TW-Acustic Arm

PCosta,

Agree!!

thumbs up for this arm... heard it a dealer showroom and was fairly impressed with the sound.
Neutral, linear sounding... refined highs... i enjoyed what i heard..

Got a TW arm for a trial. Now granted I am a TW fan, but I have my biases. My tonearm/cartridge combination of reference has been (when it maintains its setup) the Schroder SQ and Titan i. It is just that good in my system. Mind you not the detail or dynamic champ. It just meets all of MY priorities.

Now, to go on about how it excels, lets indicate that it throws a wide soundstage, with incredible depth and gorgeous highs. It just sucks you into the music. I can read any review here about any new arm etc, and know that they just don't know what they are missing. There is an art to setting up a Schroder. I have learned it over years and it is a lot, A LOT of work. You need to get the right wood, the right cartridge mounting plate and more. But once setup right it is special. No reviewer can have it for less than 6 months and learn its nuances.

There have been weaknesses. Bass isn't perceived as resolved as some others and dynamics are not its strong suit. But in every other way it excels. The music is freed from the grooves. And no arm I have tried has been able to do that. I have not tried an linear tracking arm. so please take that into consideration.

I have had many an arm/cartridge combination come and visit me and leave. None of them have freed the music from the groove into the room. None.

Now for the TW Arm comes an initial impression.
Just that and nothing more as I need time and don't have it to do too many comparisons. The TW arm posesses that same special ability to free the music from the groove. It also is a wonderful arm mechanically. So easy to setup and use. The workmanship is excellent. There are a few things I would like added and I am sure they will come. I want some calibrations on the VTA adjuster to know what settings I have. But it is up there with the best VTA adjustment ability of any arm I have used. It is easy enough to mark w. some nail polish but an idea. Also the same for antiskate.

Now for a bit more about the sound. The dynamic contrasts that come from this arm are fabulous. The treble has full extension and the bass is solid goes down low. You feel a total neutrality without a desire to compensate for any shortcomings. It is just that good. I am using it currently w. an Allaerts MC2 Finish and the combination is just fabulous. The soundstage width is as wide as my room. Depth is a bit shallow compared to the Schroder. But every arm I have tried is shallow in depth compared to the SQ. Music sounds natural without any excess color. The SQ has a touch of gorgeous color that the TW does not. I wouldn't say either is better, but I do love the SQ color. It comes at the price of a very slight softness which the TW does not have. The TW is neutral but not a lean sounding arm. It does not sound fat though. Just not lean. Images have palpable size and feel present in the room with you. What I demand is detail which is not aggressive. Treble and Bass must sound smooth and integrated with the rest of the sound spectrum. If not I get irritated. My system excels in that area compared to detail. I have headphones for detail (and no speaker I have heard yet - but am still searching) can give you the detail of headphones.

A few points that make the design excel in my experience. It has a single cable from cartridge to phono stage. It is also free of resonance. I am a big beliver that getting a cartridge / tonearm combination to have a resonant frequency as close to 10 Hz as possible is critical for accurate bass and smooth highs. The TW arm measured exactl 10Hz w. a few cartridges. If you tap it, there is not ringing as in some other arms. The counterweight is adjusted by turning (not sliding - what a pain). 3 different counterweights are provided for optimum matching (easier than changing arm-wands)and you don't need a fine VTF adjuster as the counterweight screws on and the threads are small enough to allow very minute adjustments of VTF w. ease. No need to lock the counterweight w. a screw etc, as the friction is perfect. Just the right amount.

But don't trust me, try to get a listen yourselves. I didn't expect it to be that good. The dynamic agility of the arm coupled with neutrality and musical flow is something rarely combined. Especially in a non tweaky tonearm.

I received my TW abt a mth ago. Certainly well packed with all the necessary accessories and the best instruction manual of all the 3 tonearms I have ( reed 2p-12" , Schroeder 2fw, TW). Set up was a bliss compare to Schroeder . Fr my set up, I find my TW + zyx omega gold more dynamics , better details and bigger soundstage compare to my Schroeder 2fw + ortofon A90. However I prefer the sweeter sound of Schroeder pairing for vocal. Both my cartridges are pretty new and I don't thk it's burn in properly . 1 thing abt TW arm which I don't understd is the use of magnetized screw to set anti skate. As I understd it exert a magnetic force on the arm tube n the nearer ( by inserting screw further in) it is to the arm tune, the stronger is the anti skate. My confusion is that as the arm tube move towards the label, wouldn't the anti skate change ? Fr my set up, I hardly hear any difference with different anti skate setting . In fact I try to set it with Cardas test record and I can't get it to glide slowly towards the label part of the record ( whether it's a right way of setting anti skate is another issue). Please advise

mmmmm. Sounds interesting.

A non-TW and non-Audio Origami dealer has just told me to look at the Audio Origami PU7 and get that 'special' in a 10.5". He had a chance to hear both on a TW Raven AC and said the PU7 sounded far more convincing, better LF and more dynamic. The build of the PU7 isn't upto the precise Germanic workmanship, but then in sound terms it seems at this stage a better buy.

I've yet to see a PU7 in the flesh. I've seen but not heard the TW tonearm - it does cost. If it sounds as good as the Graham Phantom then the 12" Ortofon is also looking like a REAL bargain as Thomas says the RS309D is about 95% of the Phantom which is 95% of his own arm.

Now I am confused!