Тонармы — Einstein Audio Components THE TONEARM 12"

THE TONEARM 12 is the long-arm version of the pivoted tonearm from Einstein Audio Components of Bochum, Germany, a company better known for valve amplifiers and loudspeakers. Einstein offers THE TONEARM in 10 inch and 12 inch lengths. The design comes from Einstein founder Volker Bohlmeier, and the parts are made in Japan through a collaboration with Tokyo-based specialists. In Germany the long arm was priced at around EUR 7,500.

Key specs that matter

Einstein aims the arm at low and medium compliance cartridges, while softly suspended moving-magnet designs are a poor match. A cartridge of almost 20 g can still be balanced with the standard counterweight, which on this model is heavier than on the short arm, split into two parts and made longer by pulling the halves apart. An extra weight is available for heavier pickups. Internal wiring is offered in copper or silver, and the signal leaves the base through a five-pin socket that needs a straight plug.

Engineering and use context

The arm tube is a sandwich of an outer stainless steel tube and an inner aluminium tube, a pairing chosen to keep the long tube stiff and to control its resonance. The bearing block is machined from solid material, and in the horizontal plane the arm turns on four ball bearings rather than the usual pair, which ties the moving part rigidly to the base. The removable headshell is milled from a solid aluminium block and joins the tube through an SME-type connector that is screwed down twice and located by two centring pins instead of one, giving a lock without play. Vertical tracking angle is changed without steps by a rotating lever that sticks out of the side of the base and drives a worm gear inside. Azimuth is set by loosening two grub screws and turning the headshell. Anti-skating works with a thread running over a loose pulley to a weighted arm, with five preset positions. The base needs a mounting hole of at least 34 mm and is fixed by a large threaded ring.

Pairing

The long geometry calls for a turntable with room for a 12 inch arm. The Einstein THE RECORD PLAYER has an elliptical arm plate of solid aluminium clamping an ebony insert, and turning the ellipse by 180 degrees moves the mount from the 9 to 10.5 inch position to the 12 inch one.

Alternatives

The Einstein THE TONEARM 10 is the shorter version of the same arm, sharing the stainless steel and aluminium tube and the four-bearing base.