Tonearm
below typical
Among the 26 tonearms in the catalogue, this one is below typical.
A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.
Modified Rega RB330 with Michell damping treatments and rewiring.
Common upgrade for Rega and Michell turntables.
Assessed against 14 rivals across the sixty systems: 1 head-to-head won, 58 lost.
The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.
17 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Anchored brief, the Vertere Groove Runner X keeps the slot decisively.
With the Vertere DG-X Sabre Lite Pack, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamedTNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)
15 lost · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Romantic brief, the Technics S-shape magnesium tonearm (SL-1200G) keeps the slot clearly.
With the Technics SL-1200G, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamedTNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)
10 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Twin Arms
Against the Anchored brief, the ProJect Tonearm 8.6 Carbon (Debut PRO) keeps the slot decisively.
With the Pro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart), the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Pro-Ject Debut Pro (with cart) gives up mechanical hush under the Anchored weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamedTNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)
6 lost · Silent Path, Twin Arms, Vocals-First
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Encounter Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamedTNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)
2 lost · Twin Arms, Vocals-First
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Roksan Attessa Unipivot tonearm keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Silver Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Illustrious Mk5 keeps the slot decisively.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Onyx Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Alliance Mk5 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Rega RB330 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
1 lost · Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Technics S-shape aluminium tonearm (SL-1500C/CS) keeps the slot clearly.
With the Technics SL-1500CS (with cart), the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Technics SL-1500CS (with cart) gives up mechanical hush under the Silent Path weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamedTNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)
1 lost · Twin Arms
Against the Twin Arms brief, the ProJect Tonearm 9" Carbon/Alu (X2 B) keeps the slot clearly.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
1 lost · Vocals-First
Against the Vocals-First brief, the Rega RB880 keeps the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the weaker tonearm for that brief.
0 lost· 1 won · PRaT
Against the PRaT brief, the Michell TecnoArm 2 takes the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the Michell TecnoArm 2 is the stronger tonearm for that brief.
It sits well below the share of the budget this brief aims at the tonearm position.
RB330-derived TecnoArm with Michell modifications Michell TecnoArm 2 + heritage reviews· Timing precision
noticeably lower noise floor, surface noise tamed TNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)· Mechanical noise floor
fastest arm/cartridge combo, transients well handled TNT-Audio (Wheeler), 2005 (orig TecnoArm)· Transient attack
a little shrillness in the upper registers Hifi Pig (Smith) vs TNT (treble contested)· Presence & articulation
| effective length mm | 237.0 |
|---|---|
| effective mass g | 11 |
| bearing type | precision gimbal |
| cartridge mass range g | 4/11 |
| notes |