In a word, materials. Once again, OL cite superior alloys used for the tonearm tube, bearing yoke and counterweight stub. Not only more expensive, they are far harder to machine and finish, but they do have a significant impact on the ‘arm’s mechanical behaviour, resonant characteristics and musical performance. In fact, Origin Live goes so far as to claim that the material used for your arm-tube is more important than your choice of cartridge – because that’s what define the mechanical behaviour of your cartridge. Without the two arms next to each other that’s hard to confirm. But, given just how easy such comparisons are (especially on a ‘table that will take two ‘arms) it would be a dangerous claim if it couldn’t be demonstrated. Either way, that question’s not the province of this particular review. I’m interested in what this record player can do in a wider market context, rather than the size and validity of the steps within OL’s product line.
With that in mind I installed an Orotofon SPU Royal N cartridge in the Aurora/Zephyr and hooked it up to the TEAD Groove SRX Mk.II – price appropriate partners that should stretch (but not break) its performance. Set-up is fairly straight-forward, even for those unfamiliar with the process, helped by the clear, succinct instructions. I think it is better to level and run the deck for 48-hours, before mounting the arm and cartridge. Measure the motor spacing (pulley to spindle) remove the belt, preserving its orientation so that it can be reinstalled the same way up and the same way round. Now you can clear the motor pod out of the way, allowing you to move and turn the plinth as required for installation and assembly.
Building up…
Lay out all the components and the supplied tools. First step is to install the cartridge in the tonearm and then the arm on the pre-cut armboard, taking care to fix an approximate height. Readers of a certain age (or anybody who has ever mounted an arm on an LP12) will recognize the P-clip used to anchor the armcable to the underside of the plinth. In this case, it really isn’t necessary to clamp the cable securely by compressing the clip. Simple friction is going to do the job for you. Levelling the deck is best done by first assessing its attitude and then setting the left-hand foot (as you look at the deck so that the level can be fine-tuned using the right-hand and rear feet. Why? Because those feet are way more accessible and easier to adjust without upsetting the overall position/orientation of the deck. All three feet should be loosened slightly, but vertical adjustment should be minimized so as to avoid the belt running too close to or dropping off the platter.
Finally, you can align the cartridge, set VTA, VTF and bias. Like many arms, VTA is a one-time setting. With record weights varying from 120g all the way up to 200g, with commensurate variations in thickness, you’ll need to fine tune it with a record that’s representative of most of those that you play. OL provide a simple, single-point protractor for cartridge alignment, with a nice tight spindle hole to help prevent slop at this critical point. It’s not the last word in cartridge alignment but is certainly fit for purpose. Likewise, the cardboard strobe disc for finetuning platter speed. VTF is set by sliding the de-coupled counterweight on the rear stub, a cost-effective if somewhat hit-and-miss process. It’s an approach employed by the majority of affordable tonearms, which balances sound quality against ease of adjustment. Making really small adjustments is tricky. Making them in a repeatable fashion is almost impossible. But it is worth persevering as precise VTF will have a profound musical impact. Bias is set using a straightforward falling-weight mechanism. It ain’t the perfect solution, but it’s still better than most of the over-engineered alternatives. All told, the arm is, unsurprisingly, an object lesson in affordable engineering and achievable set-up. I finalized VTF at 3.15g and cartridge loading at 168Ω.
