One of the questions a lot of people ask is whether they will hear much difference between the various grades of arm we offer?
Tonearms are recognised as a major contributor to sound quality and with the arrival of new ultra-high-end arms some of the more respected reviewers are saying that they are on a par with a change to a superior turntable.

This certainly agrees with the feedback we receive from those who change their tonearms. By way of example you may find some owner comments we’ve received in the past month of interest (published with kind permission of writers).

Comment from owner of a Rega deck installing an Origin Live Onyx arm (£450).
“The Onyx is already on my RP3. After I sent you the RB303 as part exchange, you sent it on Friday, I received it on Saturday, fitted and set it up and have been playing ever since. What a stunning and dramatic difference it has made. It is so good. I used to have a Sondek LP12 fitted with an Ecos arm/Asaka cartridge and in my estimation your Onyx with the Goldring 1012GX sounds more musical with fantastic sound stage. I listen mostly to classical and jazz and really am thrilled with the outcome.”
Many thanks
Stan Bruce, UK

Owner comment on the trade in of an Origin Live Illustrious arm for an Origin Live Enterprise (top of the range)
“Since I installed an Enterprise, I have had to listen to all my records to find out what they sound like. I am hearing overtones, harmonics, like I’ve never even imagined were in the grooves. CD’s used to sound okay, now they are nearly unlistenable. Keep up the great work.”
Craig Niedzielski, USA

Owner comment on the trade in of an Origin Live Silver MK3a arm (£675) for an Origin Live Encounter (£1345).
“I had to put ‘pen to paper’ so to speak after having a few weeks to assess my new Encounter arm which I part exchanged with my Silver mk3a.
I am so pleased with the performance of the new arm. I can’t get over the sense of space between instruments/vocalists etc and venue on my records. It seems unflappable to put it simply and I loved the Silver for that too. I use it on a Gyrodec and it would appear to be a great match.
The treble is so ‘airy’ It seems to breathe almost and the mid is superb too. I think the bass is also in another league compared to the silver, it has much more authority and “drives” the music in a natural way that I have not heard from my system before.
As you may have gathered I am a very happy customer and am left wondering how much better my vinyl front-end can get!?
Other equipment…. Dynavector DV20xl Cart’, Trichord Dino Phono stage with NC Power Supply, Michell QC (AC) Power Supply feeding Audio Note M Zero pre amp, Audiolab 2000M Mono Blocs and Tannoy Td8s Aided and abetted with a REL T7i subwoofer. Chord Epic speaker cable and various QED Signature/Reference Interconnects.
I am so happy with the way the sound has improved and wanted to thank you.”
Thanks
Mark Young, UK

If you find this of interest, or even if you are skeptical about upgrading your arm, we offer a money back guarantee scheme with very reasonable trade in values for your current Origin Live arm (we also accept Regas and new generation SME arms). Please email or phone +44 (0)2380578877to discuss further.

Introduction to tonearm side bias design

The purpose of this article is to explain why a falling weight is the best method of controlling side bias. This method is often dismissed as cheap, fiddly and unsophisticated in reviews. In comparison, you have side bias designs based on springs or magnets with brilliantly engineered precision dials which appear to give immediate control to a fraction of a gram. These impress you with their sophistication and ease of use. They look great and breathe precision engineering. There are however a couple of unanswered tick boxes – are they really accurate and what’s the effect on sound quality? Many discover too late that great looking engineering is not a guarantee of great performance.

There is not much written about the design of side bias devices and even less on how they compare in sound quality and accuracy. Very few realize the extent of the inaccuracy and degradation caused by springs and magnets. However, long ago the inventor of the falling weight method became profoundly dissatisfied with traditional springs and magnets.  The reason he came up with the falling weight had nothing to do with reducing costs but was driven by a desire to produce a superior design to all others. We have tested and agree with his findings.

In conclusion, we believe you would prefer years of increased musical pleasure by using a falling weight. This far outweighs saving a few moments of time by using a dial with all the inaccuracies and degradation entailed.

Importance of tonearm side bias

One reason that Origin Live continues to win awards year after year is that we pay enormous attention to details few others consider worthy of investigation. An example of this is tonearm side bias design.

If you care about sound quality, the type of Side Bias design is surprisingly influential. Not just for its function in keeping the cartridge central in the groove but for the effect it has on performance.

The effect of side bias devices

We’ve thoroughly investigated and listened to the effect of various methods used to apply side bias. It’s easy to dismiss this type of research as obsessive and insignificant. However, it’s not difficult to prove the clearly audible artefacts that side bias designs impose on sound quality. If you have a falling weight side bias you can hear the effects for yourself by simply removing or disabling the weight. You will notice an increased openness and freedom in the music (without side bias). The only downside is that separation and imaging suffer slightly but overall the sound is preferable. This effect is much more signnificant when using magnetic or spring devices.

You will read on some forums that people recommend removing side bias altogether for the above reasons – so why use it?

Principles of side bias

When you play music your cartridge experiences an inward side force (which we will explain later). This Side force is detrimental for the following reasons:

• The unequal force on the inner walls of the record groove affects the soundstage image slightly.
•  It causes uneven record wear.
• The cartridge suspension is skewed out of alignment from its central sweet spot in the motor mechanism over a period of time. This affects performance to a degree dependent on cartridge suspension – softer suspensions suffer badly.

A good side bias neutralises these effects by counteracting the induced inwards force with an equal and opposite outwards force. In so doing, the stylus tracks the groove centrally to produce a notably more solid and focused soundstage.

Why sidewall force is inwards

It’s commonly expected that as a tonearm tracks through the grooves it experiences an outwards force. Centrifugal force or differential friction acting on the inner and outer sides of the stylus are intuitive reasons for this misconception.

In reality, the frictional force acts tangentially to the groove. This “pull” on the arm is not in line with the arm pivot but offset and thus produces an inwards side force – see diagram below.

Variation in sidewall force

Many years ago extensive research was carried out with regard to sidewall forces. Without going into detail it’s safe to summarise that the inward drag induced force is fairly consistent across the record increasing by about 18% towards the inner tracks (this is not set in stone as it depends on the cut of a record).

For this reason, absolute precision on a side bias device is a little misleading as the requirement varies across a record and varies from record to record. You can safely conclude that side bias settings are about the best compromise.

Requirements of a good side bias device

• Even side force overall tracks: A well designed side bias gives a fairly  on the record with a decrease of about 18% for inner tracks – This maintains the centrality of the stylus in the groove and prevents side wall wear.
• Adjustment is repeatable and  accurate: Correct setting is determined by trial and error so actual figures on dials are only a guide at best. This is because the internal cable in the arm exerts a significant level of non linear twist in the wrong direction as an arm nears the inner tracks. This is often not considered in side bias designs.
• Low resonance: Avoids audible colouration and performance degradation. 
• Effective decoupling: Aids isolation and prevents external vibration feeding into the arm. 
• Low friction: Aids side force consistency and prevents tracking problems.

Side bias design variations

Magnetic force – This is a popular choice as it has the advantage of low resonance. The downside is that it has a damping effect which in tests sounds detrimental in giving the music a slightly “sat on quality, lacking speed and life”. Magnets are also non linear and not without problems in providing an even, consistent force across the whole record.

Spiral Spring – This is probably the most popular method and is usually more linear than magnets. However this method introduces damaging resonance and couples the tonearm to a world of hostile vibration. They also exert increasing force towards the inner tracks (the exact opposite of what you want). To overcome this issue a cam and thread may be joined to the end of the spring but this additional complexity has it’s own set of problems.

The detrimental effect of springs in tonearms have been long known to many Rega owners who have followed our advice and disengaged the spring downforce setting in the RB300 (303) arms and above. Others have found remarkable improvement in ripping out the spring entirely but this is not something we recommend as it devalues the arm for resale. Disengaging some of the detrimental effects of the spring is described on the link http://www.originlive.com/rega-tonearm-modifications/rega-tonaearm-tuning-vta-adjustment.html

The effect on sound quality can be best described as a removal of haze and nervousness in the music. 

Levers and weights – these devices generally suffer from resonance and poor isolation so they feed vibration into the arm.

Cable or wire twist – Arms with a magnetic bearing are usually held by a vertical thread. Because this twists as the arm traverses across the record it exerts an outward force – adjusting the amount of twist will adjust the side bias. Another variant of this method is used by VPI arms and others where the wiring is used to exert a twist on the arm. The disadvantage of this method is that side bias increases towards the inner tracks and you want the reverse to happen.  

Falling weight on a thread – This method overcomes the challenges of side bias better than the aforementioned methods. It has low friction, good isolation, low resonance and even force. The force can also be governed to decrease slightly towards the inner tracks.

If you find it hard to discern what to believe from the mass of information available on the web and Hi-Fi press it’s not surprising.

The following news provides some clues on the caliber of Origin Live arms.

It’s astounding that Germany’s largest Audio magazine recently recorded their highest score EVER for a turntable / arm / cartridge combination from L’Art du Son, a manufacturer who never advertises. Unlike the sometimes dubious reviews of certain magazines, it’s fair to say that this is an exceptionally genuine assessment of a clearly outstanding product.

The fact that this deck used the Origin Live Enterprise arm (in transcription reference form 10.5”) also reflects on just how good this arm is. The L’Art du Son designer Martina Schoener is probably one of the foremost networkers in the business, who knows reputations and has heard most arms on the market. Her selection of such a highly critical component was a very careful choice.

I’ve included a link to the review concerned where they rate this deck / arm / cartridge combination as the absolute best they’ve heard – period. In the context of reviews that go up to £100,000 this is surprising in itself as some magazines instruct their reviewers never to make such a pronouncement because it can offend owners of other brands and discourage advertisers. This makes the review all the more credible in my view.

Stig Bjorge, CEO of Lyra cartridges has ordered one of these deck combinations which again is a tremendous endorsement from a world leading designer who regularly hears the whole spectrum of what’s on offer.

Notably this deck was playing in two rooms at the worlds foremost High End show in Munich where around 500 brands were on show. A good number of visitors commented it was the best sound at the show. Remarkable in an arena where the competition could not be higher with many rooms playing systems well in excess of £500,000.

Audio magazine Germany 9/2015 review

Rating: 135 points which makes it “The Best Turntable ” Audio has ever reviewed in more than 35 years of their history – complete package of deck,
Enterprise TR arm and Lyra Atlas (80,000 Euros)

“Music like we’ve never heard coming from a turntable: incredibly dynamic, intimate and direct, yet with an ultimately fine resolution. One could fill pages with listening examples, but the superlatives would merely repeat: none of the records we were listening to had ever been heard like this before. And never before had our digital reference, the venerable Linn Klimax DSM, looked so pale by contrast: when even a Klimax can’t win a single trick, then digital won’t make it at all. Not only does the TR come closer to reality than previous turntables – with vinyl it creates a musical parallel universe”.

For those wondering about the difference between the L’Art du Son Enterprise TR and normal Enterprise they are as follows:

• Enterprise TR Effective length is 255mm  — OL Enterprise is 240mm & 309mm.
• TR version earthing arrangement is not attached to the screened external cable as per OL arms. Instead each screen has a separate earth wire and the tube also has a separate earth wire. This allows for fine optimisation of earthing configurations for valve and solid state amps.

Modify or Trade-in?

This is probably one of the most common questions we get asked. Modifying your turntable or tonearm is a sensible option if you want a significant improvement in sound quality and are restrained by budget. It’s also a preferred option if  you’ve grown attached to your equipment.

We will look at the modification approach next week. On the other hand, there are limits to how far you can take an older deck. Things have advanced massively in some quarters and once you get to investing around £1500, it’s better to carefully select a better deck rather modify older designs. On this path, there are many competent designs but only a small handful of manufacturers who really shine in demonstration. A letter we had last week illustrates the gains of a typical turntable change.

“Many thanks for the recently arrived Calypso and Illustrious. This is a shockingly good combination which is dramatically superior to my previous deck, a Linn LP12/Ittok. The Calypso/Illustrious has huge authority and solidity in the stereo image which is substantially deeper and wider than anything I have heard before. Complex orchestral passages widen out to reveal individual instrument timbres and their location in the sound scape. The dynamic range is also vastly superior and capable of both power and subtlety. Most importantly the whole experience is very musically engaging. All of this is with a week old deck and a £100 cartridge, which only confirms Origin Live’s design philosophy of the importance of the turntable and arm. I can’t praise this combination highly enough. Anyone wanting a taste of musical paradise at an extremely reasonable price should seriously consider Origin Live. It’s difficult to imagine a better musical experience than this.”

Liam – County Kildare – Ireland

We know from dealers and clients, that no matter how up to date Liam’s Linn could be – in other words, highest specification, latest LP12 and Ekos 2, this result would be the same. We’ve had hardened ex-Linn dealers who’ve been in total unbelief about this. To prove us wrong they’ve put it to the test, only to be shocked by the results and having to call their friends around to confirm what they’re hearing.

I would lastly add, to put things in perspective, that the Linn is still a great deck and surpasses many on the market today. As said previously, there are only a relatively small number of manufacturers where you can do much better.

Hope this helps

If you have ruled out upgrading your tonearm due to expense or fitting issues, it may be time to think again. Many people think they need a cartridge upgrade when really they need a tonearm upgrade. It’s been proved that this is not only far more influential on performance but also extremely cost effective. Why is it such a great investment? The answer lies in the long term saving of cartridge replacement costs. You get significantly better overall performance with a superior arm running a less expensive cartridge than vica versa. Over a period of several cartridge replacements, this represents a tremendous saving, not to mention the massively enhanced performance.

The other good news is that upgrading your arm may not cost anything. We guarantee our arms to outperform conventional arms on the market that cost up to 5 times the price of an equivalent performing Origin Live arm. Many owners have actually made a profit by selling an expensive £2500 arm to replace it with something like the Origin Live Silver at £675 – shocking but true.

It’s not hard or complex to fit an Origin Live arm

Don’t be put off by the perceived effort in changing your arm. It really is worth it and we have made it easy.

FOR OWNERS OF REGA ARM MODELS — Without exception these can be replaced with an Origin Live arm as a simple drop in replacement, with no alteration whatsoever to your deck or armboard.

SME ARM OWNERS — we are now offering an adaptor plate that allows any Origin Live arm to be fitted directly to a SME drilled armboard – The easy to fit, SME adaptor plate means a quick upgrade without the waiting, fitting and expense involved in fitting a new arm board.

LINN LP12 — If you are the proud owner of an LP12, then upgrading the arm is easy (even if you have an Ekos). We offer a pre-drilled armboard for the LP12 which is identical in size and looks, to the original (lacking only the Linn Logo.)

TECHNICS 1200 / 1210 OWNERS — The armboard for the Technics 1200/12100 can be ordered from us.