Тонармы — Clearaudio TRACER

The Tracer is a 9-inch tonearm made by Clearaudio in Erlangen, Germany, with a minimalist layout that pairs a carbon tube with a mixed sapphire and ball bearing. Clearaudio calls it a design that brings comfort in daily handling together with a clean visual style. The tube comes in silver carbon or black carbon, and the Tracer is one of the two designs whose features Clearaudio combined in its Profiler arm.

Key specs that matter

The geometry uses an effective length of 239.12 mm, an overhang of 17.12 mm and an offset angle of exactly 25 degrees. Pivot and spindle must be 222 mm apart. Overall length is 320 mm. Cartridges from 3.5 g to 17 g can be balanced, and the whole arm weighs around 500 g when the counterweight is included. Horizontal movement runs on a sapphire bearing, and vertical movement on a ball bearing. The build uses black or silver aluminium, stainless steel and the carbon tube. A 1.1 m Clearaudio Super Sixstream cable with RCA plugs carries the signal. The Tracer has a three-year warranty, one year longer than the Profiler and Satisfy Kardan, provided the card is returned within 14 days.

Engineering and use context

Clearaudio lists three bearing elements as the technical base of the arm - ball bearings with extremely low friction, an angled tungsten axle and sapphire bearings of high grade. The aim is precise, controlled guidance of the cantilever in the groove. Carbon was chosen for the tube because it is particularly resistant to torsion, which gives the arm stability without making it sluggish and keeps resonance under control. The anti-skating force is generated magnetically and is built into the pivot axis itself, where it is easy to reach. Azimuth, headshell position and counterweight can each be set precisely and conveniently, according to Clearaudio. The 25 degree offset angle is slightly higher than the 24.02 degrees of the Satisfy Kardan, even though both arms share the same effective length and overhang.

Pairing

The 3.5 to 17 g range suits most current MM and MC cartridges, from the 7 g Clearaudio Concerto V2 up to the 8.4 g Virtuoso V2 and beyond. The Super Sixstream lead with RCA plugs connects to any unbalanced phono input, such as that of the Clearaudio Smart Phono V2. Turntables from other makers need an arm board drilled for the Clearaudio mounting distance.

Alternatives

The Clearaudio Satisfy Kardan is the gimbal-mounted arm with ceramic and sapphire bearings, continuous direct wiring and a lighter 480 to 490 g weight.