The youngest member of the TW Acustic tonearm family surpasses its little brother by a whopping 8.6 centimeters! In boats, long hulls tend to mean smooth sailing – let’s see if similar principles apply to tonearms as well.
As some readers may remember, I reviewed the Acustic Raven TW 9.5 and found it so good that I couldn’t resist adorning my TW-GT2 drive with it. Thomas Woschnick, developer and manufacturer of TW Acustic components, called me a few weeks later and asked if I would be interested in trying out a pre-production model of his new 12.9-inch tonearm TW Acustic Raven 12.9.
As soon as I took the tonearm out of its foam packaging, I noticed its balanced proportions. Some of its longer counterparts make me doubt, at least visually, if the long lever is up to the task of supporting the cartridges. In contrast, the TW 12.9’s tube diameter, bearing housing, counterweight unit, and headshell form a harmonious unit. The mechanical details are largely the same as those of the smaller 9.5, but it has inherited the sensationally easy-to-use height adjustment and the ability to rotate the headshell (for azimuth correction) from the 10.5. Obviously, the size of 12.9 inches or 327.6 millimeters is the main distinguishing feature.
Compensating for the greater leverage, requires a more generous counterweight – two stainless steel discs of equal size with off-center holes are included for this purpose. This shifts the center of gravity downward and gives the tonearm an even smoother ride. The tracking force can be adjusted by moving the weights on the axle. The length of the arm results in the headshell being toed in from the shaft at a flatter angle, which results in a lower tracking angle error compared to shorter tonearms and thus, in theory, less distortion. Of course, the effective mass of the arm increases, but at around 17 grams, it remains within reasonable limits for such a caliber – making it ideal for cartridges with medium to low needle compliance. It is not particularly suitable for soft-mounted needle carriers, but hey – don’t let me keep you from experimenting!
After the uncomplicated installation of the TW Acustic Raven 12.9, I first screwed the Skyanalog Reference under the headshell. It fit like a glove. The familiar qualities of this cartridge, which I hold in high esteem, were complemented by increased stability and openness of the sound image. Long tonearms are sometimes said to cause a certain sluggishness and overemphasis of the bass range. I couldn’t notice any of that. Despite the calmness of the sound image, the music sparkled with agility. That sounds contradictory, but I hope it’s understandable nonetheless. Nagaoka’s MP-500-MI system was a stark contrast both acoustically and price-wise. The “long arm” also helped this comparatively inexpensive cartridge deliver a great performance. The final production model of this long-arm masterpiece is expected to be available in early summer. The price, including the VTA riser, is expected to be around 5500 euros.
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