There are some audio manufacturers which are the epitome of an ‘in a single day success’; they hit the audio world seemingly from out of nowhere with a product that takes everybody unexpectedly. And often, that’s it; they vanish nearly as quick as they appeared. Kuzma isn’t that type of firm. Instead, Kuzma’s success is the results of years honing and perfecting extraordinarily good merchandise. The SAFIR 9 is the final word results of this on-going quest for perfection, constructing because it does on the strengths of present Kuzma designs and taking them to the final word in efficiency.
Let’s back-track just a little: 40 or so years in the past, Franc Kuzma give up his common job and, as the toughest of hardcore audio and music fans, delivered his very first design devoted to playback of the very best sounding analogue sound provider we name ‘LP’. It was a belt-driven turntable referred to as `Stabi’; its plinth and mud cowl body have been made out of stable oak, suspended subchassis out of mutilayered MDF, had a heavy aluminium platter/subplatter meeting, conventional bearing and the (then) notorious Philips/Impex AC motor as a primary driver. Main emblems of the design have been stability (therefore Stabi), freedom of reasonance, general structural and mechanical rigidity and good isolation and decoupling from airborne and different suggestions and interference.
Back to as we speak!
Guess what? In 2022, Kuzma has lengthy been one of many very main world producers of turntables, tonearms and something and all the things else associated to the LP analogue playback, his turntables nonetheless carry the title Stabi and – exact same design targets and rules will be attributed to each single considered one of his creations, albeit cooked to a significantly increased diploma of perfection with a lot expertise, data and pragmatic knowledge accrued ever since!
Kuzma neither designs nor releases new merchandise for the sake of historic alignment or regularity. Ever. But, when he does launch a product, the imposed (and achieved) aim shifts the constraints of the hitherto attainable into one other dimension. Time and once more this was verified and confirmed with overwhelming majority of Kuzma merchandise. But, what we have now right here and now’s all that and… a hell of much more.
Even earlier than contemplating and dwelling on the particulars of the design, development and execution, earlier than a single phrase about sonic efficiency – earlier than something – the brand new Kuzma SAFIR 9 tonearm, the principle and solely matter of this story, has, with no shade of doubt, shifted the identified boundaries and interested by tonearms normally. Why? One single phrase reply to the query in its entirety – Sapphire. A treasured stone with unsurpassed basic resillience and general diploma of rigidity; one that may be grown artificially into nearly any form.
Five years
It took greater than 5 years of laborious analysis and improvement to convey analogue LP playback to succeed in this stage. Numerous pre-production prototypes have been frequenting Kuzma’s personal reference audio system for over three years with fixed refinements and enhancements in each possible facet of a tonearm design. A really particular, customized made, tapered arm tube out of sapphire has been designed and put into actuality. Why sapphire? We all know it isn’t the lightest materials on the earth, so what may very well be so useful to outweigh some theoretical hindrances? Sapphire’s pure properties (learn: with out having to make it behave as required) are an nearly splendid inertia and insensitivity to a really excessive share of undesirable resonance mode and vibrations which, when noticed by the broad frequency response and pure harmonic construction of the music, find yourself with lots of distortion and different artifacts. In quick: components which noticeably cut back the flexibility of a tonearm to help a given phono cartridge to extract the nth diploma of musical data saved in grooves of a document; extracted accurately and with out lack of data.
Once the sapphire arm tube has been accomplished at each ends it’s fitted into a considerable ensemble of stable aluminium and brass blocks, including much more to the rigidity of the general construction and mechanically very quiet help to the arm and the carried out bearings.
Ah, sure, – bearings! As with all different Kuzma tonearms, the SAFIR 9 comes with the most recent and even additional improved proprietary multi-point bearing answer. A whole in-house design, they consist of 4 unbelievably sharp spikes machined to absolute perfection and resting in, equally so precisely made cups that are – shock, shock! – made out of sapphire! Friction-free lateral and vertical motion assured.
Rounding off the conceptual a part of the SAFIR 9 design, allow us to point out a twin part brass counterweight with lock mechanism which precisely and effectively balances the tonearm and any of the perfect phono cartridges to a desired vertical monitoring power.
Needless to say, VTA (vertical monitoring angle) is totally adjustable with the assistance of a particular software supplied with the arm. Azimuth can be very simple to regulate for the optimum channel steadiness and stereo separation with clear markings on the arm tube and primary meeting for repetitive settings.
In it’s customary specification, SAFIR 9 is equipped with a high-quality, 1.5m lengthy, single piece (from headshell cartridge pins to the interface with the phono enter) cable answer. The coronary heart of this association is a high-quality silver inside wire. As with all different Kuzma tonearms, different inside wiring and interfaces can be found as choices.
In spite of its comparatively excessive mass of 1250gms, Kuzma’s SAFIR 9 is conveniently appropriate with quite a few as we speak’s best possible decks; together with fairly a number of from the corporate’s personal vary of turntables. Its considerably increased than common efficient mass is of no (adverse) consequence for a complete synergy with any of essentially the most succesful moving-coil cartridges of as we speak and even yesteryear. If something, a accurately carried out efficient mass of a tonearm additional improves working situations and setting for a superb cartridge.
Only the very best
For this overview, the Kuzma SAFIR 9 tonearm has been put in to the Kuzma Stabi XL AIR turntable and the CAR60, flagship of the Kuzma MC cartridge vary has been used. Fitting, set up and setup has been easy and simple. Not solely does the SAFIR 9 retain the usual Kuzma arm base fitment, however arm tower for the XL AIR permits vertical adjustment itself which, on this occasion, additional assisted a superb vary for VTA changes.
I don’t wish to make it look like the Kuzma SAFIR 9 solely works within the context of Kuzma turntables and cartridges, nevertheless. Nevertheless, we have now seen one thing of a development in turntable design of late. In the time when it was simply ‘vinyl’ and never a ‘vinyl revival’, folks often used to pick a turntable from one model, and arm from one other and a cartridge from a 3rd. While the selection of cartridge continues to be very open, it appears many individuals as we speak go for utilizing the identical model for deck and arm.
Resetting the degrees
The unusual a part of the SAFIR 9’s efficiency is that it doesn’t sound such as you’d anticipate it to in any manner. It doesn’t pull collectively all the nice factors of previous masters, it doesn’t sound like an improved model of the very best tonearm in its class, and it doesn’t do an impression of one other model of arm (like a unipivot that ‘thinks’ it’s a parallel tracker). Instead, what it does is set up a brand new benchmark; limiting the impression and ingress of the tonearm like by no means earlier than.
Part of the rationale for the SAFIR 9’s success could be as a result of the efficient mass of the arm is 60g. Most trendy shifting coil cartridges have a compliance according to an arm weight about one-fifth of that determine. The result’s excellent bass efficiency, though it suggests a level of rigidity elsewhere; placing this arm on a turntable sitting on a wobbly flooring might be not a good suggestion!
However, in the fitting setting it delivers bass like no different tonearm; not ‘large’ or ‘bassy’ however exceptionally well-controlled but tuneful proper all the way down to the bottom notes. And from there, the SAFIR 9 reaches up the frequency band with the identical precision and musical integrity. This isn’t any small change, and arguably bass is without doubt one of the few locations the place digital audio exceeds the efficiency of analogue. The SAFIR 9 evens the rating; delving into the synth bass of ‘The Word Girl’ from Cupid & Psyche 85 by Scritti Politti [Virgin] provides a depth and readability to these deep, digital beats that’s often the stuff of CDs and downloads. Similarly ‘Wake Up and Make Love With Me’ by Ian Dury and the Blockheads from New Boots and Panties [Stiff] completely bought into the groove laid down by these excellent pre-punk pub-rock stars. Often with this album, when performed on vinyl, you appear to have a selection of ‘depth’ or ‘funkiness’; the SAFIR 9 is uncommon in that it affords each.
Good bass alone wouldn’t make the SAFIR 9 so profitable. But the muse stone of fine efficiency on the low finish units the arm up for excellent efficiency the additional up the frequency vary. Even in comparison with the very best, the SAFIR 9 is unexpectedly good. It has a cutting-edge sense of musical freedom and midband readability, all of the whereas delivering a sound with authority and extension. This is necessary as a result of in each different arm on the market, these components act in some type of dynamic steadiness; you commerce one off in opposition to the others. But not with the SAFIR 9, since you efficiently attain all factors of the compass directly!
Curiously, this sonic revelation isn’t one thing from which you drink deep, a minimum of at first. You end up listening to 2 or three records very well, then retiring to no matter Fortress of Solitude you like to consider what simply went on musically. Then, you come for an additional session. It’s as in case you can solely educate your self one or two albums at a time. Naturally, this fades and what’s left after the scrutiny classes is essentially the most great sense of musical order; abruptly they’re taking part in all the fitting notes and this time in the fitting order, Mr Preview! And then the orgy of music begins; you wish to hear each LP that ever moved you, that ever made you assume or faucet your ft, since you wish to hear what it actually appeared like, and normally, you’ll be impressed. Whether it’s a well-worn traditional like Moondance [Van Morrisson, WB], an outdated audio favorite like Making Music [Zakir Hussain, et al, ECM] or a long-forgotten again of the pile monitor like ‘Constant Craving’ by okay.d. lang [Ingénue, Sire], it’s like listening for the primary time, and re-evaluating all the things directly.
Taking it gradual
That final would possibly clarify the necessity to go gradual at first. Listening to tracks you’ve heard repeatedly (even ones you heard and saved within the assortment) is commonly simple if the adjustments are small, however when they’re as profound because the adjustments caused by the SAFIR 9, the training curve is as steep as it’s well-worth climbing. In fact, I’m at a little bit of a loss to explain these adjustments, as they’re profound and wholesale; it’s a bit like document taking part in simply bought an entire lot nearer to the studio, however with out the clichés that means. Everything is simply extra ‘proper’ than it has been earlier than. I performed largely jazz and rock as a result of most of my LPs are in these genres, however listening deeper to any type of music, the identical highly effective new fact utilized. This is resetting what is feasible in high-performance vinyl and that’s a heady wine!
I’m undecided the place to go after listening to the Kuzma SAFIR 9. It kind of destroys all you assume about turntables and turntable hierachy. Granted, the high-mass turntable and an immovable object of an tools stand are obligatory necessities for this tonearm, and people situations alone will show a turn-off for a lot of high-enders. But if these situations are in your vinyl purview, there’s nothing that comes shut. And given the present view of the turntable world (14” arm beats 9” arm, air bearing beats gimballed tonearm), the SAFIR 9 is disruptive know-how of the very best order. But all of that pales into insignificance while you sit down and simply pay attention. That’s while you realise this actually is the very best arm ever.
Technical specs
- Type gimballed tonearm with artificial sapphire armtube
- Effective Length 229mm (9 inch)
- Mounting Distance (spindle to centre of rotation) 212mm
- Offset Angle 23 levels
- Effective Mass 60 grams
- VTA Adjustment Yes
- Azimuth Adjustment Yes
- Bias Compensation/Adjustment Yes
- Internal Wiring Silver Alloy
- Overall Mass (Weight) 1250 grams
- Price £20,000
Manufactured by
Kuzma
UK Distributor
Definitive Audio
+44(0)115 973 3222
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