Sorane TA-1 Tonearm

Sorane Abis SA 1.2 Tonearm

Unique design, unique sound, unique value for money high quality tonearm.

The sound of the Sorane SA-1.2 tonearm is quite unique, due to its ridged design and construction, the main arm component is engineered from one billet of aluminum and assembled with great precision and care. There is virtually none of the resonance associated with S-shaped arms and far more strength plus lower 'critical' resonances than virtually all straight arms.

The weakness of low mass tonearms is that they make poor matches for medium and low compliance cartridges. The Sorane SA-1.2 gives you precise radial-bearing performance and very low resonance, while providing the necessary mass for medium and low compliance cartridges.

A major influence in the performance of the SA-1.2 (Silver anodised) and SA-1.2B (black anodised) is the use of very high quality bearings. The bearings used for horizontal movement are axial-loaded (angular-contact) thrust-bearings. These thrust bearings have zero play and are held in contact by gravity - think of them as acting like a unipivot but with more than one contact point. Because of their design with two tapered seats, they self-align in the presence of a load (gravity) and have exceedingly low friction.

In contrast to classic tonearms from the past (which suffered from resonance and lower quality bearings), the SA-1.2 provides the ideal mass for classic cartridges like the Denon DL103 or Ortofon SPU (also, mono cartridges like the DL102, or even antique cartridges like the GE VR and Fairchild) along with most moving coil cartridges.

The Sorane SA-1.2 arm has very low tracking error, the superior sonic signature of the billet aluminum arm parts, and the mass equivalent to most 12″ arms, offers a 12″ arm sound in a compact 10" arm length. A protractor is supplied to ensure the manufacturers optimum geometry but can be altered (simply) if required.  It is ideally suited for low to medium compliance cartridges, especially good at controlling problematic cartridges when it comes to miss-tracking, such as the older 'classic' designs.

How does the Sorane sound? It has superb tone and timing, with a 'liquid' mid range to match the very best tonearms. Bass is tight and integrated with the whole, top end is clean and precise. The Sorane SA-1.2 and SA-1.2B offer exceptional value for money, will work well with most cartridges, particularly Moving Coil types, getting the best out of them.

Features

• Gimbal-bearing designs for excellent bass, dynamics and imaging, as well as unconditional azimuth stability (the biggest problem for unipivots).
• Antiskating
• Detachable headshells to allow quick changes of cartridges, the adoption of various mass headshells (to help change the effective mass of the arms and cartridges), and the ability to mount cartridges in a well lit area, in a safe and convenient manner.
• Machine-tooled and hand-assembled by skilled Japanese craftsmen. This highly skilled and delicate hand-assembly differentiates Sorane/Abis tonearms from similar mass-produced Japanese tonearms. Standard quality high-volume tonearms are produced by die-casting and semi-automatic assembly line processes to keep production costs low.
• Skilled hand assembly does not simply mean “combining the constituent parts by hand”. Skilled hand assembly involves measurement, adjustment and hand-fitting to produce optimal interface between machined surfaces. Once completed, the fitment between every part is ideal, satisfying the necessary conditions for vibration-free and noise-free reproduction of analog sound.
• Most importantly, the key to tonearm quality is highly sensitive and delicate motion, for which the bearings are the determining factor.
• Concerning the reproduced sound from these models: The designer is confident you will get precise and clean sound, which can only be had from hand-made tonearms, but at a very reasonable price with these arms.
• In particular, the SA-1.2 will produce rich and tight bass, coming from the extremely rigid rectangular shaped arm-wand.
• In SA-1.2, two sets of fine radial bearings are installed for both horizontal (set in the bearing stem column in this photo) and vertical (further small bearing at tonearm wand). This assures audiophiles of smooth tonearm function, greater longevity, better consistency, and enhanced ability to track warped vinyl.
• The same type radial bearing used in the SA-1.2 for horizontal motion is also used for the TA-1 and TA-1L, while a delicate pivot bearing is employed for vertical movement (this is still a bearing but the bearing axis end is cone shaped, and requires careful assembly and adjustment). The right side cone in this photo is inserted into the miniature bearing inner race.

Reviews

Hi-Fi News and Record Review, 15 March, 2017

...an absolute delight in form, function and perceived sound quality.

83%

Stereophile, 24 March, 2016

Abis SA-1.2 tonearm selected for the 2016 Stereophile Magazine top 500 components.

Stereophile, 14 March, 2016

'I'd put the combination of Abis SA 1.2 and Denon DL-103 [cartridge] up against all but the priciest competitors.'

Class A Recommendation

Stereophile, 15 Nov., 2015

Few recent tonearms have more impressed me than the Abis SA-1 ... the Abis SA-1.2 tonearm deserves my strongest recommendation.

strongest recommendation

Stereo Times, 15 Sept., 2015

the Abis SA-1.2 tonearm is the one that I believe made the biggest impact on improving the sound of my analog setup and is the one piece that I have made a permanent part of my system.

Highly recommended