Vertere - SG 1 Super Groove - Tonearm

The Vertere SG-1 MkII Tonearm provides unsurpassed performance in its class.

To achieve breath-taking musical performance, the Vertere SG-1 Tonearm utilises a combination of quality materials including roll-wrapped carbon-fibre, stainless steel, aluminium alloys and silicon nitride. Its unique bearing design and versatile anti-skate adjustment make it an ideal partner for any high-quality turntable.

Why SG-1 Tonearm?

• SG-1 Tri-Point Articulated bearing eliminates loss of information.
• Non-resonant, high-rigidity roll-wrapped carbon fibre arm tube.
• Bias-curve adjustable anti-skate mechanism.
• Decoupled stainless-steel main counterweight.
• Adjustment ring for fine-tuning of tracking weight and arm/cartridge resonance control.

SG-1 TPA tonearm bearing

The unique Tri-Point Articulated (TPA) bearing is comprised of three precision silicon nitride balls and stainless pivot. The pivot point centred between the balls provides flawless support and articulation.

TPA eliminates bearing point ‘skating’ and allows the stylus to track the most delicate pieces of information that are typically lost with uni-pivot designs. This ensures accurate play back due to the strict adherence of the stylus to the record groove.

SG-1 Tonearm tube & headshell

Roll wrapped carbon fibre is used in the construction of the arm tube. This provides higher strength and more homogenous fibre structure than a Pultruded or moulded equivalent.

The head-shell is machined from aluminium alloy and connected to the arm tube via structurally bonded alloy end insert. Naturally non-resonant and higher strength to weight ratio of this configuration provides the optimum cartridge platform.

Aluminium Bearing yoke and stainless pillar

The bearing pivot is structurally bonded to the aluminium alloy yoke. The yoke assembly provides the support required for the arm tube, the main counterweight and the anti-skate mechanism.

The pivot point and the counterweight centre of gravity are vertically positioned to be as low as possible. This in turn retains the tonearm in its most stable position.

Bearing Transit Screw & Counter Weight Locator

SG-1 tonearm transit screw will prevent any accidental damage to the precision Tri-pivot bearing during shipping. And the counterweight locator will ensure accurate repositioning of the counterweight and eliminate the need to setup the Tracking Weight & Azimuth again.

Arm/Cartridge resonance frequency & fine tracking weight adjustment 

An adjustable and de-coupled stainless ring allowed to move along the arm tube provides fine tracking weight adjustment.

The relative position of this ring and of the main counterweight can also be used to alter the arm/cartridge resonance frequency and optimise play back performance.

SG-1 Tonearm Main Counterweight

Attention to detail is clearly seen in the polished stainless steel counterweight and peg.

Two pairs of silicone de-coupling rings are neatly sandwiched between three machined Acetal retainers to provide the necessary grip for location and the required isolation of the counterweight.

SG-1 Tonearm Pillar Holder and Clamp

Precision machined from Acetal the SG-1 Tonearm Pillar Holder and Clamp utilises a Tri-point fixing method and provides the tonearm/cartridge with the required interface to the record player.

Internal Wiring & Contact Connectors

Both the cartridge tags and the 5-pin connector pins are designed, machined and gold plated to our exact specifications for the SG-1 tonearm. The 5-pin connector main body is also machined form solid PTFE for its superior di-electric characteristics. There are two options available for the internal wiring of the SG-1 tonearm:

• Standard Pulse Wiring
• Reference Hand-Built Pulse Wiring 

Technology

Vertere Reference Tonearm is a milestone in vinyl replay. Its design, build quality and attention to detail have provided us with performance that is second to none. Of course such quality comes at a price.

It was only natural to ask if by a parallel, albeit different, approach to design could we develop a much more affordable tonearm that was similarly capable of breath-taking performance? This was the beginning of our journey that has led us to the introduction of the Vertere SG-1 TPA Tonearm.

At first sight the SG-1 Tonearm may come across as a uni-pivot, it is in fact anything but a uni-pivot. A uni-pivot will ‘skate’ about on its bearing point of contact when it is moving side-to-side and up-and-down. This is because there is no such thing as a point.

In reality, the bearing contact point is an extremely small surface. And because of this there is always some ‘skating’ at the contact point. Although the ‘skating’ or ‘chatter’ may be in fractions of microns but so is the magnitude of some of the information stored in the vinyl groove.

To eliminate this ‘loss’ of information due to unwanted bearing chatter, we have designed a Tri Point Articulated bearing or TPA. Three silicon nitride precision balls and a precision machined pivot point provide the support and the articulation for the arm. Although the tonearm may appear to behave as a uni-pivot, it is however, without any of the bearing ‘chatter’, preserving as much of the signal information as possible. The result is a life like dynamic response with unexpected clarity, musicality and detail – truly unparalleled.

Technical Specifications

Type
Tri Point Articulated

Effective Length
240mm

Overhang
17.5mm

Offset Angle
22.9°

Head-Shell
Aluminium Alloy

Arm Tube
Wrapped Carbon Fibre

Bearing Yoke Structure
Aluminium Body

Bearing Type
Captive silicon Nitride Ball (x3) Precision

Counter Weight
Stainless Steel
Stainless Steel T/W Adj. Sleeve

Internal Wiring
Optional
Pulse Hand-built or Standard

Connector
Proprietary Cartridge Tags & 5-Pin
x3 Thickness Gold Plated Contacts

Tonearm Cable
Optional
Pulse Hand-built, Pulse-R, Pulse-B or D-Fi

Weight
397g