AshKTURNED ON AUDIO of Onehunga is now the NZ agent for Schick tonearms.
The man behind Schick is Thomas Schick, a designer who’s created his tonearms to meet a very specific need – he wanted an arm that could handle classic heavy, low compliance cartridges like the Ortofon SPU or Denon 103 along with medium compliance designs, but using modern, high quality bearings. People who use such classic cartridges are usually forced to buy vintage tonearms, such as the Ortofons and the SME 3012. Such vintage arms are often heavily worn, and even NOS examples don’t possess bearings in the same class as those available today. By using super close tolerance (zero micron positive, 7 micron negative) bearings designed for continuous use at 100,000 rpm, the Schick arm is in another class from its ancestors.
The Schick arm is designed for heavy cartridges, meaning those with VTF of at least two grams, and that mitigates the need for antiskate (although this is available if customers need it). It comes in two versions, one shorter for the universal headshell or SPU G type, and one longer for the SPU A type square headshell. The 12-inch transcription length is ideal on Garrards, Thorens etc, and the 9.6-inch version can be used on most other turntables, and is in fact a direct drop in replacement for the EMT929.
The armtube is aluminum, damped internally with a combination of materials. Thomas selected the material and damping methods for the arm by using his ears and doing many listening tests. The rest of the arm is solid machined brass. A high quality arm lift in included, and VTA is adjustable via allen screws. The arm is terminated in flying leads with RCA connectors and a ground wire. A version dedicated for mono playback is also available.
The first units are on their way, with RRPs to be confirmed upon arrival.
