Tonearms — Scheu Analog SCHEU CLASSIC MKII 10"

The Classic MKII 10-inch is a unipivot tonearm from Scheu Analog, the company that musician and toolmaker Thomas Scheu founded in Solingen, Germany, in 1985 and that his wife Ulla has run since his death in December 2004. Its predecessor sold in the hundreds, and the MKII brought a fully redesigned base unit while keeping the original arm concept. The German list price is EUR 860 including 19% VAT, and the arm was earlier sold in North America at USD 795.

Key specs that matter

Effective length of the 10-inch version is 245 mm, with the pivot placed 227 mm from the platter spindle, which gives 18 mm of overhang. Effective mass is 11 g. The arm ships pre-assembled and needs an armboard with a 24 mm hole or a suitable slot, it accepts a Rega-type mount, and it is fixed from below with a knurled nut. A 12-inch version of the same arm uses a 305 mm effective length, a 293 mm mounting distance and 14 g of effective mass.

Engineering and use context

The wand is a single piece of laser-cut aluminium sheet folded into a U-shaped profile, with optional black or white powder coating. It rests on a nitrogen-hardened, polished single-point bearing chosen for minimal friction, and one continuous run of cable goes from the headshell pins to Neutrik RCA plugs without a break. During fitting the tonearm leads are laid inside the U-profile and held with adhesive foam strips. The MKII base has a high-gloss nickel finish and sits on a black or transparent acrylic block, with a revised lift whose support can be set at two levels. Balance comes from a nickel-coated brass counterweight - a rectangular block slides along the arm for coarse setting and a round weight on a threaded spindle refines tracking force. Threaded spindles on either side of the bearing recess, each carrying two knurled screws, set lateral balance and azimuth. Anti-skating uses a small weight on a nylon thread hung from the left spindle and guided over an adjustable stirrup on a pillar, and moving its loop further out raises the force. Arm height, and so VTA, is changed with the supplied Allen key through a grub screw in the acrylic base.

Pairing

Scheu states that the Classic works with almost any cartridge on the market and names the Denon DL 103 as a particularly good match. Any deck used needs an arm position at the stated spindle distance, and Scheu itself has sold the arm fitted to its Cello turntable.

Alternatives

Scheu Analog also makes the Tacco MKII 9-inch, a conical wooden unipivot arm with a ruby and sapphire bearing and a tungsten counterweight unit.