Тонармы — Reed REED 1H 12"

The Reed 1H 12-inch is the longest version of the 1H, the entry-level tonearm series from Reed of Lithuania, which is offered in 9.5, 10.5 and 12 inch effective lengths. It is the first Reed arm to use carbon fibre as the main armwand material. Prices for the 1H start at USD 5,195, and two colours are offered for the metal parts - seashell white and black.

Key specs that matter

For the 12 inch arm, the pivot to spindle distance is 295.6 mm, overhang is 13.4 mm and the offset angle is 17.6 degrees, with an effective length of 309 mm. Effective mass with the carbon fibre wand is 18 g, against 12 g for the 9.5 inch and 15 g for the 10.5 inch versions, which sit at 223 mm and 251.6 mm from the spindle with offset angles of 22.9 and 20.7 degrees. Arm height can be set anywhere between 28 and 48 mm, which is how VTA is adjusted, and azimuth can be set as well. The headshell can be replaced. Output wiring is either a 5-pin DIN socket at the base or a continuous Finewire C37 run terminated in RCA plugs, with copper or silver conductors in standard or cryogenically treated form and a typical length of 125 cm.

Engineering and use context

The carbon fibre tube is damped with soft wood, which Reed says brings its acoustic behaviour closer to that of the wooden armwands used on its other arms than bare carbon would allow. Bearings follow a cardan layout - the vertical axis turns on thrust rotation bearings, while thrust pivot bearings carry movement in the horizontal plane, with the aim of removing bearing wobble. Anti-skating is magnetic, taken from the 3P rather than using a hanging weight. The arm is statically balanced and fixes to the turntable through the Reed three-point mounting base, and adapters let it fit most turntables. The smaller offset angle and overhang of the 12 inch version compared with the shorter lengths follow directly from its longer geometry.

Pairing

The deck needs an armboard with enough room for a 12 inch wand, and the platter plus mat height must fall inside the arm's height window. The effective mass should be checked against the compliance of the intended cartridge before purchase. If the phono stage sits some distance away, the DIN version allows a separate interconnect of any length, while the continuous Finewire option avoids an extra connection between arm and phono input.

Alternatives

The Reed 3P 12-inch offers the same arm length with a three-pivot bearing and a wooden wand in place of carbon fibre.