Series Six arms

Full review by Clive Meakin for "Enjoy the Music HERE

Full review by John Hoffman for "Positive Feedback" HERE

Owner observations
HERE and HERE

Those are the opinions of long-term Series Five arm owners who have updated to Series Six, so very well informed observations.

Why carbon fibre?
Carbon fibre is very much stiffer than an aluminium or steel tube (a factor of 9 to 6.5) and only about 60% of the density. This means that we can make a far stiffer arm tube for the same weight. Stiffness isn’t everything in an arm tube and here the major advantage of the new material really makes a difference. As a composite, a carbon fibre tube has a far superior internal damping than a metal one, a factor of 150:40 for aluminium. When we combine this with internal stiffening and damping rings, bonded together with two differently woven carbon fibre layers of graduated thickness it is possible to achieve far greater control than with a metal tube. The audible difference is a major improvement in definition, imaging and fine detail.

Familiar features
Retained from the Series Five arms are the full set of ceramic bearings, though now replaced with a new, exremely high quality, extra-low friction version.
The variable mass counterweight keeps the lead and copper fill discs from the last Series Five arms.
The micrometer has viscous damping in the base for smoother action and more precise adjustment

The new wiring loom for 2020 is silver litz in micro-Teflon tubing, cryogenically treated a single run from tags to RCA plugs. Cartridge tags are silver plated phosphor bronze, with the same DCT treatment. RCAs are KLE bullet.

Arms come with a set of three cartridge plates, including a threaded one to replace screws and nuts for unthreaded cartridges.

Completely redesigned headshell
Less is more! By reducing the mass of metal around the cartridge we eliminate a source of vibration and also make setup much easier. The headshell uses a removable plate to locate the cartridge. These are available in different weights to vary the effective mass for matching to a wide range of cartridges. The new headshell provides a more positive fixing than the familiar slots and makes setup easier. The cartridge is fitted to the plate first, with a single screw fitting for setup and adjustment.

Built-in azimuth adjustment
Though the arm arrives set true to the record surface tiny variations in stylus and cantilever mean that some adjustment might be necessary for a perfect setup. While this was never possible with the cast arm tube adjustment is now built in to the new arm. A factory-set datum pin lets you to return to the original setting at any time.