View Full Version : New Audio Note Tonearm
Ammonite Audio
09-02-2011, 21:15
My new Audio Note Arm1 tonearm has arrived and has been playing very good music this evening. It's the bottom model of a new range of tonearms, which are unusual in having a tube and headshell machined out of one billet of aluminium, with the added sophistication of a stepped internal profile. It has Rega geometry so fits nicely on my Thorens TD124 (sorry about the slightly blurred picture):
http://i55.tinypic.com/91ge1w.jpg
Here's a shot of the very nicely finished bearing yoke. A dot has been thoughtfully provided to identify the pivot point:
http://i54.tinypic.com/25auohz.jpg
In this shot you can see the clever adjustable bias weight and the VTA adjuster ring, which has been designed so that one revolution equates to exactly 1mm of height adjustment:
http://i52.tinypic.com/4h3w3d.jpg
My arm has copper wiring - there are other versions with silver wiring options; also an offset counterweight.
It's always difficult to accurately characterise a brand new device, but with the ESCo'd Kontrapunkt B up front, it produces a lovely deep, fluid, stress-free, analoguey sound. That's not to say that dynamics or precision are lacking - far from it. I have fed it a variety of LPs, ranging from "Gaucho" through "Swingin' Safari", "Love Over Gold" to various classical piano and organ music discs and all have sounded superb. This arm does bass particularly well - properly deep but better defined than anything I've heard in my home. On solo piano (Mozart Piano Concerto No22, Geza Anda), it allows the feeling of the recording space to come through very nicely; and the piano is believably presented in that space - rather lovely. In all, it's very nicely balanced, but musically ordered and coherent. As with all new things, I expect it to get better over time.
Is it better than my other tonearms? Yes, by quite some margin. Methinks that I may be thinning out my collection of arms soon!
Marco and Martin will get the chance to fondle it (and hear it too) later this month.
selfaddict
09-02-2011, 21:35
Is it better than my other tonearms? Yes, by quite some margin. Methinks that I may be thinning out my collection of arms soon!
Hello and congratulations for your new purchase :).
Is the tonearm cable single run from cartridge leads to the phono plugs without connectors, like Clearaudio does?
Ammonite Audio
09-02-2011, 21:40
Hello and congratulations for your new purchase :).
Is the tonearm cable single run from cartridge leads to the phono plugs without connectors, like Clearaudio does?
No - the cable loom is not a single run. There is not a connector at the base of the arm, though.
Ammonite Audio
09-02-2011, 21:53
I don't know the cost (yet) and I hope that I can afford it! Deco Audio might be able to enlighten you.
Wow, I get lots of gear myself and don't ask the price (not), strange arrangement, can I order 1 without knowing what it costs, that would be utterly cool. Is it this side of a k?
The Grand Wazoo
10-02-2011, 00:19
That's a beautiful piece of design - very nice. I hope it sounds as good as it looks Hugo.
Is the tonearm cable single run from cartridge leads to the phono plugs without connectors, like Clearaudio does?
I worry that folks get hung up on this. I'd have thought a set of connections would be a small price to pay for the ability to get that tiny fragile signal into a bit of wire that can be properly shielded.
It's also a bloody sight more convenient.
Maybe I'm wrong...........?
There are trade-offs single wire vs 2 wires and a set of connectors. It is possible to have a single shielded wire straight through but of course you end up with mega thin wire all the way to you phono stage with relatively high resistance, eg 1 to 4 ohms. Who can say which is better, higher resistance or and extra set of connectors?
selfaddict
10-02-2011, 20:59
I worry that folks get hung up on this. I'd have thought a set of connections would be a small price to pay for the ability to get that tiny fragile signal into a bit of wire that can be properly shielded.
It's also a bloody sight more convenient.
Maybe I'm wrong...........?
I have no problem using connectors. I am using tonearm with detachable headshell, and separate tonearm cable; that's already three connector points before we are inside phono amplifier. For me this it is small price to pay for the joy that one can change (headshells and) cartridges without every time re-aligning cartridges.
Hi Hugo,
Sorry about my late response. Your new arm looks great, and no doubt sounds great, too!
I do admire and respect your thinking outside of the box with hi-fi, and your willingness to speculate to accumulate, which in my experience more often than not pays dividends ;)
I'm really looking forward to hearing your TD124/AN combo at Martin's, where no dount it will make a formidable partnership with whatever cartridge you decide to use.
In the meantime, enjoy the music! :cool:
Marco.
That arm looks very nice, Hugo. I'm looking forward to hearing it.
Are you running the Kontrapunkt into the CineMags or another step-up?
It looks nice but how much is it for the 2nd time...:) Please
hifi_dave
10-02-2011, 22:51
I understand that there are to be three arms in the range and the bottom of these is approx £500.
So is shuggies the bottom one in the range cos if it is I iz gettin one on looks alone!
hifi_dave
10-02-2011, 23:10
I believe it is but could be wrong as the differences are internal.
chris@panteg
10-02-2011, 23:33
Hi Hugo
For some reason i can't see any picture ! But i like Audionote stuff and would expect it to be superb , enjoy it:)
Ammonite Audio
11-02-2011, 06:26
That arm looks very nice, Hugo. I'm looking forward to hearing it.
Are you running the Kontrapunkt into the CineMags or another step-up?
Thanks Martin. The KB is running into the Cinemags, with the gain switch in the 'high' position. Not sure how that loads the cartridge, but it works!
I understand that there are to be three arms in the range and the bottom of these is approx £500.
There are to be three arms in the range, but I really don't know what the pricing is. I will afford it.
So is shuggies the bottom one in the range cos if it is I iz gettin one on looks alone!
Yes, mine is the 'cooking' Arm1, which means copper wiring and a plain counterweight. The other versions have (iirc) an offset counterweight.
Thanks Martin. The KB is running into the Cinemags, with the gain switch in the 'high' position. Not sure how that loads the cartridge, but it works!
In the high position the gain is 30x (30dB) and the loading is 52 ohms. That's the setting that suits my Dynavector 20X2L as well. You must be hearing the same 'dark' background and whisper quiet surface as I am - it's fab, isn't it? :)
Techno Commander
11-02-2011, 09:51
For 500 notes, if it sounds as good as it looks they should sell like hot cakes.
Ammonite Audio
12-02-2011, 20:18
I mounted the Audio Note arm on the Kenwood KD-770D. They look lovely together:
http://i56.tinypic.com/155pi7d.jpg
Sadly, the Kenwood is just not in the same musical league as the Thorens TD124. The combination actually sounds very good, but on the Thorens, that arm brings out such depth and verve to the sound - the Kenwood is just a bit polite in comparison. I wish the Thorens was as quiet as the Kenwood, though!
Ammonite Audio
15-02-2011, 19:07
The price of the basic Arm1 version of the arm (like mine) is £654.50. For its quality and performance, I'm happy with that, as it's by far the best tonearm that I have owned. It would be very interesting to pitch it against an SME (309, IV, or V) or Funk.
The Arm1 is back on the TD124, where it really belongs. A new idler wheel from Mirko Djordjevic in the States has totally cured the noisy drive on my deck, and it's now sounding very lovely.
The price of the basic Arm1 version of the arm (like mine) is £654.50. For its quality and performance, I'm happy with that, as it's by far the best tonearm that I have owned. It would be very interesting to pitch it against an SME (309, IV, or V) or Funk.
The Arm1 is back on the TD124, where it really belongs. A new idler wheel from Mirko Djordjevic in the States has totally cured the noisy drive on my deck, and it's now sounding very lovely.
must admit your arm does like damn cool, it's price point is a bit in no mans land which is a good thing as there is nothing much near to it on price as its more than the technoarm £400 and quite a bit less than the funk £1100 and SME309 £1150 rough prices of course, so does it box above its weight I wonder? Then again all hinges on cartridge and TT as well as they all have to gel together don't they? :)
Hugo, I'm stunned that such an expensive arm gets the bearings out of angle with the headshell offset - so easy to fix too... If your records are flat and you're enjoying the sonics, then I'm pleased for you :)
Ammonite Audio
16-02-2011, 06:04
Hugo, I'm stunned that such an expensive arm gets the bearings out of angle with the headshell offset - so easy to fix too... If your records are flat and you're enjoying the sonics, then I'm pleased for you :)
Can you explain what you mean here? Looking at the three other tonearms in my possession, the Arm1 does not look odd. I'm sure that the designer knew what he was doing.
As for being expensive, is it? Perhaps against a Jelco 750, but it is in a totally different league to that, as I have found out for myself.
What Dave means is that the horizontal bearings are not canted in line with the headshell holes, as in the Technics arm below. The Audio Note will therefore very slightly twist the cartridge as it rides warps.
http://www.darwinversusthemachine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/TONEARM.jpg
Ammonite Audio
16-02-2011, 08:56
Ah! I see now. It's almost certainly a deliberate aspect of the design, but I shall ask the designer about it. The (much more expensive) Audio Note AN-1s arm, itself based on a Helius design, seems to share the same feature.
Perhaps against a Jelco 750, but it is in a totally different league to that, as I have found out for myself.
You wanna hear the Jelco with the Oyaide PA-2075-DR tonearm cable, which is simply superb. Oh that's right, you will this weekend! :eyebrows:
It's a totally different ball game, mate. Just as you thought, the Neglex cable DC supplies, strangles its performance - and so now the Jelco forms a rather formidable partnership with the SPU.
Marco.
Ammonite Audio
16-02-2011, 09:10
I do quite admire the design principles of the Oyaide mat and I'm actually quite keen on trying it out on my Thorens. I may bring the Kenwood/Jelco/AT33PTG with me on Saturday and it would be interesting to pop the Oyaide cable on it, for a laugh, to compare against J7's cable (which I have reterminated with NextGen plugs). The Kenwood, lovely as it is in its own way, will still be left standing by your Technics and my TD124, though,.
Hi Hugo,
Please do bring the Kenwood, as I'd love to hear it - no problem trying the Oyaide tonearm cable with it (shown below) :)
http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/9666/f1173073.jpg (http://img815.imageshack.us/i/f1173073.jpg/)
The Oyaide made a very significant improvement to the performance of the Jelco, but then at £260, it should do! Therefore, effectively, the Jelco is now a £700 tonearm (DC sells them these days, sans cable, for £449).
However, as you've discovered yourself, with anything, synergy is the key to best performance, which is why I no longer get bogged down with which tonearm, mat, etc, is 'best'. Quite simply, there is no universal 'best'.
A £1000 tonearm fitted with the 'wrong' cartridge is most likely to sound worse than a £500 tonearm fitted with the right one! ;)
Marco.
chris@panteg
16-02-2011, 12:11
Hi Marco
I think you may well be right , i suspect the VDH cable is adding a misty veil to my 309 , i need to find out for sure though !
Hi Marco
I think you may well be right , i suspect the VDH cable is adding a misty veil to my 309 , i need to find out for sure though !
My 309 arrives today with Grahams (South West Analogue (http://www.hi-fi-specialist.com/)) own silver litz cable, hope it sounds as good as it looks on his site!
Will report soon.
chris@panteg
16-02-2011, 12:38
Hi David
I will be very interested to know what you think and if possible could you do some cable swapping around ! Don't you have the original VDH cable then , its been rather slagged off by many an SME user !
How does one avail oneself of these new tonearms?
I can't find them anywhere! :scratch:
Ammonite Audio
02-07-2011, 06:33
How does one avail oneself of these new tonearms?
I can't find them anywhere! :scratch:
Try Deco Audio http://www.decoaudio.com/
They're bloody brilliant, Mikey... If I used 'normal' cartridges, I'd have one in a shot!
This is the best link: http://www.decoaudio.com/deco_audio_tonearms1.html#Audio :)
Marco.
Stratmangler
02-07-2011, 09:22
Hugo, I'm stunned that such an expensive arm gets the bearings out of angle with the headshell offset - so easy to fix too... If your records are flat and you're enjoying the sonics, then I'm pleased for you :)
Noone questioned ARA about the SME3009 angles being offset :)
Noone questioned ARA about the SME3009 angles being offset :)
Yes, but he did correct it from the Series III onwards.
Stratmangler
02-07-2011, 10:04
Yes, but he did correct it from the Series III onwards.
Ah, the tonearm that ARA refused to have in the company museum ;)
The III wasn't that bad sounding, but the IV/V did pretty much nail it.
Stratmangler
02-07-2011, 10:44
To be honest I'd often wondered why SME left the elegant simplicity of the knife edge bearing behind, and thanks to this thread I now know.
It hasn't stopped others from adopting similar ideas - Origin Live with their "dual unipivot" (an oxymoron if ever there was one), and these have been well received too, so perhaps the bearing/headshell offset angle thing is more of a solution looking for a problem.
Another solid block of aluminium is machined to make the bearing housing which contains ‘captured unipivot’ bearings.
Huh?
Stratmangler
02-07-2011, 11:18
Huh?
Think of a beam sat upon two points.
Then think of that with a fitting that stops the beam from being completely removed from the pivot points.
Similar idea to the knife edge bearing that SME used.
Ammonite Audio
02-07-2011, 11:59
Think of a beam sat upon two points.
Then think of that with a fitting that stops the beam from being completely removed from the pivot points.
Similar idea to the knife edge bearing that SME used.
Not really. The Audio Note arm has fairly conventional and very finely toleranced vertical bearings at either side of the main yoke; that yoke is rigidly connected to a single, very finely engineered vertical rod that forms the horizontal bearing. In effect, it's an elegant and very effective re-design of an old Helius idea, made properly and reliably (Helius owners will be only too aware that the engineering quality did not always match the clever design thinking). That vertical rod is contrained both vertically and laterally by simple and very precisley machined sleeves, and sits on a single thrust ball. So it is a form of unipivot in that the entire arm sits on a single thrust ball, but the whole thing is still properly held together, hence the term 'captured'. The arm reeks of clever and intuitive thinking and its production is only made possible, at a reasonable price, by modern CAD/CAM processes. Having lived with it for quite a few months, I stand by everything that I've said and written - this thing has to be the tonearm bargain of the decade and I look forward to the opportunity to pitch it against a much more expensive SME IV or V.
Very sorely tempted to give one of these a go, but due to recent unfortunate events, I'll have to hang on while longer.
Bummer! :(
Magna Audio
04-07-2011, 14:45
I've held the top of the range version of these arms. Very nicely made.
didn't get to hear it - another day.
If only they made a 12" version... Oh and there was one with an SME socket fixing as option...
Ammonite Audio
04-07-2011, 19:50
I've held the top of the range version of these arms. Very nicely made.
didn't get to hear it - another day.
If only they made a 12" version... Oh and there was one with an SME socket fixing as option...
I may be wrong, but I do seem to recall that a 12" version is on the drawing board.
macvisual
02-12-2016, 22:27
Love the look of the Audio Note 1 tonearm, seems very well priced also, is this a Rega mount tonearm?
I've spent the past few days viewing and doing my homework on tonearms for a budget of £1000 (maybe more for something special), but I can't decide what would suit my tastes......I like my music to sound open/dynamic and quite punchy, I'm running a Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk1 turntable which can accept virtually any tonearm, I'm using a Music Maker 3 moving magnet cartridge going into a Kinshaw Perception 2x box phono-stage.
This Audio Note tonearm seems the business, it looks quality made ok but I've been looking closely at these tonearm choices (and lots more);
SME IV - Origin Live - Acoustic Signature ST-3000 - SME 309 - Audiomods - JMW-9 unipivot - Consonance T988 unipivot - Kuzma Stabi S unipivot.......... my head is literally spinning with vast amounts of quality tonearms but I haven't a clue which to aim for...?
Any advice most welcome, sorry to hi-jack this Audio Note thread.
The Music Maker is a high compliance cartridge, and is often recommended with unipivot arms, in particular the Hadcock.
walpurgis
02-12-2016, 23:47
The Music Maker is a high compliance cartridge, and is often recommended with unipivot arms, in particular the Hadcock.
What is the compliance Peter? I don't think I've ever seen it quoted. It can't be ridiculously high with a recommended tracking downforce approaching two grams. Nothing like my ADCs I reckon. My guess would be around 20cu to 25cu.
They track at 1.58 grams ... precisely :)
The one I had really was quite squishy and wobbly. It was based on a Grado Gold moving iron, and retained that cartridge's good tracking, but was a bit unstable in a heavier arm. Len G recommends less than 13 grams effective mass for the arm, and ime I'd suggest lower is better. It's a bloomin' good cartridge, though, when you get it right.
So, from Peter's list ... either the Consonance or the JMW ... or this http://www.turntableworld.co.uk/departments-c49/tonearm-zone-c3/tonearms-c4/hadcock-gh-228-export-unipivot-tonearm-p95
loveoscar
03-12-2016, 07:23
Someone on another forum did a bake off of a few arms for his AS Challenger and came down in favour of the Audiomods and by chance Music Maker is recommended by them as a good match with their tonearm. http://www.audiomods.co.uk/cartridgechoice.pdf
walpurgis
03-12-2016, 10:31
It was based on a Grado Gold moving iron
Yes. I'm aware that the Music Maker cartridges are derived from Grado designs. None the worse for it in my view, I rather like Grados, particularly vintage examples. Even the 'budget' models were very musical. In my collection I have an F1+, which sounds extremely pleasant.
Spectral Morn
03-12-2016, 10:50
If you can get an armboard made, and find one at the right price Peter a Conductor air bearing arm would be a good match. I recall seeing that on an Acoustic Signature at a show with a Music Maker on it - it was a Cartridge Man room and his turntable if I recall right. http://www.thecartridgeman.com/conductor.htm
Love the look of the Audio Note 1 tonearm, seems very well priced also, is this a Rega mount tonearm?
I've spent the past few days viewing and doing my homework on tonearms for a budget of £1000 (maybe more for something special), but I can't decide what would suit my tastes......I like my music to sound open/dynamic and quite punchy, I'm running a Acoustic Signature Challenger Mk1 turntable which can accept virtually any tonearm, I'm using a Music Maker 3 moving magnet cartridge going into a Kinshaw Perception 2x box phono-stage.
This Audio Note tonearm seems the business, it looks quality made ok but I've been looking closely at these tonearm choices (and lots more);
SME IV - Origin Live - Acoustic Signature ST-3000 - SME 309 - Audiomods - JMW-9 unipivot - Consonance T988 unipivot - Kuzma Stabi S unipivot.......... my head is literally spinning with vast amounts of quality tonearms but I haven't a clue which to aim for...?
Any advice most welcome, sorry to hi-jack this Audio Note thread.
My MM3 worked a charm with my OL Encounter 3C. The OL arms are excellent and quite underrated in my opinion. I sold my Encounter on for less than £800 if that gives you an indication. I also think the MM3 is a fabulous cartridge if well matched.
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