Thales tonearm

[Metamatic]

Having a demo of the Thales Easy tonearm. Its claim to fame is its linear tangential geometry - quote from the Thales website.

It all began when Micha Huber sought for a way to combine the advantages of a conventional pivoted tonearm and those of a linear tangential pick-up arm. The solution method is based on the well-known elementary school aid to construct a tangent: the Thales' circle. After much thought and calculations, a three-dimensional mechanical solution emerged that satisfies all the requirements placed on a modern pick-up system.

The long-cherished dream of geometrically correct tracking with low friction pivoted bearings became reality. A new patent was added to the dozens of existing patents that testify to this dream: CH 694567 Tangential Pivoted Tonearm, announced in May 2004.

This is an excellent sounding tonearm and has tracked perfectly since I set it up about a week ago. The Swiss build quality and the workmanship cannot be faulted. Its so good I am arranging to have a listen to the more expensive Simplicity II to see if is worth the additional coin.

here are a few pics





The head shell that moves with the grooves - perfectly

[Metamatic]

a few more pics

[Rob]

Shane, that's a very nice acquisition. I heard a front end featuring this arm in a system set up by Brian Ackerman of Aaudio imports. I cant say exactly what the arm contributed to the overall sound but the whole was as liquid as I ever heard Dean Martins dream of dean. The arm looks cool in person.

[Per Sundell]

IMO this is the best looking of the Thales arms!

[JCOConnell]

when you are doing initial setup of the system, how do you align the cartridge body?

[JCOConnell]

I notice there is no fingerlift on the headshell. Is this intentional because it would interfere with the tangential system of the arm?

[Metamatic]

Hi JC

There is a template to align the tonearm and the cartridge. see below. You align so the cartridge is square and the stylus hits the alignment point and the cantilever is straight along the long line. no real differenceto any other alignment guages

Yes, no finger lift. I believe that may interfere with the tangential system. You just pick up the arm by the tube and use the arm lift up or down. Its easy.

There is no antiskating adjustment as its built into the bearings. if you float the arm and move it to the inside of the record, it will slowly go back out towards the edge of the record - pretty cool.

Interesting, with the Thales it is harder to notice where on the record it is playing and it has the most stable stereo images I have heard on any tonearm.

[Billy Shears]

Easy the name and Easy the setup!

[JCOConnell]

seems like the bearings in the pivots on the headshell would have to be very precision for this to work right. too tight and the arm wont track the record, too loose and there is vibration/jitter in the headshell

[Metamatic]

That is correct - they are very precise, Swiss jeweler precise. This is on another level compared to most other companies. From a recent review.

Thales use a new technology, called TTF (Thales Tension Free) bearing technology, which has been in development since 2012. In a nutshell, it combines the benefits of traditional ruby bearings (damping properties, a single point of contact and angular alignment) with those of the ball bearing (high resistance load). The TTF technology allows to achieve an extremely low coefficient of friction, complete absence of backlash and, as a side effect, an integrated shock absorbing system.

The 2nd smaller tonearm tube seems to guide the headshell specifically where it needs to track on the lp. whatever Huber has in his patent clearly works.

This is what happened with the famous Fremer review of the Simplicity - the importer tightened the headshell screws from the factory settings, which screwed up the entire tonearm and the review.

[MylesBAstor]

Thanks for the early report. Hopefully, I'll have the latest version of the KLaudio pivoted tangential arm here to listen to. Peter's arm looks very different from the Thales.

Your comment image stability is interesting and obviously a statement about the bearing tightness.

[Metamatic]

Hey Myles, I saw the KL tonearm at the HK show. It reminds of a Triplaner with 2 arm pipes. Its bloody large. That will be an interesting listen as I have not heard any comments on how it sounds anywhere. Good to see a few companies being brave enough to research and push the boundries of tonearm geometry and design.

Lucky you have the Vanquish with easy access to the flexible additional arm mounts. I would not have been able to mount the Thales without mine. Micro Seiki can take great credit for that all those years ago.


A couple more quick thoughts on the Thales after listening to it for the last 10 days as often as I can. The image stability, tight detailed bass gives the impression of slightly faster tempo on some tracks and preferable to the fatter more weight the Phantom has. Couple this with transparency and detail top to bottom is quite enlightening. The mid range lives. The more I listen, the more it just sounds right. I am loving the coherent sound delivery right across the record.

Its a few steps ahead of my Phantom which sounds a, little slow and cloudy in direct comparison.
Funny, Its making my tube phono stage sound better as well

The Thales tonearm has got me listening to the TW table more than my DD Exclusive P3. that is something.

[MylesBAstor]

Nice when a plan comes together.

[allenh]

Wow, very cool, Shane! Sounds like a keeper!

What's the MSRP for the arm?

[Garth]

Good write up very different design I hope you post more later

[Metamatic]

Cheers guys. I would never have considered the arm if I was not able to demo at home first. There is still a place in this world for good quality dealer service.

Hi Allen. Yes, its a keeper but the audiophile in me wants to hear big brother - Simplicity II. I will get that chance later this week so will be able hear and compare.

US retail, not sure but found this link, so assume its still valid.

http://www.dagogo.com/thales-release...-simplicity-ii

[Cousinbilly]

Sure hope you keep posting.

I used to own the RS Labs A1. It was the best tonearm I've ever owned, till my cats played with it (ended up on the floor). The pivoting headshell no longer pivoted.

Since then: Triplanar, Talea ll, Schroder DPS, now have the Kuzma 4Point.

Please keep us up to date.

[Rob]

Sure hope you keep posting.

I used to own the RS Labs A1. It was the best tonearm I've ever owned, till my cats played with it (ended up on the floor). The pivoting headshell no longer pivoted.

Since then: Triplanar, Talea ll, Schroder DPS, now have the Kuzma 4Point.

Please keep us up to date.

I almost pulled the trigger on a used A1 to just to try one out. the headshell rotates 6 degrees in either direction based on the theory a stylus/cantilever will always center itself in the groove and the headshell will naturally follow, kinda like the tail waging the dog so to speak.

[Metamatic]

Sure hope you keep posting.

I used to own the RS Labs A1. It was the best tonearm I've ever owned, till my cats played with it (ended up on the floor). The pivoting headshell no longer pivoted.

Since then: Triplanar, Talea ll, Schroder DPS, now have the Kuzma 4Point.

Please keep us up to date.

Interesting you have moved from the Schroder to the Kuzma. Schroder also have a tangential tracking pivoted tonearm that is highly regarded. That would also be great to hear.

cheers