Clearaudio unify tonearm/ They ripped off Naim

I didn't realise the Aro had a carbon fibre arm tube
Anyone ever heard this tonearm?..you could buy one for less than a used Aro.

Paul.

And Naim "ripped off" Hadcock...?

They're both unipivots, I grant you that.

-- Ian

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They're both unipivots, I grant you that.

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Which does seem to be about the only point of similarity between them. Comparing them side by side they've virtually nothing else in common. Particularly as the Clearaudio has a cueing system Aro Rip-Off? - I don't think so!

If the fact that both the ARO and Unify are unipivots qualifies the Unify as a "rip off", then the ARO is a rip off as well. Unipivot arms have been around a long time. The Magnepan arm of the 1970s was a unipivot, for example, and I think the 1960s Decca arms were as well.

Other than sharing a class of bearing I don't see any similarity between the Unify and ARO.

I have not looked at a number of uni pivot arms in my life..

What I am taking away from this is--
They all look this way?


There just seemed to be so many of the same aspects as the ARO....


Regards,

Marc

She asked for a Grand piano.
All I could give her was an upright organ...

I have heard this arm, and it's a cracker at that price. I have an Aro on my LP12, and I'd say the Unify is fantastic at least in terms of build, perceived value. As I haven't heard it on an LP12 I can't do a direct comparison with my Aro, though my dealer claims that it is a very good match and sonically better than an Aro in his opinion. I reckon he is a bit biased, though a properly setup Clearaudio deck is generally a real stonker as compared to the similarly priced competition (at least in the sub £3000 bracket) so I am willing to concede that the Unify might continue this trend*.

The Unify isn't a rip-off of Naim, as others have stated. Here's where they differ IMHO:

(1) Adjustability. The Unify has easily adjustable VTA, fore- and aft-adjustment for cartridges in the headshell (so you could use other cartridges)

(2) Carbon fibre armtube v. Aluminium alloy - both light and extremely rigid, probably not much more to say.

(3) Arm lift - useful if you suffer from delirium tremens.

(4) Urm, can't think of any more.

Basically, yes, it's a much cheaper arm than the Aro but had I not already had an Aro on my LP12 I'd probably have bought a Unify (subject to audition on an LP12). OTOH, a s/h Aro costs less than a new Unify (£500 versus £650) and you could probably own your s/h Aro for a few years and still sell on for £400 quite easily - i.e. lower TCO.

John

TC '..'
"Sun went down in honey. Moon came up in wine. Stars were spinnin' dizzy, Lord, the band kept us so busy we forgot about the time."

* I have to state for the record that I have recently sold my own Clearaudio deck to go back to an LP12. I guess I'm one of the few people who can speak from the ownership perspective on the relative merits of these tables, and the Evolution still outguns my LP12/Valhalla/Aro - though I will report properly once I have the Armageddon and Helikon... suspend your prejudices, a properly setup Clearaudio rocks!

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(4) Urm, can't think of any more.

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I think the spike on the pivot points in the opposite direction.

I'd be very interested to hear how this sounds on the LP12. The unify arm is 1/3 the price of the Aro in the US (and still hundreds less than a s/h Aro).

cheers,

Dan