UK-based Connected Fidelity has introduced the CF-1010, a 9-inch tonearm that uses titanium construction and precision bearing design, priced at £3,499. The arm is available to order now, either as a standalone upgrade or as part of the company’s TT Hub turntable package.
Why Titanium?
The CF-1010 features a curved titanium arm tube with an integral headshell design. Why titanium? It comes down to the strength-to-weight ratio. A tonearm needs to be infinitely rigid but light enough to track delicate groove modulations. Titanium offers immense stiffness, but it can be prone to “ringing” if not managed correctly.
Engineering out the noise
Ideally, an audiophile tonearm would be a single, continuous piece of material from cartridge to counterweight to eliminate joints. However, different parts of the arm have different mechanical requirements. Connected Fidelity’s solution is an integral headshell, machined from aluminum, that is inserted into the titanium arm tube.
The junction uses a specific, cryptic material designed to absorb the acoustic energy that travels up the arm from the cartridge. This hidden damping layer stops resonance from reflecting back down the tube and muddying the sound.
Pre-loaded single-point bearings
When I was researching my first tonearm, one word surprised me: “bearings. It was astonishing to me how something so small could have so much effect on a product. Nonetheless, I found out that there are two main types of bearings, gimbal bearings and unipivots.
Gimbal bearings are stable but have higher friction. Unipivots have vanishingly low friction but can suffer from “wobble” (azimuth instability) that makes listeners nervous.
Note: Azimuth instability is inconsistent or incorrect horizontal positioning.
The CF-1010 attempts to solve this with a pre-loaded single-point bearing.
It uses a super-hard sapphire cup and a hardened steel tip. However, unlike a traditional “wobbly” unipivot, the bearing is magnetically or mechanically pre-loaded (stabilized) to eliminate jitter and chatter
For those of us who dread the setup process, you’ll be pleased to know that VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle) and azimuth are fully adjustable. The mounting geometry follows the industry-standard Linn mount.
The finishing touches
The internal wiring consists of pure copper Litz wire, cryogenically treated to align the crystal structure, a detail that suggests Connected Fidelity is leaving nothing to chance. The anti-skate mechanism avoids the complex springs found in some rivals, opting instead for a classic, reliable hanging weight system.
Specifications and availability
- Arm Tube: Grade 2 seamless drawn titanium
- Bearing: Pre-loaded single point (sapphire/steel)
- Headshell: Integral aluminum with resonance damping interface
- Wiring: Cryo-treated pure copper Litz
- Mount: Linn geometry
- Effective Mass: Medium (suitable for most modern MC cartridges)
Price: £3,499
More information is available at connected-fidelity.com.
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