Tonearms by Kuzma
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The 4Point series is our most popular seller – both in the Kuzma line as well across all of the tonearms we carry.
Kuzma manufactures a broad range of arms, from the world-beating Safir-9 released in April of 2022, the linear tracking Airline, and an expansive range of the Stogi model variants.
We are authorized dealers for all Kuzma products.
As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. The information can overwhelm many, and we can guide you through selections that are relevant to you.
While we've highlighted the 4Points on this page, click the above photo to link to Kuzma's site for details and specifications, of all of their arms.
A special 4Point - the "Hybrid".
Scroll down for details of a collaboration between Galibier and Franc Kuzma. Testing of the Hybrid is complete.
About the Safir-9 ...
Released in April of 2022, the Safir-9 is an extremely high mass design, but it's about much more than mass when matching cartridges to tonearms, and the Safir's bearing make it compatible with a broad range of cartridges you would expect to be too compliant to be a good match.
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Note that the Safir is a 9" arm. We've contended for quite some time, that length is the last consideration you should make when selecting a tonearm.
Bearing design, energy mitigation strategy, and mass considerations are much more important.
While the subject of a lengthy blog post, know that our position is that 12" arms should in general be reserved for low compliance cartridges. Of course, there's an exception to every rule, but in general, designing a long arm for compatibility with medium compliance cartridges compromises other elements of the design - especially energy management and bearing loading.
Finally, we feel a vindicated in our advocacy for our Hybrid-11 variant over the standard 4Point, due to the direct, simplicity of the bearing. Compare the simplicity of the Safir-9 with 4Point-9's bearing architecture (the 4Point-9's bearing is specified for the Hybrid).
While the 4Point-11 and 4Point-14's bearing tower is a marvelous piece of engineering, removing the design constraint of a VTA on the fly architecture frees the genius of Franc Kuzma to improve the design further.
Think of the difference between a race-tuned rally car vs. a GT. Both have their advocates, and the Safir and 4Point-9 have stripped away elements that don't directly contribute to performance, while still being engineered for ease of setup.
Click to jump directly to a section of interest
Features (common to all 4Points)
- Interchangeable headshells.
- Tonearm wire run is continuous from the cartridge clips to RCAs/XLRs, the 5-Pin DIN connector, or the junction box, depending on termination options (see below).
- Solid headshell fixation to the arm tube, unlike universal, removable headshells (Jelco, Ikeda, Ortofon, etc.)
- Azimuth is repeatably fine adjustable via a rack and pinion screw adjustment with laser etched markings. We comment a about it’s precision and ease of use in this blog post.
- Repeatable VTA adjustment. VTA is adjustable “on the fly” with the 11″ and 14″ models, and via a support screw mechanism on the 4Point-9.
- Multiple wiring & termination options.
Kuzma CAR-60 Cartridge Shown
The 4Point 11" and 14" models have an offset bearing structure which facilitates on-the-fly VTA adjustment. The 4Point-9's bearing has repeatable adjustment, but it is not on-the-fly.
Connectors, Termination and Wiring
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Continuous Wire Run
All three 4Point models have a continuous run of wire through the arm wand to the cartridge clips.
This is unlike any other tonearm with a removable headshell that we're aware of.
This rear view photo shows the strain-relief point where the cable exits arm tower.
All three 4Point models employ this technique, and this is also consistent across all of the termination options.
Shown is the "Single Wire" termination which is Kuzma-speak for a continuous run from the cartridge clips to the RCAs or XLRs.
Rear Strain Relief
5-Pin DIN Termination
The 5-Pin DIN termination is as you'd expect, and the DIN connector located inside the strain-relief barrel.
Supply your own tonearm cable, or of course, we're happy to build a Wind River tonearm cable for you.
Biwire termination is a bit of an oddity. A short run terminates at a junction box. The output side has both a hard-wired interconect, as well as female RCA jacks.
At one point, Kuzma offered an RCA termination box version of this, but it is no longer in their catalog.
Kuzma has a habit of removing unpopular items from their catalog, even though they are still available. Contact us if you're interested in this option.
In both cases, you'll need to anchor the box to your turntable base.
Biwire
Connectors and wire
Connectors are:
- RCA termination: either KLE or ETI (depending on tonearm model).
- XLR termination is by Neutrik
Standard wire is Crystal Cable Silver/Gold. Cardas Clear (litz) and Kondo Silver are optional.
Nördost and Crystal Cable Mono-crystal are no longer available.
The 4Point Hybrid
4Point Hybrid
This is our name for a collaboration with Franc Kuzma, and you can read the two part series about its development over here.
This arm isn't for everyone, but the more we live with it, the more this has become our favorite Kuzma. We like simplicity.
The theory is quite simple: mount a 4Point 11" wand to a 4Point-9 bearing tower. Why bother?
We’ve been fielding more requests for tonearms to mount on custom bases fabricated for idler and direct drive turntables.
Many of these bases were designed for longer tonearms, and the 4Point (11″) and 4Point-9 both have a “short” mounting distance - like that of a 9″ tonearm (212mm).
Mounting an 11" wand to the 4Point-9 bearing extends the mounting distance by 52mm - to 264mm.
We intentionally photographed the arm on a prototype armboard to show the extended mounting distance beyond the 212mm mounting point for a 4Point 9" and 11"arm.
Summary and Recommendations
Which 4Point?
Firstly, as far as length is concerned, we're with Frank Schröder on this: don't fall into the trap of prioritizing the audibility of lower tracing error of long tonearms. Use cartridge compatibility and energy management (vibration dissipation) as your main criteria.
We have a love for our Hybrid variant, but it's not for everyone. In our two part series about it, we mention its plusses and minuses in detail.
For most individuals, the decision centers on one key point: cartridge selection.
The 4Point-9 and 11 are both compatible with the typical range of cartridges most individuals would select. In spite of its 14 gram effective mass, the 11" variant works well with cartridges as compliant as Van den Hul, and the Lyra family most definitely benefits from the 11's energy management.
We reserve our recommendation of the "14" for those individuals who know they'll be exclusively running low compliance cartridges.
The "9" vs. "11" is a more difficult choice, and we can walk you through this individually, once we better understand your needs.
Termination:
The standard, Single-Wire termination (unbroken signal path between the cartridge clips and RCAs/XLRs) is generally regarded as the preferred termination.
In developing the 4Point Hybrid, we took the opportunity to experiment with extensive comparisons between the straight-run and 5-Pin DIN termination options, and the results surprised us.
While the single-wire (straight run) offers theoretical advantages, a high quality DIN connector offers a system tuning option that may help you to better tailor your analog front end. We’d much prefer tuning with a cable vs. having a cartridge change imposed on our customers.
Contrary to our expectations, no one in our listening panel heard any degradation in an arm terminated with a 5-Pin DIN connector (vs. straight run from cartridge clips to RCA/XLR).
The one option we recommend against however, is the bi-wire. It introduces additional complexity (where to mount the junction box) as well as the possibility of RFI interference entering your system. Antennas are good for radios and not tonearm cables.
Contact us for the best choice for your application.
Wire
Kuzma’s wire, the Cardas Clear, and Kondo silver are all excellent choices, and we struggle with recommending one over the other.
Kuzma began offering alternatives based on customer demand, and not because he found the Crystal Cable to be lacking in any way.
If pressed on the matter, we’d give a subtle nod to the Cardas Clear, but as usual with wire, we're hard-pressed to make absolute statements.
These preferences could easily change, depending on your system, and this is the key reason we’ve returned to favoring 5-Pin DIN termination – so you’re not locked in to your wire choice.
Delivery Times:
The 4Point-9 and 11″ in single-wire termination with Crystal Cable Silver/Gold are typically available for immediate delivery. Other combinations typically have a 4 week lead time.
The 4Point Hybrid
Contact us for details about this unique 4Point.
Pricing
Below, are retail prices (effective, April, 2022) for the most popular 4Point options.
Contact us for your price.
Model | Termination | Wire | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
4Point-9 | Single Wire | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 5,696 |
4Point-9 | 5-Pin DIN | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 5,434 |
4Point-9 | Single Wire | Cardas Clear | $ 6,485 |
4Point-9 | 5-Pin DIN | Cardas Clear | $ 6,250 |
4Point-9 | Single Wire | Kondo Silver | $ 7,825 |
4Point-9 | 5-Pin DIN | Kondo Silver | $ 7,580 |
4Point-11 | Single Wire | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 9,260 |
4Point-11 | 5-Pin DIN | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 9,025 |
4Point-11 | Single Wire | Cardas Clear | $ 10,275 |
4Point-11 | 5-Pin DIN | Cardas Clear | $ 10,040 |
4Point-11 | Single Wire | Kondo Silver | $ 12,070 |
4Point-11 | 5-Pin DIN | Kondo Silver | $ 11,838 |
4Point-14 | Single Wire | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 13,477 |
4Point-14 | 5-Pin DIN | Crystal Cable S/G | $ 13,243 |
4Point-14 | Single Wire | Cardas Clear | $ 14650 |
4Point-14 | 5-Pin DIN | Cardas Clear | $ 14,307 |
4Point-14 | Single Wire | Kondo Silver | $ 16,680 |
4Point-14 | 5-Pin DIN | Kondo Silver | $ 16,481 |
