HELIUS DESIGNS: Their Omega Standard tone arm

They say: The standard version of the Omega is mechanically very similar to the Silver-Ruby Model. The main differences being the use of tungsten bearings, copper wire and colour configuration. The standard version is anodised black with silver counterweights. Technically the arm is very sophisticated, being dynamically balanced, damped by differential masses and having non-coincident […]

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ROXSAN: The Sara tonearm

They say … Roksan has long been admired and respected for its ground breaking turntables and tonearms, many of which are industry ‘icons’. The new SARA Tonearm is set to build on Roksan’s reputation with its performance, ease of use and radical design. With demand for high performance vinyl replay continuing to rise, the SARA […]

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HEADPHONES: Choosing the right ones

Bowers & Wilkins write … How do you listen? The first thing to think about when choosing headphones is how they will be used. Is the primary purpose of these headphones to help you withdraw into your own world? Are you buying them as a gift for a daily commuter or for a frequent flyer […]

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FANE ACOUSTICS: What happened?

We are told … Company founded on the 11th of February 1993 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, UK as Raftmill Ltd. but changed its name to Fane Acoustics after buying the trademarks and other assets of the bankrupt Fane Loudspeakers company. Restarted production of loudspeaker drivers in the Leeds, Yorkshire factory that Fane Loudspeakers had been using […]

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HELIUS DESIGNS: Their tone arm trade-in policy defined

They say: Occasionally, Helius will acquire some of its past products. There are primarily two reasons, the first is to maintain a stock of older parts for purposes of repairing the classic tonearms. We do this because it is uneconomical in today’s CNC machnining environment to have small numbers of the larger components machined, so […]

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ELITE GRAMOPHONES: What happened?

We are told … Tiny manufacturer of turntables based in Hersham, Walton-On-Thames, in Surrey, Britain. Founded in the late 70’s to commercialise an unusual high end turntable/tonearm combination that was developed at the Cranfield Institute of Technology, but it appears that the company in the end only shipped the turntable in the form of the […]

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KEVLAR: Bowers and Wilkins’ cone material of choice since 1974 and with good reason

We say .. a fascinating, informative and interesting hype-free short video by Dr. Peter Fryer: Director of Research. They say: The midrange is where the real musical action is invariably found, and a smooth midband is an invaluable loudspeaker quality. Enter Kevlar®. It’s been Bowers & Wilkins’s cone material of choice since 1974, and with […]

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THE ART OF ELECTRONICS (Horowitz & Hill) 3rd ed: Still the best?

Dear Colin, The Art of Electronics (Horowitz & Hill) 3rd ed… … as DIYers probably already know is now out, only 25 years after the 2nd ed. My copy arrived today. I’m not trained in electronics and make no claim to more than a passing knowledge, but have enjoyed these authors’ style of presentation since […]

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