I have no comments on the wand, but I do think fingerlifts serve a very useful purpose, I first encountered an arm without one thirty years ago when I bought my Roksan Artemiz, being younger I made it work, but when I got that Artemiz rewired and started using it again on a regular basis the first thing I bought was a fingerlift, likewise for my SME IV, I want to cue accurately and also want to protect the expensive MC carts on my arms from my old eyes and fingers.
Compared to my Technics SL1200G, Origin Live Illustrious, Linn Akito and Rega RB800 tonearms, there’s is no difference in manual cueing speed, accuracy or stylus visibility with the Wand Deluxe. The only differences in stylus visibility and tonearm handling with any of these tonearms are related to the cartridge design and tonearm bearings. Some cartridge designs position the front end of the cantilever in a more forward position. Unipivot bearings feel inherently wobbly until you get used to it after a few plays. Front fingerlift or side fingerlift makes no difference to cueing speed or accuracy.
I find this mildly amusing, given the vagaries of the hobby we're in. For goodness sake, most people looking for material value-for-money when spending about $5k would probably buy a car. How's that for getting lots of highly engineered 'stuff'? Seen how much people spend on cartridges? This is an old discussion. If we're put off by the notion that very simple materials and careful implementation can provide the musical bliss we're after, perhaps we need to reconsider our audio toy choices accordingly. No one is forcing us to buy any one item over another! And the balance of choices made by a designer represent, in part, the art of this hobby which may or may not appeal to one person or the next. For my part, I'll be seeking an audition and if tempted to make a judgement, will make it with my ears.
I update this thread for asking some listening experiences from who uses or directly experienced this turntable.
Heard it last week in Auckland at a special event, used with all variations of the arm, the Hana cartridges (including the Umami Red) and using the Pure Audio phono stage into a Luxman 509 and the latest Klipsch Cornwalls.
Simon came up personally from Dunedin to present the deck, arms and cartridges. I like Simon, he's a great chap. He presented at a dealership in Auckland.
The dealer is excellent and very hospitable. Thank you Rapallo AV. I like these guys and they like audio. And as mentioned, Simon is a gent. Straight out - I like the Wand tonearm. It works well with cartridges I like such as the Denon 103. It may be useful to note that I also liked the RS Labs tonearm I used to have (and stupidly sold) - which may surpass the Wand for perceived awkward handling. It remains an itch I have on my 'To Scratch' list. I do not and have never liked Hana cartridges of any form. There's nothing wrong with them. There's just nothing right with them to my ears either. We heard the EH IIRC), ML and Umami Red. I find the whole signature too 'bloodless' and anodyne but I fully accept my taste and choices are not similar to others. You'll find me on the Denon, Ortofon, EMT, Shelter, Pierre Clement, etc fleshy side of things. Sonically they are very competent, however. And the arm presented them well. 14-4 turntable: We had a brief presentation of different parts of the deck. The platter, the plinth, the motor, the foot design, choices around the physical arrangement and locations of null points (vibrational) and how they intersect with the passage of the cartridge across the deck. It seems nice enough. This is the second time I've auditioned it at a dealership and I *still* don't know what to make of it. Is that self-effacing but competent sound a strong point? Don't know. The tonal presentation and midrange acuity was really very good. The treble seemed filigree and cleanly resolved. The overall sonic presentation seemed very stable, for want of a better word. Depth was portrayed well. Bass, didn't convince but that has quite a lot to do with the room interactions, layout, and other considerations. But I just can't seem to get excited about it all. I wonder if the whole deck is just too controlled and misses out on vinyl's sweep and grandeur? Personally, I think I would get a better idea of the 14-4 deck if I heard it in an all tube system to rule out the effect of the Pure Audio EQ phonostage. And come cartridges I actually prefer! I'm familiar with the Luxman and the Cornwalls. I'm still processing what I heard and - more importantly - how it left me feeling.
If you watch Yutube videos about the Wand there is a bit more to it than a simple plank of plywood. I would think that the other aspect to designing, making and selling something like a turntable must be production numbers and overheads. It’s probably easier for a bigger household name to offset these costs for a new product. I see plenty of punters on here praising some of Rega’s more expensive decks, which don’t look particularly complex in their design or construction. At the end of the day the value will be judged on how well it performs in the right system with complementary components.
You can overcome the limitations of the arm's idiosyncratic finger lift by attaching a tress of string. Upwards-pointing string works much better than standard rigid finger bars.
This reminds me of the Top Gear episode when Jeremy attaches a log to the back of his car to act as a make shift handbrake. Stopping the car from rolling backwards on hills......we all know how that one ended
I've been using a tress of cord as my sole cuing device for more than two years on many tens of arms. So reliable, comfortable and safe has this simple mechanism proved, that I allow my nine-year-old to cue and retrieve a borrowed My Sonic Lab Eminent on an eleven inch arm without anxiety. The tress makes it very unlikely that you will put damaging downforce on the cartridge because it bends and folds as shown in the picture above. It also means that you can make sure the stylus is in the groove before you let go, so it guards against the cartridge falling off the edge of the world into damnation. At the end of the record you can get a good grip before lifting, so it reduces the odds of sending the cartridge across the label on a noisy and perilous expedition to the pole. It is much more comfortable to cue with your palm facing down, and to grip a vertical line between thumb and forefinger, even for right-handers. Resistance to this simple, cheap, comfortable and safe solution seems to come mainly from those who haven't tried it. It really isn't anything like Clarkson's log. Of course, people used to laugh at umbrellas until they were the only ones getting wet ;-)
I have been a user of the WAND PLUS 10.3" tonearm for the last 9-months - having removed our (mint) LINN ITTOK LVII on our hot-rodded LINN LP12. Our family don't watch TV - we don't even own a TV! Instead, we listen to vinyl. Needless to say, our vinyl rig is very important to general family life. I have to say that none of us were prepared for the gob-smacking improvements that the WAND PLUS brought to the "table". At the opening moments of listening to the WAND PLUS - newly installed on our LP12, my wife and I had a "snap" moment. Immediately, we both described the new sound as "utterly effortless!". I can assure you that based upon the WAND PLUS' hi-tech, carbon-fibre, go-fast, race-proven aesthetics, this was not expected at all. The fact is that the WAND PLUS is the most relaxed, organic and natural sounding tonearm I have ever heard. Even our cheapest cartridge - the humble DENON DL-110 - sounded like a champion. Typically, we swap between SHELTER 501/2 and (more recently) DENON DL-103R low out MC cartridges - and the WAND PLUS lets you hear exactly how they differ. [Frankly, they both sound sensational - but the big DENON is a great match and an absolute bargain!] I wanted to chip-in on this thread to set one thing straight. The WAND - in all of its various iterations - definitely has a finger lift. It is the nose of the arm that provides this manual lift point. It took a few days to get used to it, but now, I find manual cueing as easy as it ever was on our LINN ITTOK. I think it is because the nose of the arm is centred exactly in-line with the stylus, that makes the whole manual cueing thing so instinctive. Worth noting too, that the nose protrudes forward quite a way beyond the cartridge, providing plenty of real estate for careful fingers to grasp. Finally, I should mention that as good as the WAND PLUS sounded on our LINN LP12, we were in for another shock when we removed the LINN springs and grommets and replaced them with AUDIOSILENTE SILICONE MUSHROOMS. (ASM) I now regard the ($100) ASM upgrade to be THE most important upgrade for good sound from the LINN LP12 - yes, even more important than the (important) sub-chassis upgrade! If you'd like to read all about the "Springless LP12" here are a couple of good links. LP12 updates… 3 years later… (3) The Springless LP12 | HiFi Haven Enjoy!
