Sorane SA-1.2 Tonearm
Highly versatile tonearm, machine-tooled and hand-assembled by skilled Japanese craftsmen. It features a precise detachable headshell and a gimball bearing design for excellent bass and imaging. The BCS version has internal silver wiring (including in the headshell) and allows to choose between negative and positive balancing.
Highly versatile tonearm, machine-tooled and hand-assembled by skilled Japanese craftsmen. It features a precise detachable headshell and a gimball bearing design for excellent bass and imaging. The BCS version has internal silver wiring (including in the headshell) and allows to choose between negative and positive balancing.
Highly versatile tonearm, machine-tooled and hand-assembled by skilled Japanese craftsmen. It features a precise detachable headshell and a gimball bearing design for excellent bass and imaging. The BCS version has internal silver wiring (including in the headshell) and allows to choose between negative and positive balancing.
“[...] the Abis SA-1.2 tonearm deserves my strongest recommendation. For LP enthusiasts who prize tone, touch, and timing above all else, I’d put the combination of Abis SA-1.2 and Denon DL-103 up against all but their priciest competitors; and for delivering the most of those performance characteristics for the least amount of money, it has few competitors.”
Sorane/ All handmade and hand assembled by craftsmen
Since the company's foundation in 1974, Katsuaki Ishiyama-san has established and accumulated extensive knowhow in the design and development of various tonearms and other analog equipment. Each piece is manufactured through a completely handmade and assembled process, based on his belief that fine-tuning can only be achieved through the precise and sensitive hands of skilled craftsmen.
Even though modern technology such as CNC milling machines is used at their plant for basic parts production, they still rely on the expertise of their craftsmen, particularly during the assembly process. This ensures that the numerous parts achieve ideal mechanical surface contact through meticulous hand-tuning and hand-adjustment.
Shared Features Amongst Sorane Tonearms
(a) Gimbal-bearing designs for excellent bass, dynamics and imaging, as well as unconditional azimuth stability (the biggest problem for unipivots).
(b) Antiskating
(c) Detachable headshells to allow quick changes of cartridges, the adoption of various mass headshells (to help change the effective mass of the arms and cartridges), and the ability to mount cartridges in a well lit area, in a safe and convenient manner.
(d) Machine-tooled and hand-assembled by skilled Japanese craftsmen. This highly skilled and delicate hand-assembly differentiates Sorane/Abis tonearms from similar mass-produced Japanese tonearms. Standard quality high-volume tonearms are produced by die-casting and semi-automatic assembly line processes to keep production costs low.
(e) Skilled hand assembly does not simply mean “combining the constituent parts by hand”. Skilled hand assembly involves measurement, adjustment and hand-fitting to produce optimal interface between machined surfaces. Once completed, the fitment between every part is ideal, satisfying the necessary conditions for vibration-free and noise-free reproduction of analog sound.
(f) Most importantly, the key to tonearm quality is highly sensitive and delicate motion, for which the bearings are the determining factor.
(g) Concerning the reproduced sound from these models: The designer is confident you will get precise and clean sound, which can only be had from hand-made tonearms, but at a very reasonable price with these arms.
(h) In particular, the SA-1.2 will produce rich and tight bass, coming from the extremely rigid rectangular shaped arm-wand.
(i) In SA-1.2, two sets of fine radial bearings are installed for both horizontal (set in the bearing stem column in this photo) and vertical (further small bearing at tonearm wand). This assures audiophiles of smooth tonearm function, greater longevity, better consistency, and enhanced ability to track warped vinyl.
(j) The same type radial bearing used in the SA-1.2 for horizontal motion is also used for the TA-1 and TA-1L, while a delicate pivot bearing is employed for vertical movement (this is still a bearing but the bearing axis end is cone shaped, and requires careful assembly and adjustment). The right side cone in this photo is inserted into the miniature bearing inner race.
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Whole Length: 310mm
Effective Length (Tonearm pivot - stylus): 239mm
Practical Length (Tonearm pivot - Spindle): 223mm
Overhang: 16mm
Offset angle: 22.25°
Horizontal moving sensitivity: 30mg
Vertical moving sensitivity: 20mg
Vertical Tracking Force (VTF) range (針圧): 0 - 3 g ( - 6g : With sub weight)
Cartridge + Headshell weight range (適応カートリッジ重量): 15 - 43 g
Height Adjustment（Plinth to arm wand centerline): 15 - 55mm
Vertical Bearing: Miniature Radial Bearing
Horizontal Bearing: Miniature Radial Bearing
Output plug: RCA (XLR : Option)
Output cable: Single core shield copper
Tonearm Audio Lead wire: OFC 4N Copper (Separate wiring in wand)
Headshell lead wire: Copper with gold plated terminal
Headshell: Machine tooled Aluminum
Azimuth control in headshell
Tonearm Net Weight: 750 g
Standard Headshell Net Weight: 17g
(*) : For more adaptable "cartridge + Headshell" weight than 28g, optional counter weight is available on cost base. (Values are subject to change)
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