Тонармы — Clearaudio UNIFY 12"

The UNIFY 12 is Clearaudio's 12 inch execution of the UNIFY unipivot radial tonearm, one of four lengths in the series alongside 9, 10 and 14 inch models. The German maker builds each of them with a one-point sapphire bearing, a carbon fibre tube, an aluminium bell carried on a pillar of stainless steel, so the 12 inch version differs from its siblings mainly in its geometry and mounting distance.

Key specs that matter

This arm has an effective length of 316.50 mm and an overall length of 390 mm. It is designed for a pivot to spindle distance of 304 mm, with an overhang of 12.50 mm and an offset angle of 17.89 degrees. The counterweight balances pickups between 2.5 g and 17 g. Weight with the counterweight fitted is approximately 770 g, identical across the series. Clearaudio fits 1.1 m of its Super Sixstream wire with RCA connectors, and registration within 14 days of purchase secures a three-year warranty. Black or silver carbon tubes are available.

Engineering and use context

In this arm a sapphire bearing sits on a steel tip, hardened and polished to precision, and the moving parts balance on that one contact point. Vertical and horizontal tracking angles are set independently of each other. VTA changes are made after releasing a pair of lock screws in the flank of the armboard base, located near the 10 o'clock and 2 o'clock positions, which lets the arm be raised or lowered. The headshell can be turned a little for azimuth once an Allen screw on the underside of the tube, at the joint with the carbon fibre, is loosened. The Clearaudio Turbo Weight is pushed onto the rear shaft and fixed by a screw, and moving it toward or away from the pivot changes tracking force. An additional weight is packed for light cartridges. The anti-skating force is produced by a weight on a thread that runs through a support wand and hooks onto the threaded post crowning the bell, starting at about 0.5 g closest to the pivot and rising by 0.5 g for each step of about 3 mm to a limit of 3.0 g. The package includes a cueing lift, an alignment gauge, two hex keys and fixing screws.

Pairing

The long pivot to spindle distance requires a deck whose armboard is large enough and drilled for a 12 inch arm. When the deck is not a Clearaudio model, the arm is held by an aluminium clamping ring that requires M4 threads cut into the armboard.

Alternatives

The Clearaudio UNIFY 14 extends the same unipivot design to a 338.63 mm effective length and a 327 mm pivot to spindle distance.