Origin Live Encounter Tonearm

Description

Origin Live Encounter Tonearm

The Encounter arm introduces dual-pivot bearings to the Origin Live tonearm range. Dual Pivot bearings decouple the arm from its environment in a far more competent way than conventional bearings. The result is similar to Uni-pivot arms in terms of a natural fluid-like quality to the sound. However, this comes without the drawbacks of Uni-pivot arms – namely the fiddly setup, wobbly cueing and decrease in bass performance.

Dual Pivot bearings have the advantage of very low friction which helps give the encounter greater transparency and musicality than the Zephyr arm, allowing you to hear previously unnoticed details in your music. It’s also fast and enables musical rhythms to keep in time with one another. As with all our arms, Origin Live Encounter Tonearm is no exception, tonal balance is neutral allowing it to work well in all types of systems.

Features

Arm Tube

The arm tube is made from high-grade aircraft alloy to reduce the effect of resonance. This provides the enormous benefit of allowing your cartridge to function correctly without unwanted movements caused by resonance.

High Strength Rear-stub

Improves counterweight stability in vibration, enabling the arm tube to hold the cartridge more steadily.

Headshell

The Origin Live Encounter High End Tonearm features improved de-coupling and a lightweight finger-lift.

Dual Pivot Bearings

For vertical arm movement, the bearings consist of ultra-hard tungsten carbide points sitting in hardened and burnished steel cups. This combination delivers incredibly low friction levels and is more robust than jewelled bearings, providing exceptional transparency, fluidity, and fine detail retrieval.

Precise & Accessible VTA Adjuster

VTA can be adjusted precisely and infinitely using a large diameter calibrated dial. All adjustments can be carried out above the arm-board, unlike lower arms in the range which require access below the arm-board.

Azimuth Adjuster

The azimuth adjuster allows for precise alignment adjustments to optimize performance.

Falling Weight Side Bias

Tests show this to be the highest performing method of achieving side bias, offering lower friction, better constant force, and lower resonance compared to alternatives such as magnets, springs, levers, and twisted threads.

Internal Wiring

High-grade copper Litz wire, cryogenically frozen to reduce discontinuities in the conductors. This wire provides great transparency, detail, and freedom from artefacts.

1m Upgrade External Cable

Low resistance cable with high conductivity gold-plated RCA plugs, fitting directly into your phono stage or amplifier.

Build Quality

In the same way, great singers have better voices, all materials resonate differently and have a “voice” in micro-vibration. There is an argument that says the ideal material is totally dead, but this oversimplification ignores the fact that to absorb energy, the material has to vibrate. The argument also omits to consider that if a material is too soft (like a sponge to take an extreme example) then it will lack rigidity. Conversely, if a material is too hard then it reflects energy which is disastrous. Because all these factors conflict with one another it renders correct material choice much more complex than many imagine.

The nature of mechanical playback means that every material chosen plays a role in performance. Specifications and theory can only play a limited role here. If pure measurements were the answer, you could use a computer to judge the talent of singers on shows like the Voice or the X-factor. The problem is that any measurement system can only measure what it’s programmed to. Understanding the physics of what makes one voice more preferable to another would probably take more than a lifetime. For this reason, we conduct hundreds of listening tests to determine the best choices.

Origin Live pay obsessive attention to the types of material used throughout the construction of turntables. This is one reason our Platter Mat (offered as an accessory) upgrades 99% of turntables on the market. The same is true for our turntable belts and oil, both of which receive remarkable reviews from satisfied clients. These may seem trivial examples but they indicate a fanatical thoroughness in research that extends to much more important areas in our turntables.

Intensive Research and Innovative Thinking

The design of our tonearms is the key to their performance. Over 25 years of continuous development has gone into these arms. However, it’s the “outside the box” thinking, which make them special. Origin Live arms are extremely innovative, not only in concept but also in the choice of superior build materials. Wherever possible high-grade alloys are included. These alloys are expensive to machine and finish but the results are so worthwhile in terms of performance.

Most arms look great on the outside so it is easy to miss the massive hidden differences. With an Origin Live arm, you can be sure that it’s not just a matter of high-grade components but far more importantly, you have a design that really delivers in terms of performance.

REVIEWS FOR THE Origin Live Encounter Tonearm

“A new benchmark for musical communication, natural detail and timbral truth. All at a price that, considering the quality of its performance, can only be called a bargain.”
— Read the full review >
Stereo Times

“It says volumes for the excellence of this arm that it could put two such different pickups through their paces so even-handedly.”
The Absolute Sound, Editors Choice Award 2012

“In the Origin Live rig, it was warm, boisterous, fast, big and ballsy with tone that could only be described as lush and gorgeously vibrant. It was shockingly good on anything with brass with gobs of realistic bite to trumpets, trombones and the like”
— Read the full review >
Tone Audio

“If ever there was a case of swings and roundabouts within hardware comparison then the tonal differences between the 9.5” and 12” versions of the Encounter 3c was it. The 9.5” walked a lighter step. It produced finesse and style with fine detailing highlighting a star clarity.”
— Read the full review >
Paul Rigby

“Sounds like nothing that I have heard or owned before. The tonal quality is accurate and clear, bass notes have no overhang. The arm is astonishingly transparent and neutral.”
—Read more owner comments >
Derek Abrahams