Clearaudio universal tonearm re-wire.

@mijostyn I can confirm that looking at a Clearaudio Universal tonearm does not result in broken head shell wires. I have hours of experience doing just that and it never happened.

The truth of the matter is that the fragility of the head shell wires is real and well-known. The users know it, the dealers know it, and the U.S. distributor knows it (as they warned me about it first). You’re not the expert on it this time.

@dwette 

Then the options are, being very careful or rewiring the arm with something more sturdy. You might find out what Schroder uses. His wires are very fine and litzed. I have changed cartridges at least a dozen times without difficulty. I think there are Kevlar fibers in there, but I am not sure. It is surprising that a problem that has become so public has not been corrected by Clearaudio. 

It is surprising that a problem that has become so public has not been corrected by Clearaudio.

@mijostyn I love my Clearaudio decks but there are definitely "warts" not brought to light by the mainstream audio press. I’ve have a list of "WTF" moments with them over the years, especially certain design decisions. A good example was their full magnetic bearing arms - yeah let’s add ANOTHER high compliance suspension to complexly interact with the cartridge suspension lol. Another example, my dealer had an early twister clamp where the metal twist knob didn’t have a hard stop on loosening - it was very easy to over rotate, then it pops right off and you have a few ounces chunk of metal like a wrecking ball right over your record and cartridge. Anyways, the complaints about Universal tonearm lead wires are legit - it’s borderline sadistic. I’ve almost never seen an "official" reviewer write about design issues like this, but it’s prevalent in the industry. If I used it half as much as my other arms, I'd have broke a lead by now. I don't use it much because I suspect I don't like the sonic contributions of carbon fiber in my analog - but its build quality and materials quality, other than lead wires choice, is extremely high. 

@mulveling Thanks for weighing in on this. I agree with you. OMG: I had a Clarify and then a Magnify. Those magnetic bearings arms are just evil. Add a pair of subs to the mix and listen to the feedback go completely crazy. Musical Surroundings doesn't even support those arms anymore. You can see them on the Clearaudio website, but they are absent from the Musical Surroundings site.

@mijostyn I personally don't need any options at the moment. I have two Universal arms and have managed to keep the head shell wires intact so far. However, I have a temporary Dynavector on my 12" arm while my Lyra is out for cleaning/repair. I will have some stress swapping them out again on its return. I suppose if I do break a lead I will just go the official route for repair.

In my experience anything to do with the Tonearm Signal Path has a obvious fragility.

I have a Silver Litz Wire used as a continuous wire on a Tonearm. I have lost a channel on this on a few occasions.

I passed the Tonearm on to an individual who lives and breaths working with micro volts, a Tonearm is one of their destress jobs, Horses for Courses, is how I was taught.