Тонармы — Clearaudio CONCEPT / VERIFY

The concept / Verify is a radial tonearm from Clearaudio that carries the company's magnetic bearing technology into its most accessible arm. It was first developed for the Concept turntable, where the magnetic bearing lets that deck ship with the cartridge already fitted and calibrated. As a separate product the arm can also be installed on other turntables, and Clearaudio suggests its Concept MC cartridge as the natural partner.

Key specs that matter

Effective length is 239.56 mm and total length is 305 mm, with an overhang of 17.56 mm. The balance range accepts cartridges from 2.5 g to 17 g, and effective mass is quoted at 9 g. Including the counterweight the arm weighs 444 g. The tube is aluminium, offered in silver or black, and the signal runs through 1.1 m of Clearaudio DirectWire Plus ending in RCA terminals. Mounting follows the Linn and Clearaudio standard. A two-year guarantee applies to this model.

Engineering and use context

The bearing is built so that the arm floats inside a captured housing. Magnets on the housing and on the arm pull toward each other, but a tension wire keeps them apart and at the same time applies a downward force. Because no hard surfaces touch in the pivot, Clearaudio says the design eliminates bearing chatter and gives the arm added stability. The arm tube is described as low in mass and rigid, and it ends in a two-piece aluminium headshell. That construction permits azimuth adjustment for accurate cartridge alignment and also makes it convenient to swap the headshell in the field. Tracking force is set with a finely adjustable counterweight. The wiring is hardwired from cartridge to plug, which Clearaudio presents as a way to keep signal integrity high, and the company states that the arm suits all quality cartridges, including moving coil types with low output. The combination of a magnetic pivot and a preset factory calibration is what allows complete Concept players to leave the factory ready for use without the owner setting up the pickup from scratch.

Pairing

Clearaudio's recommended match is its Concept turntable with the Concept MC cartridge, the package for which this arm was first conceived. The Linn and Clearaudio mounting style means an armboard cut for either standard is the simplest route to fitting it on another deck. The moderate effective mass and wide balance window leave room for a wide selection of moving magnet and moving coil pickups, and the hardwired DirectWire lead feeds a phono stage directly through its RCA plugs.

Alternatives

The Clearaudio CLARIFY is the step-up magnetic bearing radial arm, with a carbon fibre tube and a 239.25 mm effective length.