Well Tempered
Lab produces musical turntables designed for the utmost in audio quality. Also available from Well-Tempered are tonearms -- the moveable part of a turntable that transmits the pickup and allows the needle to trace the record groove. There are, in particular, three tonearms -- the Well Tempered Reference Arm, the Well Tempered Classic V Arm and the Well Tempered Record Player Arm.
Tonearms
Well Tempered's CEO, Bill Firebaugh, began toying with tuner tonearms back in the mid-1980s. His goal back then, as a member of Ford Aerospace, was to create a more ideal tonearm. He pursued this goal by first refuting Poul Ladegaard, who insisted that the ideal tonearm would combine a low mass with a greater dampening factor. Firebaugh discovered that this is false -- that tonearms with too little mass actually reduced dampening, thus causing the metal-to-metal bearings to chatter more. Thus, he realized that the best way to improve tonearms would be by removing the bearings.
Well Tempered Reference Arm
As of the date of publication, the latest in the Reference Arm series, the Well Tempered Reference Arm hosts the same basic design but features minute improvements that help enhance bass weight, midrange richness and neutrality. For instance, the carbon fiber arm tube is slightly larger in diameter with a more specific angular orientation that adds to radial stiffness. There's also heavy-walled, low-resonance two-piece internal dampening cup that lets the user fine-tune dampening without affecting other properties. Also included is a combined arm paddle assembly for greater rigidity, and more neutral wires.
Well Tempered Classic V Arm
An upgrade from previous generations, the latest installment of the Classic V Arm hosts a heavy-walled machined dampening cup, a carbon fiber arm tube, a one-piece paddle assembly and higher-quality, gold-plated RCA connectors. The biggest improvement is the incorporation of a headshell with more mass and a larger contact area. In fact, the latter makes the Classic V Arm a feasible upgrade from the Reference Arm. Additional components include integrated dampening, antiskate adjustments and a vertical tracking angle.
Well Tempered Record Player Arm
The Well Tempered Record Player Arm is the weakest among the three. It's also less expensive and therefore, according to Well Tempered, provides the "highest performance per dollar invested." Like its counterparts, it includes internal dampening adjustments, integrated anti-skating, a machined dampening cup and a vertical tracking angle. However, it lacks their additional upgrades, such as the higher mass headshell or the combined paddle arm assembly.
Tags: Well Tempered, paddle assembly, Record Player, Tempered Record, Tempered Record Player, Tempered Reference, Well Tempered Record