its action. With all that cost put into the bearing housing, don't you think they should have put a wheel (a la SME) to guide the wire round?
Not at all, it's just that the wire against the metal loop will have friction and is likely to cause jerks in its action. With all that cost put into the bearing housing, don't you think they should have put a wheel (a la SME) to guide the wire round?
The friction will be constant and won't cause 'jerking'; no more than the friction between the tyres of your car and the road cause a jerking motion.
I don't like the wheel SME later fitted to their arms: it's not necessary, the whole bias compensation business is a bit of a compromise and approximation, so a little extra friction which can be offset with extra 'bias' (i.e. another notch on the bias wayrod) is of little concern.
I have replaced the nylon thread of my SME bias mechanism with surgical suture silk, which is far more flexible and better slides over the loop of the 'fishing rod' bracket.
Sorry to disagree, Barry, but if you look at the theory of friction the greatest drag is from a standing position. Since the wire will hardly be moving as the arm slowly tracks the groove, the effect will be that on a micro level the wire will move in little jerks rather than smoothly. It's an inelegant solution.
Sorry to disagree, Barry, but if you look at the theory of friction the greatest drag is from a standing position. Since the wire will hardly be moving as the arm slowly tracks the groove, the effect will be that on a micro level the wire will move in little jerks rather than smoothly. It's an inelegant solution.
No - true friction, as distict from 'stiction', has the frictional drag directly proportional to the load between the two surfaces. The coefficient of friction is a constant. It depends only on the nature of the two sliding surfaces and is not dependent on their relative velocity.
Agree the rate of travel is small: about 10mm in 20min = 8.3um/sec.
I meant to say 'stiction'.
I meant to say 'stiction'.
Well in that case I would agree with you, save that 'stiction' is friction where the coefficient of friction is > 1. I don't think that situation applies between the bias weight filament and the bracket over which it runs.
Regards
Barry, the very old SME's I've seen tend to have kinks in the bias-wire where they've been left for long periods of disuse - only we idiots use our stereos every day ;) From memory, the wheel doesn't introduse such a "bend" in the line and works flawlessly once properly set up IMO.
Barry, the very old SME's I've seen tend to have kinks in the bias-wire where they've been left for long periods of disuse - only we idiots use our stereos every day ;) From memory, the wheel doesn't introduce such a "bend" in the line and works flawlessly once properly set up IMO.
Hi Dave,
Yes the nylon thread of the bias mechanism does develop a 'set' or kink. Worse than that, after a period of time, especially if the arm is in sunlight, the nylon thread will become embrittled and break at the point where it bends over the loop. It happened to me on a 40 year old SME arm.
I replaced the solid nylon tread with surgical suture silk, which whilst being made from Nylon, is a woven multi-filament. As such, it is far more flexible and slides over the loop more easily than the original did.
Agree the presence of a wheel at this point will help in preventing a kink forming, but I remain to be convinced that the wheel rotates, rather than the cord simply sliding over it. If the wheel does not rotate, the increased surface contact between the cord and the wheel will increase the frictional drag.
I'll have to fit one of the Improved SMEs, which have a wheel housed in plastic housing, to see if the wheel does actually rotate.
Regards
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