Tonarms by Frank Schröder
We’ve been working with Schröder tonearms for nearly two decades, and have done our share of repairs.
We've recently issued several accessories - products every Schröder owner should consider. Click here for details.
We have yet to experience a tonearm that surpasses their faithfulness to reproduction of timbre and tone.
Custom Arm Rest
You have not heard an oboe properly reproduced until you have heard it played back through a Schröder.
Do you struggle with having to trade off rhythmic and dynamic presentation against ease, naturalness and beautiful tone? Your search is over.
Chamber music? Orchestral? Salsa? Jazz? Rock and roll? Bluegrass? No problem.
Whether you select the “standard” carbon fiber or ebony arm wand versions, or the limited edition wood wand version, you will not find a family of tonearms which are more consonant with music.
with Hana Umami Blue
Frank Schröder’s attention to detail and his grasp of the physics involved in ideal tonearm behavior is second to none.
Schröders are like a Formula 1 race car however, and require an experienced hand in setting them up. This is where we come in for you at Galibier.
There's quite a bit "under the hood" in a Schröder design - innovative features which belie the arm's external simplicity.
Many tonearms are designed without taking interaction with the entire analog chain into account.
One of the key distinguishing features of any Schröder design is how they mitigate the flaws of many turntable designs.
Refer to the "The Design" section below for details.
Click to jump directly to a section of interest
The Design
Bearing
If you know Schröder’s history, you remember the unique magnetic bearing principle for which he holds worldwide patents.
Frank didn’t leave well enough alone, and he developed an entirely new, radical technique to decrease friction in captive bearings.
Ebony Version
The CB (Captive Bearing) design employs hybrid ceramic bearings which:
- Have unprecedented low stiction/friction (2mg vertical, 3.5mg horizontal)
- Eliminate bearing chatter completely
- Guarantee constant rigid structural coupling and silent ultra-low friction movement
Energy Transfer
Frank is a systems thinker, and recognizes that tonearms can only operate in the context of their partnering components. The CB tonearm is designed with defined physical zones which focus vibrations away from key areas.
- A dual section counterweight with an adjustable damping system allows tuning of structural vibration absorption and signal reflection.
- The various zones reject vibration conducted from the cartridge, through the mounting plate, as well as those originating from other turntable components (motor, chassis/base, bearing), along with airborne vibrations.
- This results in a stiff, balanced mass which is structurally coupled to the chassis. It effectively eliminates external excitation by generating equal forces to all sides of the arm.
- The multi-layer arm wand exhibits extreme torsional and bending stiffness (using carbon fiber and other composites). This prevents any signal reflection back into the cartridge.
Dynamic Stability
- The vertical bearing axis is on the same plane as the record, so the arm is immune to warp wow effects.
- The geometry and mass balance maintains constant tracking force when altering VTA.
- Lateral movement is damped by eddy current induction.
- Symmetrical mass distribution around the central bearing axes prevents external excitation, preventing unwanted cantilever deflection.
Miscellaneous
- The wiring harness has extremely low dielectric losses, allowing for use of any MM cartridge with proper capacitive coupling to the phono stage.
- Symmetrical layout of the conductors prevents RF and EMI entering your preamplifier.
- Magnetic anti-skating – dynamic compensation for the varying skating forces across the record.
History
This CB arm design was formerly built under license by Artemis Labs in California, and is now manufactured by Thrax.
A limited production version with a custom wood wand and wiring is crafted by Frank.
Features and Specifications
All Schröder CB arms (both production and limited edition arms built by Frank) share the following features:
- Magnetic anti-skating is adjustable via hex screw at base of the arm
- VTA is adjustable via set screw, with calibrated center post to allow for repeatable settings
- Azimuth is adjustable at the arm wand
- Dual section counterweight allows for fine tuning damping, and a small sub-weight allows for easy fine tuning of tracking force
- Eccentric mounting architecture (M6 pivot bolt) allows for minor correction of drilling (mounting) errors
Carbon Fiber Version
Specifications
Specs below are for the production tonearms. Limited edition arms (built by Frank) can be specified as long as 305mm, and are wired with his proprietary wire (much too difficult to assemble in a production context).
Notes:
- Carbon fiber version has nickel plated (silver) counterweight.
- Ebony wand version has gold plated counterweight.
Feature | Description |
|---|---|
Arm wand type | carbon fiber, ebony |
9" nominal length | effective length: 239.3mm |
11.2″ nominal length | effective length: 282mm |
Effective mass (9″) | 14 g. with standard plate |
Effective mass (11.2″) | 18 g. with standard plate |
Mounting | 24-25mm center bore, with single M6 mounting screw |
Bearing stiction/friction | 2mg vertical, 3.5mg horizontal |
Wire | High purity copper, 1.5m standard length |
Pricing
9″ (239.3 mm effective length):
- carbon fiber wand: $5,325
- ebony wand: $5,750
11.2″ (282mm effective length):
- carbon fiber wand: $5,575
- ebony wand: $6,000
Limited Edition arms (built by Frank):
- pricing varies due to options
