Munich 2013

Acoustical Systems' New Axiom Tonearm Appears to Break New Ground

Michael Fremer  |  May 13, 2013

New tone arms on display at Munich's High End 2013 point towards a renewed interest in their design and execution, especially among German enthusiasts.

Acoustical Systems' Dietrich D. Brakemeier, the inventor of the SMARTractor alignment system premiered here in last April's New York Audio Show coverage along with the unique head shell also used on the AXIOM but available as a separate product, has thought of just about everything in this design but rather than me describing it, why not let him?

Here's the GoPro video of Mr. Brakemeier describing to AnalogPlanet and Wally Malewicz the workings of his impressive new AXIOM tonearm that will sell for approximately $16,000. Please remember that all prices given in coverage of the Munich show are approximate!

COMMENTS
AnalogJ's picture
Submitted by AnalogJ on Mon, 2013-05-13 13:12

I can't play the video. It says "this video is private"

only analog for me's picture
Submitted by only analog for me on Mon, 2013-05-13 14:33

I get the same message as the above post, I want a refund!

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Mon, 2013-05-13 15:31

I will fix that NOW (11:31 PM London time).... always open to work for you..

Martin's picture
Submitted by Martin on Tue, 2013-05-14 05:21

 

Amazing. Truly impressive. German fanatical approach to engineering and detail carried to extremes. A titanium arm, carbon fibre insert, flooded with a damping liquid. All this is yours for 16,000 bucks.

I get the feeling vinyl will be about for a few years yet. 

Blue Note's picture
Submitted by Blue Note on Tue, 2013-05-14 17:22

Michael, your nodding in response to his speaking is pretty distracting.  I can see that using a head-mounted cam will require a new way of communicating while being polite/responsive to questions and such...

Michael Fremer's picture
Submitted by Michael Fremer on Sun, 2013-05-19 04:31

This was an experiment and the first time I used the camera so let's call it a "work in progress" that hopefully will improve. I am not sure what can be done to improve the sound quality. I don't think an outboard microphone option exists due to the nature of the camera and it's "action/adventure" intent.

liuj88's picture
Submitted by liuj88 on Thu, 2013-05-16 11:36

I could tell that Mr. Fremer was aware of his headgear, and took the effort to try to minimize his head movements (much appreciated!). The head movement that did transfer to the video was tolerable to me. (Try standing perfectly still while talking to someone, with numerous distractions around you. It's not easy!)

What I lament is the audio quality (of course!), due to the background noise.

Absent a handheld microphone for the audio, and a tripod for the video camera, is this the best that we can reasonably expect? In any case, the video has a spontaneous, in-the-moment, "real" feel that has its own appeal. And ANY video is much better than NO video.

Many thanks, Mr. Fremer, for bringing us information from across the continent! You're the best gonzo analog journalist around!

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