D 12,50 € ■ A/IT/BENELUX 14,40 € ■ CH 20,60 SFR ■ S 151 SKR

04/2016 ■ 5. Jahrgang ■ Juli/August 2016

HIFI UND MUSIK26

ABSOLUTE FIDELITY | EQUIPMENT – ANALOGClearaudio TT5

STRAIGHT
TO THE
POINT

licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

By Helmut Hack. Photos: Ingo Schulz

Many an analog fan dreams ofowning a perfect, tangential
tonearm. And with the new TT5
from Clearaudio, that dream
just got a lot closer.
▶

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TONEARMF I D E L I T Y № 2 6 — 0 4/ 2 0 1 6163

ABSOLUTE FIDELITY | EQUIPMENT – ANALOG

Zero-crossings lose their fear factor
as soon as they no longer occur in pairs.

Tlicensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

angential pickup istheoretically the bestprocess as it is not
subject to the tracking
angle error inherent inradial tonearms. It isn’t necessarily
zero degrees, as often claimed, but isroughly zero degrees or so close thatthe difference is negligible, provided
that the cartridge has been properlyadjusted. However, tangential arms
do have one real disadvantage: Even
just the basic, entry-level models areextremely expensive. One of the serious alternatives up to now has been
the Clearaudio TT3, a “real snip” atjust EUR 3,000. But it’s now got somecompetition from within the same
company: The new “small” TT5 isalready changing hands for two grand.
For that, you get a very high-quality
interpretation of the principle, which
was introduced by Souther back inthe 1980s. Clearaudio took over theAmerican company a few years laterand since then has been refining thedesign, primarily in terms of its choice

164of materials. The first generation of
the TQ-1 arm, in which the modern
Clearaudio TT2 unmistakably has its
origins, was still constructed in theUSA at the time. With the TT5, thisdesign of its dome, its superstructure
has been ditched and heavily reduced
but the way that it works remains
unchanged.
Even when you remove the (possiblyexaggerated) issue of the tracking
angle error with a tangential tonearm,on the other hand you encounter a
few new ones: The pickup must still
be moved as gently as possible over
the record. Back when this technology was in its heyday, in the 1980s, a
broad range of different types of control system with servomotors, chain
drive or cable pulls were devised, inshort, using active control. They all
had one disadvantage that couldn’t
be ignored: Corrective adjustments
were only ever made after the damage
had been done. The approach adopted
by Souther, or subsequently by
Clearaudio, to use the minimal ▶

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TONEARMF I D E L I T Y № 2 6 — 0 4/ 2 0 1 6165

licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

ABSOLUTE FIDELITY | EQUIPMENT – ANALOG

ACCOMPANYING EQUIPMENT
Turntables: Technics SL-1200GAE (incl. tonearm), Feickert Analogue
Firebird | Tonearms: Mørch DP-8, Brinkmann 12.1 | Cartridges:
Clearaudio MC Essence and Da Vinci, Ortofon Quintet Bronze and2M Black, Audio Technica 50ANV | Phono preamplifiers: LehmannBlack Cube Decade, MFE Tube One SE (integrated) | CD player:
Revox C221 | D/A converters: Canever ZeroUno, PS Audio Digital
Link III | Preamplifier: MFE Tube One SE | Power amplifier: DNM
PA3S | Integrated amplifier: Genuin Straight | Loudspeaker:
Steinmusic Masterclass SP 1.1 | Cables: Audiophil, Musical Wire,
MFE, DNM | Accessories: Steinmusic, Sun-Leiste, Hannl, Audiophil

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© FIDELITY Magazin

EUPHONICSONOROUSFIDELITY Navigator:
Clearaudio TT5
A puristic, easy to use linear
tracking tonearm—definitivelya best buy.

AGILE

licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

TONEARMANALYTICAL
CHALLENGINGINTUITIVE

tracking force of the groove itself, i.e.
to enable more passive pulling thanactive pushing, in contrast seemed
theoretically more harmonious.
However, the tracking force needs tooverpower the frictional resistance ofthe arm guide with as little effort aspossible.
With all Clearaudio tangential arms,
a carriage, which carries the system,runs in a pipe-shaped glass collar on
two small-diameter metal rollers.
Glass is more suitable than aluminum or steel here because it is tough.
Gemstone would potentially be evenbetter but would drive the cost up.
The inward pulling force of the groove
spiral alone guides the carriage overthe side of the record. For this tohappen, the round bridge needs to be
perfectly horizontally aligned. At its
base, two little screws adjust the horizontal like a see-saw until the bubble
in the integrated spirit level is exactly
in the middle. Previously you chose
one of the round tracking weights
and placed it approximately on theactual thin arm tube (it’s a few finger
widths longer than a system razor)
and determined the vertical pickup
angle. Unlike with pivot tonearms,

F I D E L I T Y № 2 6 — 0 4/ 2 0 1 6

A component is 100% intuitive if you can
exploit its potential to the full intuitively.

The TT5 resists the softened
production that is Nashville’s style,is not lulled but remains alert andemphasizes contours.

with tangential tonearms the counterweight can be extremely far away fromthe bearing point in order to offset atleast some inertia for wavy records,
which generally present a challenge
for tangential tonearms with a static
tracking force.
Neither setting a TT5 up nor adjusting
it is more difficult or challenging thandoing the same to an average pivot
tonearm. It’s just that other variables
come into play. Sweaty hands are athing of the past when it comes toadjusting the system because it isinstalled using two half-inch holes in
the headshell. Even zero-crossings
lose their fear factor as soon as theyno longer occur in pairs. The fact that
there is no skating force finally meansthat there is no need for any darnanti-skating. Hurray! Plug & Play!
– OK, not quite. Since the cartridge
has to be guided to the center axis ina straight line, the guide arm has tobe exactly parallel to that imaginaryline. Extreme precision is required
here as, because there is only one“racing line” in relation to the tonearmbase, the smallest of errors in the final
execution could wreak havoc. Here’s
a practical tip: If you measure a gap of

64 millimeters between the tip of thestylus and the front edge of the carriage twice, the rest takes care of itself.
In the end, it’s worth paying some attention to the cable running from theheadshell to the base, where it merges
into a very flexible cinch or XLR line.
Although it is very flexible when it
bends, it does actually offer at least
some resistance. Carefully bending it
into shape can result in some subtle
improvements in sound, translating
into a more fluid and free playback.
Don’t worry—it doesn’t have to fit
perfectly right at the start. Instead, it
can be improved as you go.
In its standard design, the TT5 cannot
be moved above the turntable and you
have to navigate the record throughthe gap. If you’re very careful with it,then I don’t see any real problem but
I don’t want to imagine what would
happen if the pickup inadvertently
floated over the turntable or you werea little heavy-handed or overzealouswith the record. Oops, too late. Clearaudio sells a swing base as an accessory for any clumsy or anxious folk out
there. It replaces the standard tonearmbase and, as the name clearly suggests,
can be turned so that you▶

167

ABSOLUTE FIDELITY | EQUIPMENT – ANALOG

TONEARM

can pivot the TT5 from the record likea radial arm. It does involve an extra
maneuver with your hands but does
make the whole process safer.
Opinion is divided when it comes tothe right pickup for tangential arms. I
think that this is due more to the software than the hardware. With even
only slightly undulated records, anMM system with a high level of compliance has the edge, but if you are using level, clean discs, more expensive
MC pickup cartridges with low stylus
compliance usually deliver higherresolution. The TT5 worked finewith all the cartridges used in the test
but clearly worked better with somethan others. As such, the MC Essence (FIDELITY 2/2016) fromthe same company was a fantastic
match; the Concept MC, from which
it is derived, presumably provides a168

similarly good result. In conclusion,and taking the price into consideration, it’s even a better match than themore expensive but also excellent DaVinci, although it’s more smoothly
suspended than the Essence. In theTT5, Clearaudio’s oversampler failed
to reach its full potential. Maybe
the Essence’s larger own weight had
something to do with it. However,that’s a presumption, as is sayingthat the lower output voltage of theQuintet Bronze (FIDELITY 4/2014)is responsible for making me feel thatthe 2M Black was a tad better in theTT5. Both Ortofon systems have been
locked in a riveting head-to-head contest for my affection for almost twoyears now, yet I still don’t have a realpreference. In arms such as the Mørch
DP-8 (FIDELITY 4/2015), which
support extreme high-resolution/

high-definition, in most cases theQuintet is slightly nudging ahead, in
more heavily colorful varieties suchas the Thorens TP92 (FIDELITY
5/2015) however the 2M Black isable to stand out by demonstratinga certain spirited enthusiasm andcolorfulness. Despite that, it’s hard to
make any clear predictions because,
although the TT5 is markedly neutraland tends towards slender playback,when combined with Ortofon’s MM
it sounds wonderfully balanced andcaptivatingly thrilling. My constructedargument about the output voltage is
supported in this context by the factthat the combination with the Audio
Technica 50ANV also does not quiteachieve the openness as, for example,
in the Brinkmann 12.1.
Irrespective of the large selectionof cartridges, let me try to▶

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licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

The TT5 worked fine with all thecartridges used in the test but
clearly worked better with somethan others.

licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595
ADVERTTONEARM

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clearaudio electronic GmbH
Spardorfer Straße 150 | D-91054 Erlangen | Fon: +49.9131.40 300 100 | Fax: +49.9131.40 300 119 | info@clearaudio.de | www.clearaudio.de
Made in Germany | Nur im autorisierten clearaudio Fachhandel erhältlich.
www.analogshop.deHarderweg 122549 Hamburg

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Tel. 040-4011303-80

info@audio-components.de

www.audio-components.de169

THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND THE TT5
Before a glossy vinyl record slides out of the lined record sleeve,
the disc must be cut. At the start of this process, the cut is in alacquer or copper foil using a tangentially (i.e. at a 90-degree angle
over the entire side) guided cutting stylus. A radial tonearm cannot, however, adopt a straight path over the disc. It always depicts
a semicircle (Thales circle) which has the result that the cartridge
reads at max. two points of a disc side, the zero points, in exactly
the same direction as the groove was cut in. At all other points
there is a variable tracking angle error—some people also call it170

the “tracking error angle”. But it means the same thing. Therefore,
in theory, there is a greater risk of distortion, however in practicepivot tonearms work very well. The latest analog developments
question more and more just how much of an influence the slightest malpositioning of the stylus really has. However, owners of atangential arm don’t have to worry about this exhausting discussion as it no longer affects them. With a tangential tonearm, theangle of the pickup is always in sync with that of the cutting stylus.
Logically speaking, there’s no competition.

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ABSOLUTE FIDELITY | EQUIPMENT – ANALOG

licensed for: Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße 150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Telephone +49 1805 059595

TONEARM

The inward pulling force of the groove spiral alone
guides the carriage over the side of the record.

present the TT5’s tone quality in somedetail. The words “Digital recording” appear on the cover of Passion,
Grace & Fire, but it’s an unnecessary
statement since you can clearly hear
it for yourself. The album recorded
by de Lucía, McLaughlin and Di Meola was released two years after theinfamous Friday Night in San Francisco and presents the three exceptional
guitarists in competitive spirit. In thefuriously fast race over two sides of thesame vinyl, you could clearly interpretautoerotic tendencies. But to interpretis not the job of the TT5. It is the model of neutrality and presents the musicians accurately side by side. It makes
light work of keeping pace with thecrazy tempo and also naturally portrays
the very essence of the acoustic guitars
despite the undeniable sharpness ofthe recording. On the same vinyl, withthe DP-8, John McLaughlin uses hiselbows in the middle, as the maestroof all categories he fights his way more
into the spotlight, which broadens theF I D E L I T Y № 2 6 — 0 4/ 2 0 1 6overall stage; his companions stand alittle further from the loudspeaker.
Willie Nelson’s Yesterday’s Wine issimilarly overshadowed by morefamous albums, but sounds warmer,
with deeper three-dimensionality; incontrast, the three guitarists play as
if standing in front of a blank canvas.
Sufficient reverberation under Nelson’s
voice gives In God’s Eyes the impressiveness that enables run-of-the-mill
pearls of wisdom to transform into profound knowledge. The TT5 resists thesoftened production that is Nashville’s
style, is not lulled but remains alert,emphasizes contours, even if the music,
the next track here being Family Bible,
gets artistically out of hand.
The Clearaudio TT5 sounds, as I expected of a tangential arm, very clean,neat and neutral, with clarity, accuracy and a clear line. Its handling andworkmanship are definitely impressive,
especially with the optional swing base.
Its reasonable price alone makes it anexceptional purchase. ■Tonearm

Clearaudio TT5
Functional principle: Tangential pickup | Drive:mechanical | Finishes: Aluminum black or silver with
fixed cable (cinch or XLR) | Special features: resonance-optimized chassis construction, high-precision,
extremely smooth-operating and dry-running ballbearings, swing base (optional accessory) | Weight:
560 g (aluminum clamping ring 60 g) | Dimensions(W/D/H): 20/14/15 cm | Warranty period: 5 years |Price: €2,000
Clearaudio electronic GmbH | Spardorferstraße
150 | 91054 Erlangen, Germany | Phone +49 1805059595 | www.clearaudio.de171