Kuzma 4 Point 11 Inch
Kuzma 4 Point 11 Inch
Tonearm
4 POINT 11"
Kuzma 4Point is an 11" long tonearm with a conical arm tube designed to minimize tracking error across the record. The arm pivot is offset from the main mounting tower which is adjustable for height and has a Linn compatible mount. This enables the arm to be fitted in the standard position for a 9" tonearm but with the advantage of the longer tonearm length.
The heart of the new 4Point tonearm is the 4 point bearing. The first set of two points allows vertical movement. The second set of two points allows horizontal movement. All four points have minimal friction and zero play in all playing directions thus ensuring the cartridge platform and the cartridge itself move with very low friction and minimal vibration across the record. The whole construction is mounted on a rigid VTA tower which allows VTA adjustment on-the-fly.
The armwand looks like a one piece design, but in fact has a removable headshell. The special connection is just as rigid as a solid tube arm.
Another unique feature is that the arm is BI-WIRED. There are 8 wires running to the cartridge. One set of 4 wires runs from the cartridge pins to the termination box and further along into 1.4 m long tonearm cable with silver Eichmann bullet connectors in one unbroken length. The second set of 4 wires runs from the same cartridge pins to the termination box to female Cardas RCA connectors, thus allowing use of any RCA plugged tonearm cable from termination box to phono preamp input. This gives so called bi-wiring on this tonearm. The 4Point can also be ordered as a single wire version for customers who do not want the bi-wire feature.
Standard cable is 1.6m New Silver Wire with Eichmann Silver Bullet plugs.
Specifications:
Mass: 1650g
Effective length: 280mm
Mounting Distance: 212mm
Offset angle: 19.5 degrees
Distance Spindle to pivot: 264mm
Effective mass: 13g
Bearings: 4 spikes
VTA Adjustment: Yes
Azimuth Adjustment: Yes
Bias Adjustment: Yes
Vertical Damping : Yes
Horizontal Damping: Yes
Cables: Bi-Wire
Arm Mount: Kuzma-Air Line 212mm
SME compatible arm mount available to fit Kuzma 4 Point tonearm to SME cutout.
Cartridge Compatibility: This tonearm is a medium mass tonearm and suits most phono cartridges. To find out if it is optimal for your cartridge you need to calculate the resonance frequency of the tonearm and cartridge combined. Check our Cartridge Selection webpage for information.
Reviews:
HiFi Plus review here.
HiFi Plus product of the year here.
Image HiFi review (in German) here.
Hifi Live review of 4 Point with Stabi Reference here.
Stereophile review by Michael Fremer here.
Micheal Fremer wrote after comparing the 4 Point to the Continuum Audio Labs Cobra and the Graham Phantom II Supreme tonearms:
"Comparing the Kuzma 4Point and Graham Phantom II Supreme on the Onedof clearly demonstrated that while these arms are both top performers, rivaling each other in terms of ultralow coloration and general detail retrieval, the Kuzma was simply faster, tighter, and more physically coherent, and its transient performance was ideal. It produced an experience like listening to open-reel tape, with imaging and soundstaging stability superior to those of any arm I've heard, including the Continuum Cobra.
The Cobra is a great arm, but the Kuzma 4Point is simply better - perhaps because, unlike the Cobra, it has horizontal and vertical damping. Combine the Graham's smoothness and coherence with the Cobra's speed and dynamics, and you have the Kuzma 4Point minus any of the Cobra's slight uncertainty." — Michael Fremer