Magnify vs Universal Tonearm
 

After a few years with a VPI Classic 3 and 3D tonearm (Lyra Delos cartridge), which sounded great by the way, I finally got fed up with the fiddly unipivot design of the tonearm. So I'm trading it in plus some cash for a Clearaudio Ovation. The Ovation will be used with my Lyra Delos cartridge and comes with a Satisfy Carbon arm, but I'm thinking I should upgrade the arm and just stop the upgradeitis now. The radial arm choices (I'm thinking that the linear arm will be fiddly as well) are the Magnify and the Universal tonearms. The question I have for you is whether you have experience with these arms and which you feel will be the better choice for me - trust me, I'm aware of the price difference. Thanks, Chris.

I have the Universal and love it. Can't compare it to the Magnify, but I love the Universal. I'm thinking about adding a second arm and will either go with a linear or the Universal again.

I should note that there is another new radial Clearaudio arm called the Tracer that I guess could be viewed as an upgrade but I know nothing aboit it.

I totally agree! I also have the Universal arm and love it. I have not really had much experience with their other arms. I will say that the sound of the Innovation with Universal arm is superb. The Universal arm is not in any way fiddly.

I would look and see what turntables your dealer has displayed. If you see something you like, ask if he wants to sell the demo. I have done this in the past and gotten a great piece I could not otherwise afford. I have found it is cheaper in the long run to get the best I possibly can afford. Then I don't feel the need to upgrade later. You might want to consider a used Innovation Compact with Universal arm. This is a really nice table with the same magnetic bearing and electronic speed control as the regular Innovation.

Believe me I've been searching for deals and found a great deal on the Innovation Compact - but it didn't have the Universal Arm and didn't give as good a trade in. Plus I got a hinky feeling about the dealer. I know that the Innovation Compact is great, but the Ovation shares the same technology in a more conventional format and I don't need the ability to run an extra tonearm. So I don't think there will be that big a difference in the sound and I'd rather spend the money on the better arm. I really wish I could find an SME dealer online that would do a fair trade, but that's a pipe dream for now.

I travel to Europe a lot and everyone is an SME dealer over there. Not so much over here.

I know, it's a classic line of tables and arms that are really terrific - but I don't see them much here. Linn has seemingly disappeared here too (not that I miss their snooty sales approach) and where the heck has Avid gone? It's like a lot of the premier British brands have abandoned this market.

Sorry to read your comment about Avid. I know that they have been broadening their range of electronics and speakers, so the turntables have been left to sell themselves, almost. Added to which, they were ‘built-right’ from the start, so haven’t needed constant updates which would have meant more up to date reviews raising people’s interest and dealer participation.

Just looked at Avid’s website. NO US dealers in their Where To Buy section... Very surprised.

Look under Avid Turntables USA.