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Reed Tonearms

Starting at $ 4650.00 USD List (Free Feickert Protractor with Purchase from Excel Stereo)

 

1) Introduction

2) Specifications

3) Models

4) Available Finish

 

 

5) Laser Guided Mechanism Explained

6) Fundamentals of Armwand materials

7) Prices

8) Review of Reed Tonearm

 

Introduction

 

Excel Stereo strives to bring you the best of high end analog products.    Until Now, fine European tone arms are unreachable by many.  Either the waiting time is too long, or the price is astronomical.    We would like to Introduce to you the "Reed" line of hand crafted high precision tone arms.

 

Reed Arms has the ability to perform fine repeatable adjustments on ALL analog parameters:

  •  Fine VTA Adjusmtnets, ON THE FLY.    VTA is adjustable on ALL models.   

             

  •  Repeatable Quick VTA Adjustment which allows you to adjust for records of different thickness ON THE FLY.   The Quick Adjustment Lever is available on the 2P and 3P models.

          

  •  Azimuth Adjustments.   (Left, 3Q and 2P model azimuth adjustment..      Right, 2A model azimuth adjustment)

               Reed 2A series tonearm, Black edition, azimuth adjustment closeup

  •  Every connection joint will add resistance and capacitance to the signal path.  For the tiny signals which are generated by the cartridge, every connection join will lead to signal degradation.  Reed arm has no unnecessary connections, solder joints or DIN plugs.    It has a single run of wire from the head shell to the RCA output.

  •  Laser guided VTA (A) and Azimuth adjustments.   The mechanism is based on a level principle and helps to determine when tonearm mounting surface is parallel to the headshell (cartridge mounting) surface.   When using laser-adjusted tonearm, it is possible to adjust VTA and azimuth very quickly, comfortably and precisely after changing LP with different thickness or switching cartridges. 

 

            

        

  •  Anti-skating Adjustment

        

  • Specifications

     

    Physical parameters: 

    Effective length: 240 mm (9,5") or 308,8 mm (12") 
    Mounting distance: 223 mm (9,5") or 295,6 mm (12") 
    Overhang: 17 mm (9,5") or 13,2 mm (12")
    Offset angle: 23° (9,5") or 17,63° (12")
    Effective mass: 12 g (9,5") or 16 g (12")

     

    Adjustables: 

    Height adjustment: applicable to 20÷50 mm height platters
    Downforce range: 10÷30 mN 

     

    Modules: 

    Tonearm bearings: carbide points and sapphire thrust pad
    Antiskating: lever antiskating mechanism on sapphire bearings
    Armtube: western redcedar (Thuja plicata)
    Microlift: oil-based 

     

    Wiring options: 

  • C37 Finewire

  • Tonearm wiring: Cardas; tonearm to preamp: Tasker C286 balanced; RCA connector:Neutrik. 

 

 

 

Models

 

The Reed arm comes in 3 Models:    3Q, 2P and 2A.

 

Tonearm: Reed 2A series - Base model (without Laser mechanism and Quick VTA adjustment Lever). Starting at $ 4,650 US


Reed 2A series tonearm, Black edition, with C37 Finewire Cryo WBT Nextgen wiring

Reed 2A Black tonearm,C37 Finewire WBT Nextgenwiring

Reed 2A series tonearm, Black edition, azimuth adjustment closeup

Reed 2A Black tonearm, 
azimuth adjustment
 

Reed 2A series tonearm, Black edition, azimuth adjustment closeup

Reed 2A Black tonearm, 
azimuth adjustment
 

Reed 2A series tonearm, Black edition, antiskating and counterweight closeup (antiskating ruby bearing visible)

Reed 2A Black tonearm, antiskating and counterweight closeup

Reed 2A series tonearm, Gold Matte edition, with C37 Finewire Eichmann Bullet plugs wiring

Reed 2A Gold Matte tonearm,C37 Finewire Eichmann Bullet plugs wiring

Reed 2A series tonearm, Gold Matte edition, new type counterweight closeup

Reed 2A Gold Matte tonearm, new type counterweight closeup

 

 

 


Tonearm: Reed 2P series = 2ABase Model + Quick VTA adjustment Lever but without Laser mechanism


Reed 2P series tonearm, Rhodium Satin edition, with C37 Finewire Cryo WBT Nextgen wiring

Reed 2P Rhodium tonearm,C37 Finewire WBT Nextgenwiring

Reed 2P Rhodium tonearm, new azimuth adjustment closeup

Reed 2P tonearm, new azimuth adjustment
 

Reed 2P series tonearm, Rhodium Satin edition, new VTA adjustment closeup

Reed 2P Rhodium tonearm, new VTA adjustment closeup
 

Reed 2P series tonearm, Rhodium Satin edition, with C37 Finewire Cryo WBT Nextgen wiring

Reed 2P Rhodium tonearm,C37 Finewire WBT Nextgenwiring

 

 

 

Tonearm: Reed 3Q series = Top model with Laser Guided Mechanism + Quick VTA adjustment lever


Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin laser equipped tonearm

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin laser equipped tonearm
 

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin laser equipped tonearm side view

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin laser equipped tonearm side view

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin tonearm, laser device and new VTA adjustment closeup

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satintonearm, laser device and new VTA adjustment closeup

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satin  tonearm, laser adjustment device front view

Reed 3Q Rhodium Satintonearm, laser adjustment device front view
 

 

 

   

Available Finishes

  1.  Western redcedar
  2.  Ebony Macassar
  3.  Cocobolo
  4.  Pernambucco
  5.  Pau Ferro
  6.  Western redcedar
  7.  Panzerholtz (Tankwood)

Laser equipped tonearm for easier VTA and azimuth adjustment
Laser-adjusted tonearm operation is based on a level principle and helps to determine when tonearm mounting surface is parallel to the headshell (cartridge mounting) surface. 
When using laser-adjusted tonearm, it is possible to adjust VTA and azimuth very quickly, comfortably and precisely after changing LP with different thickness or switching cartridges. 
Laser beam a is adjusted so, that when it points to the point A on the scale c of the headshell b (Fig. 1, Fig. 2), the tonearm armwand is parallel to the tonearm mounting surface and a platter, i.e. VTA is adjusted to zero position. 
If laser beam points above the point A (Fig. 3), tonearm must be lowered until the beam appears at the point A. 
If laser beam points below the point A (Fig. 4), tonearm must be raised until the beam appears at the point A. 
Headshell (cartridge mounting) plane is parallel to tonearm mounting/platter plane if, after turning the tonearm, laser beam a points to the point B, (Fig. 5, Fig. 6). That means azimuth is adjusted to zero position.
If laser beam does not appear in point B, azimuth must be adjusted accordingly.
VTA adjustment using laser (scheme)

Fig. 1. VTA adjustment using laser (scheme)

VTA adjustment using laser (photo)

Fig. 2. VTA adjustment using laser (photo)

VTA adjustment using laser - tonearm too high (scheme)

Fig. 3. VTA adjustment using laser - tonearm too high (scheme)

VTA adjustment using laser - tonearm too low (scheme)

Fig. 4. VTA adjustment using laser - tonearm too low (scheme)

Azimuth adjustment using laser (scheme)

Fig. 5. Azimuth adjustment using laser (scheme)

Azimuth adjustment using laser (photo)

Fig. 6. Azimuth adjustment using laser (photo)


 
Wood vs. Wood vs. The Rest: Testing Armtube Material
There are lots of talks in the industry on the best armtube material, whether wood is better than Aluminum, or maybe Carbon fiber is the perfect material and so on. 
To find out who's right and which material is perfect for hi-fi tonearm armtube, we decided to conduct a little research. 
We hope that results of our investigation will help you understand armtube material impact to the tonearm's sound and help choosing tonearm in armtube material perspective.

The Background

Figure 1 shows, why tonearm's sound depends on armtube material (and why turntable sound quality depends on mat material).

Fig. 1. Acoustic vibration spreading through the sound system


Stylus, while moving in the vinyl's groove, not only produces the musical signal, but also oscillates the cartridge itself. The oscillation (shown in red arrows) can be transferred through the armtube, partially reflect from the counterweight, and through the tonearm bearings, tonearm support, chassis, platter bearings, platter, mat and vinyl return back to the stylus. On the other hand, stylus causes vinyl plate vibrations (blue arrows), which, through the mat, platter, platter bearings, chassis, tonearm support, tonearm bearings and armtube, return to the stylus again. 
The interference of these two acoustic vibrations can slightly impact the sound quality. Armtube material can suppress these parasitic accoustic vibrations (and of course, tonearm's effective mass depends mainly on armtube material).

The Gear

To carry on with the research, we built the device shown in Figure 2 (you can see its picture in the top-right of the article).

Fig. 2. Armtube testing device scheme

It consists of two acoustic dampers, holding the armtube; at the point A a broadband acoustic signal is fed; at the point B, it is registered using the broadband acoustic receiver and then passed to the spectrum analyzer.

The Wood

We acoustically tested following armtube materials:
  • Western redcedar,
  • Ebony Macassar,
  • Cocobolo,
  • Pernambucco,
  • Pao Ferro,
  • Panzerholtz (Tankwood).
Also for comparison we carried the same test to Carbon fiber, Fiberglass and Aluminum arms. 

Figure 3. Wood samples tested (left to right): Panzerholtz (Tankwood), Western redcedar + C37, Pau Ferro, Pernambucco, Cocobolo, Ebony Macassar, Western redcedar

The Result

As you can see from the graphs on the right side of an article, woods with closest-to-perfect characteristics are Redcedar, Pernambucco and Panzerholz. They don't have clearly expressed resonant frequencies, and their sound damping characteristics are close to exponential function. 
Results of our test are basically same to some audiophile opinion, that tonearms with Redcedar and Pernambucco wands produce very clean, transparent and deep sound. Meanwhile, even if tests show Panzerholtz being nearly perfect material for the arm, audiophile opinions on it are different.
Tool for testing armtube sound properties

Tool for testing armtube sound properties

Acoustic characteristics in perfect conditions

Acoustic characteristics inPerfect conditions

Western redcedar (Thuja plicata) arm

Western redcedar arm

Acoustic characteristics of Western redcedar arm

Acoustic characteristics of Western redcedar arm

Panzerholtz (Tankwood) arm

Panzerholtz (Tankwood) arm

Acoustic characteristics of Panzerholtz (Tankwood) arm

Acoustic characteristics of Panzerholtz (Tankwood) arm

Brazilwood (Caesalpinia echinata), also known as Pernambuco, arm

Brazilwood (Pernambuco) arm

Acoustic characteristics of Brazilwood (Pernambuco) arm

Acoustic characteristics of Brazilwood (Pernambuco) arm

Pao Ferro (Caesalpinia ferrea) arm

Pao Ferro arm

Acoustic characteristics of Pao Ferro arm

Acoustic characteristics of Pao Ferro arm

Cocobolo arm

Cocobolo arm

Acoustic characteristics of Cocobolo arm

Acoustic characteristics of Cocobolo arm

Macassar ebony (Diospyros melanoxylon) arm

Macassar ebony arm

Acoustic characteristics of Macassar ebony arm

Acoustic characteristics of Macassar ebony arm

Acoustic characteristics of Carbon fiber arm

Acoustic characteristics of Carbon fiber arm

Acoustic characteristics of Fiberglass arm

Acoustic characteristics of Fiberglass arm

Acoustic characteristics of Aluminium arm

Acoustic characteristics of Aluminium arm


 
Reed Workshop
Here you can find a few pictures of our workshop, lab equipment and testing tools. And we have quite interesting ones here... 
For example, our Griffin turntable, used primarily for tonearm tests, features two stationary towers for tonearms and one spare place, where either tower for the third tonearm or motor can be mounted. Motor is mounted when we are carrying motor tests, i.e. validating motor speed etc. 
We also built a device for tonearm armtube sound properties test. Everyone knows, or might guess, that wooden arm sounds better than one made of metal, but how to prove it? So, to check if wood is really better than a metal, also to compare wood with other materials (e.g. fiberglass) and different wood kinds itself, we made a quite simple yet interesting device. Its working principles will be described further in an article devoted to armtube material tests.
Griffin turntable, used for tonearm tests

Griffin turntable, used for tonearm tests

Griffin turntable with three tonearms mounted

Griffin turntable with three tonearms mounted

Tool for testing armtube sound properties

Tool for testing armtube sound properties

Making tonearm: armtube production

Making tonearm: armtube production


 

 

 

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 Contact us: info@excelstereo.com             416-523-6655 

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