RMAF 2012

Mr. Hiroshi Ishihara of the Japan-based Sibatech, Inc. showed me the unusual and perhaps revolutionary Rigid Float RFE-02H/7 tonearm. The pivot floats in oil with absolutely no other means of support, but more unusual about this design by Mr. Koichiro Akimoto is that the arm geometry features neither an offset angle at the headshell nor an "S" shaped arm tube!

This goes against all conventional tonearm geometry wisdom yet the paper work I was handed claims far less tracking error than with conventional designs and with no offset angle skating should be zero. The armtube is damped aluminum and available in three lengths. Tonearm wire is (4N) pure silver.

The standard headshell is the "Nelson Hold" that has its own unique properties best discussed in a review. The arm does not need to be secured to the plinth: you just put it down where it's supposed to go.

This is not the only non-mechanically grounded arm out there but it's surely among the most unusual. I don't know how much it costs but it should be interesting to audition!