The
Conductor
Air Bearing Tonearm
The playback of a record should
imitate the cutting of the lacquer as closely as possible.
During the cutting process the cutter diamond makes an angle of
90 degrees at all instances from the beginning of the groove to
its end. Obviously, the best way to read a record groove is by
using an arm which follows the groove in a similar fashion as in
the cutting process.
A parallel tracking tonearm has the least distortion because the
tracking error is minimized to practically zero. The cartridge
stylus reads the two groove walls at the same time without any
delay. Furthermore, a parallel tracking tonearm does not need
bias compensation (anti-skate settings), as there is no
centripetal force, unlike in pivoted arms.
Pivoted arms, on the other hand, are the most commonly used
tonearms. These can be further subdivided into unipivots and
non-unipivots, as well as pseudo-unipivots.
With common pivoted arms (also called radial arms), there is
zero tracking error only in two instances. At other points,
there is tracking error. This is minimized by giving the pivoted
arm the familiar offset angle. The skating force is not
eliminated, however, but instead increases. This can be
corrected, of course.
Unfortunately, the skating force depends on the friction between
the record groove and the stylus tip, as well as the cut of the
stylus. It also depends on what is recorded on the record, even
the quality of the vinyl. As one can see, correcting anti-skate
is always not perfect, technically. All this ceases to be an
issue with a tangenital tonearm, as there is no skating force.
Basically, setting up pivoted arms properly with the various
tools around is essential to minimize these tracking errors, as
well as controlling the skating force.
Designing and manufacturing a parallel tracking tonearm is not
as simple as it may seem and only thorough engineering can
result in a good functioning device. Precise and accurate
geometrical proportions are essential to get it right. As a
result, prices of the high-end parallel tracking arms are in
most cases far beyond the budget of most audiophiles and music
lovers.
And this is where The Conductor comes in.
Simplified, but without sacrificing the benefits of tangenital
tonearms, sonically high-end, and most importantly offered at a
saner price than the other high-end competition.
Emphasis is on high-end.
Price: £1495 GBP To order, click
here
Review Extracts
"The density and tonal richness, the sheer amount of detail
the arm digs out of the initial transient and the body of the
note, its fundamentals and its harmonics both above and below
the note itself are something to behold. Anyone who has a
reasonably developed system will know how hard it is to get an
audibly and quantifiably better sound from their system.
So often we start thinking "well yes, there's more detail" only
to realize it's actually a midband dip artificially boosting the
transients or instruments like cymbals. Not with this arm. It
seems to be actually delivering the real thing."
..."I've found over the last few months that due to its
particular sound, this is not an arm I could live without. I
have no hesitation in describing it as a world-class performer
and a genuinely exciting and valuable new entry into the analog
world.
Edward Barker, 6Moons,
4/06
Read the full review
here. |
