Тонармы — Klaudio Tangential Tonearm

The Klaudio Tangential Tonearm is a pivoted linear-tracking arm from Klaudio, the company in Auburn, Washington, best known for its KD-CLN-LP200 ultrasonic record cleaner. Its founder took about five years of prototypes and testing to develop it, drawing inspiration from the mechanism of a bus windscreen wiper. It aims to combine the advantages of pivoted and linear-tracking arms without the complexity of air bearings.

Key specs that matter

The arm is offered in 10.5 in and 12 in effective-length equivalents with carbon fibre arm tubes. Models include the KD-ARM-MP12 with manual operation and the KD-ARM-AP12 and KD-ARM-AG10 with automatic lift and electronic descent. Finishes include nickel and gold plating. The arm weighs 820 g. The MP12 was priced at about USD 8,500. A laser-projection tool and an alignment jig are supplied, and an optional freestanding base, the KD-BAS-ARM01, is sold separately.

Engineering and use context

A conventional pivoted arm swings the cartridge through an arc, so the stylus is only tangent to the groove at two null points, and the resulting tracking error causes distortion. A linear-tracking arm keeps the stylus tangent across the whole record but usually needs air bearings or servo motors. The Klaudio arm uses a dual carbon fibre arm assembly that keeps the headshell perpendicular to the linear track, mounted on a base that both pivots and glides longitudinally on precise bearings. Because the whole assembly would otherwise still follow an arc, the sliding base corrects the position so the stylus stays on a tangent line, giving zero tracking error, which the laser tool confirms. The movement across the record is driven by the stylus drag in the groove, which moves the base slightly, unlike servo-driven linear trackers such as the Reed 5T. Set-up is simpler in many ways than a standard arm, since overhang, null points, offset angle and anti-skating become irrelevant. The arm accepts standard headshells, and a Klaudio headshell is supplied that supports normal lead wires and an exclusive rigid copper lead design, making cartridge changes quick. On the automatic versions, a button raises and lowers the arm, and an adjustable proximity sensor lifts it at the end of the runout groove.

Pairing

The arm mounts on turntables with space for a 10.5 in or 12 in arm, or on Klaudio's freestanding base next to a turntable. Its standard headshell mount accepts other cartridges.

Alternatives

Klaudio makes no other tonearm design beyond the versions of this arm.