Tri-Planar U12 Tonearm

A 12" tonearm that offers a 27% angular error reduction over smaller arms

Tri-Planar was founded by Herb Papier. As a young man, Herb played trumpet in amateur big bands and, later in life, owned a music store. In World War II, he received official recognition from the U.S. Navy for his expertise in chronometer calibration, a skill he continued to hone throughout his civilian career as a watchmaker. Eventually, Herb settled in Wheaton, Maryland, where he combined his talent for fine mechanisms with his love of music by creating one of the best tonearms the world has ever known.

The U-12 uses gimbal avionic bearings placed at record height, and a stiff carbon-fiber armtube. Like all Tri-Planar tonearms it is renowned for being utterly invisible, letting your cartridge truly shine.

Features

Carbon fiber wand with coaxial damping

Hand-polished components – rounded for resonance control

Larger silicone-fluid trough

Tonearm-rest integrated with damping trough for resonance reduction

Pure silver internal tonearm wiring

Avionic bearings

Damped head-shell

Clamping yoke design that firmly couples the arm-tube to the bearing tube

Bearings with hand-crafted, hardened, and polished needle cones

Bearings at record height

Progressive anti-skating design

Sophisticated system of decoupled counterweights

Specifications

Type: Gimbal avionic bearings

Effective length: 308.80 mm

Pivot-to-spindle distance: 295.6 mm

Overhang: 13.2 mm

Offset angle: 17.6°

Effective mass: 15 g

Bearing offset angle: 17.6°

Termination

1 Meter (39 inches) direct RCA or XLR

Longer cable available upon request

25 centimeters (10 inches) to Box Output F RCA

15 centimetres (7 inches) to DIN Cardas connector

(DIN to RCA or XLR cable NOT included)