Тонармы — Reed Reed H1 9.5"

The Reed H1 9.5-inch, listed by the maker as the Reed 1H, is the newest arm in the entry range of Reed, the tonearm company in the Kaunas district of Lithuania run by Vidmantas Triukas, whose career includes acoustic engineering and aerospace projects. It was introduced in 2023. With it Reed moved for the first time to a carbon fibre tube as the principal armwand material, and it is also built in 10.5 and 12 inch lengths. In the US the 9.5-inch version is priced at USD 5,195.

Key specs that matter

At this length both the mounting distance and the pivot to spindle distance measure 223 mm, as the base sits on the pivot point. Overhang is 17 mm and offset is 22.9 degrees. The carbon fibre wand gives an effective mass of 12 g here, compared with 15 g for the 10.5-inch arm and 18 g for the 12-inch one. Arm height covers 28 to 48 mm. Two finishes are listed, black and seashell white. Buyers choose between a bare 5-pin DIN socket and a 1.25 m cryogenically treated Finewire cable fitted with Kiel RCA plugs.

Engineering and use context

A plain carbon fibre tube is light and durable, but Reed found that damping it changes its behaviour markedly. The 1H therefore fills the tube with soft wood, which brings its acoustic properties close to those of the solid wooden wands used on other Reed arms while keeping the low weight of carbon fibre. In the cardanic bearing, vertical motion uses thrust rotation bearings and the horizontal plane is handled by thrust pivot bearings, an approach shared with the Reed 3P, and Reed chose this layout to prevent bearing wobble. Bias is compensated by magnets in a similar way to the 3P. The headshell is replaceable, and both azimuth and VTA can be adjusted. The arm is designed to mount on most turntables, either directly or through an adapter plate. Across its catalogue Reed gives effective mass values from 8 g to 25 g, and its general design notes recommend keeping the moment of inertia of the cartridge below 20000 g*cm2.

Pairing

The fixed effective mass suits medium compliance cartridges, since Reed aims for an arm and cartridge resonance around 10 Hz and accepts 8 to 12 Hz. The pivot position matches decks made for a 9-inch class arm, and the DIN socket leaves the phono lead open to the owner's choice if the Finewire option is not ordered.

Alternatives

The Reed 3P in 9.5-inch form matches this arm's length but relies on magnetically stabilised pivots and offers timber wands weighing between 8 and 12 g.