Renown Tonearm
The Renown Tonearm
How it all began
Ever since Origin Live was founded in 1986, Mark Baker has placed particular emphasis on continuous innovation. When it came to creating another tonearm beyond compare, the design team at Origin Live were inspired by the opportunity. In anticipation of it’s extreme performance capability, the new super-arm was named Renown.
Sparing no expense opened up the possibilities to employ exotic materials – such as those used to machine the super-alloys in space craft.
Recent advances in production processes also enabled component designs hitherto deemed unthinkable.
The results are staggering. Improvements were expected, but not on the scale that even early prototypes demonstrated. Continuous development matured the design to the point that this was unquestionably a remarkable landmark in Vinyl replay.
In summary the Renown offers a very special musical experience but also beautiful design. We invite you to audition the Renown and enjoy it for yourself.
Our Signature
A tonearm from Origin Live is anything but ordinary. The transformation of materials into a musical device is complex. Driven by a deep seated curiosity we have always turned to listening tests to determine the secrets of material selection, shape and treatment.
We recognize that opportunities offered by new technologies are only the beginning. Decades of creating award winning designs have always followed the same exploratory steps. Every detail and design principle requires testing against numerous alternatives to ensure absolute performance for your investment. The Renown is no exception and the results will give it’s listeners a very special experience for generations.
Warranty
We guarantee arms to be free from fault for 5 years and will undertake remedial work, providing the arm has not been modified by any party other than ourselves. This warranty does not cover abuse or mistreatment, which includes neglecting the instructions in the owner manual.
Highlighted Features
Each tonearm in the Origin Live range shares important features outlined below. Higher models are differentiated by refinement, increasingly costly materials, components and advanced engineering. Differences between various models are highlighted on the specific page allocated for each arm. You can also compare features on the Specifications page.
High Strength Alloys and Carbon fiber components
Your cartridge needs to be held with rock like solidity if it is to accurately extract the microscopic information contained within your record grooves. In strategic components rigidity is essential to reduce microscopic bending and “give” in the tonearm structure. The exact reasons why this is so critical go far beyond superficial explanations such as reducing movement or resonance. The truth is little understood and would require a book to explain due to technical complexities.
Soft alloy castings and carbon fiber tubes (using fishing rod technology) are commonly used in tonearms but are wholly inadequate for high grade performance. Origin Live arms avoid these cheap alternatives and as you might expect the music benefits immensely from the improved rigidity. Gone is the soft, woolly, haziness and muddle that so many arms are responsible for producing. Instead notes have greater impact, dynamics, speed. This gives our arms their outstanding reputation for realism.
Manufacturer Spec
Higher-strength, Low Resonance Arm Tube
The high-grade aircraft alloy tube is further stiffened with coatings and carbon fibre. The tube is also specially machined for improved resonance control. A long rear stub sleeve provides further reinforcement and this is carefully interfaced to provide maximum energy dissipation and minimal reflections. This frees up your cartridge to perform as it should – away from the colouration and disruption caused by resonance and reflected vibration.
Sleeved Rear-stub
is further strengthened over lower models by using superior material and processing. This improves counterweight stability in vibration – thus enabling the arm tube to hold the cartridge more steadily.
Rigidly Attached Counterweight
The counterweight attachment has been carefully engineered to hold the arm tube more rigidly for cartridge stability whilst at the same time decoupling itself to minimize energy reflection back down the tube. The results are clearly heard in improved dynamics and a sense of power and control in the bass.
Low Resonance Counterweight
Counterweight resonance is reduced using a higher grade material and then applying a dampening coating.
Counterweight Fine Adjuster
allows you to easily set the tracking force with a high degree of accuracy.
Headshell
features improved de-coupling and lightweight finger-lift.
Sophisticated Yoke Design
The Yoke provides stability for the arm tube because the mass in the right place enhances dynamics and bass performance. The Agile yoke provides rock-solid stability without energy reflection. To minimize resonance it includes carefully machined cutouts.
Sophisticated Yoke Decoupling
with several additional isolation interfaces from the vertical bearings.
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 not only delivers incredibly low friction levels but is also much more robust than jewelled bearings which tend to shatter under stress. These dual pivots feature a more refined design than arms below the Enterprise which further improves de-coupling. The results are incredible transparency, fluidity and retrieval of fine detail.
Ceramic Bearings
For horizontal arm movement, the ballbearings are upgraded to highly specified ultra-low friction Ceramic bearings.
Mirror Finished Yoke
The Yoke is finished with a true mirror surface and coated in Chrome Nitride. Using the same supplier as Rolex, this Chrome Nitride coating achieves an extremely high level of quality and durability.
Precise & Accessible VTA Adjuster
VTA can be adjusted precisely and infinitely using a large diameter calibrated dial. A further advantage is that all adjustments can be carried out above the arm-board (unlike lower arms in the range which demand access below the arm-board).
Azimuth Adjustment.
Falling Weight Side Bias
Tests show this to be the highest performing method of achieving side bias. It has lower friction, better constant force and lower resonance than other alternatives such as magnets, springs, levers and twisted threads.
Internal Wiring
is ultra-low loss Silver Hybrid-S version producing greater transparency, detail and freedom from artefacts.
Silver-plated Headshell Clips
At such low signal levels, electrical interfaces can be heard and silver marginally outperforms gold.
External Cable is 1m Silver Hybrid-S version
A groundbreaking design with high-grade single point RCA plugs fits directly into your phono-stage or amplifier. This cable outperforms most on the market up to, and over £4000. It is described fully in the cable section of the website but suffice to say that even alone, it has produced a level of improvement which has kept many a listener up into the late hours re-listening to their record collection.
Rhodium-plated Single Point RCA Plugs
After testing numerous high-end RCA plugs these were selected for their outstanding performance. Single point contact has the advantage of reducing eddy currents and Rhodium with its ultra-smooth surface seems to provide a better interface for electrical joints.
The Music Room price matching...
The Music Room price matching...
We are an official Origin Live dealer and offer the best UK prices. If you have seen this product cheaper elsewhere, Let us know; we will match or beat any price.
RETURN & REFUND POLICY
The Music Room enjoys a 40-year tradition of customer care and at time of writing, full 5-star Google reviews. In addition UK customers enjoy the legal rights of mail order and distant selling.
We have exported happily for many years and most probably have happy customers in your country who will confirm our reliability and refund in the event of mishaps.
Refunds can only be made by the same payment form and to the same account to avoid possible fraud or money laundering.
SHIPPING INFO
UK Shipping:
We use DHL as a result of their careful and reliable service. Their customer communications and tracking are reliable.
Europe, EC, and abroad:
For every despatch we use a professional broker to organize the fastest and highest quality shippers, and we normally use DHL or FedEx depending on territory. Our broker monitors the documentation and Customs Clearance carried out by these two reliable carriers.
Above 30kg:
For UK and overseas we use pallet shipping which is a professional service and avoids risks of mishandling and loss. It is not expensive under our contractors and worth a quote.