The Korf Tonearm now available for preorder

PSAF

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Jan 18, 2019
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This is a guy I follow and share on my two Facebook groups Dr Feickert USA and DS Audio USA. Mr. Alex Korienkov, if you are looking for quality affordable tonearm or head shell check him out, I just ordered the tonearm and I have two of the head shells, highly recommended, one of my Korh HS-A02 ceramic headshells in the pic below

https://korfaudio.com/blog86

https://korfaudio.com/

 

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Addicted to hifi

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This is a guy I follow and share on my two Facebook groups Dr Feickert USA and DS Audio USA. Mr. Alex Korienkov, if you are looking for quality affordable tonearm or head shell check him out, I just ordered the tonearm and I have two of the head shells, highly recommended, one of my Korh HS-A02 ceramic headshells in the pic below
https://korfaudio.com/blog86
https://korfaudio.com/
Congrats on the new tonearm.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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Anyone got one yet, or waiting? The blog would suggest the first round of orders have been sent out.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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The first batch were all sold pre order, the price of the full production version hasn’t been announced but I’d assume it will be higher than the €1500 to €1720 cost of the first batch. There are a series of blogs about its development on their web site but those early orders were a gamble. The order book was closed in November 2021.

Here’s an extract from Korf’s latest email.

”The only thing we did in those last two months was building and shipping the first batch of the tonearms. We will start the full production this autumn.”

I’m interested to hear if anyone placed their bet and whether it paid off.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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Well I have my deposit down for one from the second series, not sure which deck to put it on yet. I have a MK2 Rock which I’ve used with a Rega 300 with the damping trough/paddle and an Aro without or a Lenco 75 but that still needs a plinth and I may yet be tempted to go PTP. It probably won’t be going on the Artemis until it’s proved itself elsewhere and I’d need an armboard.
 

Holmz

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Apr 19, 2022
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I did find that the Korf head shell seemed like a magic trick to knock down some sibilance on my table.

I was thinking about the arm, but I ended getting a second hand CB-9 a few months back.
But I would be interested in how they perform.
 

XV-1

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May 24, 2010
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Does this tonearm actually exist yet?
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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No reports have appeared from anyone who’s actually got their hand on one that I can find but there’s a headshell that’s been around for a while that seems well received.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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It’s been a somewhat mythical beast so far but here’s one in the matal.

IMG_0930.jpeg

Just out of its cardboard slip case, I’ll pause to read the manual before going any further.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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IMG_0949.jpeg

A couple of days in and the Royal N is loving its new home, possibly more than it liked the Schröder with brass carrier.

A couple of criticisms, the plastic clip marks the arm tube after not much use, not that I’m too bothered but others might be, and as it’s a relatively high mass arm is there enough bias adjustment for an SPU Classic GM(E) running at 4g?

I’m using the Ortofon cable but connecting the ground tag to my phonostage seems to turn it into an aerial, whether it’s connected to the arm or not and it’s picking up some irregular clicking and at night a Spanish radio station, not to mention the alarming racket that ensues if I leave the volume set and turn the light on in the garage at the other end of the house. I’ve not had this problem with the captive cable of the Schröder or the Aro’s original cable.
 

Yeti

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Dec 25, 2020
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I’ve cycled through the Royal N, Transfuration Proteus and now an SPU Century (there was still one left in a German dealership). With that last I’ve replaced the Ortofon Cable with a Lyra Phonopipe. I still can’t connect the ground wire as I was hoping, in fact it sends the superline into oscillation with a bit of provocation for reasons unknown but leaving it hanging doesn’t seem to be a problem. It’s a lot easier to hear when the loading’s optimised with the Phonopipe and the Century is sounding magnificent loaded with 100? playing a bit of Friedrich Gulda Beethoven.
Time will tell if the bias setting limit of 3 will cause the cartridge any problems tracking at 3.95g, with the Royal N I settled at a bias of around 2.7 when tracking at 3g as best as I could assess it so I think the scales a little conservative at the upper end but I’d like a bit more.
 
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Sbeehive

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Oct 6, 2023
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The first batch were all sold pre order, the price of the full production version hasn’t been announced but I’d assume it will be higher than the €1500 to €1720 cost of the first batch. There are a series of blogs about its development on their web site but those early orders were a gamble. The order book was closed in November 2021.

Here’s an extract from Korf’s latest email.

”The only thing we did in those last two months was building and shipping the first batch of the tonearms. We will start the full production this autumn.”

I’m interested to hear if anyone placed their bet and whether it paid off.

His blog is great stuff. I took a bet somewhere between the first and second run. I had a quick change in circumstances - I lost out on a dream-table ( a 5000 dollar Kuzma Stabi Reference ) and decided to pursue learning how to create music instead of listening to music as a result. When it came time to finalize the order, I felt too guilty to cancel, I didn't want to do that to a small business. It also helps that the creator himself is a pleasure to deal with and will freely talk analog audio and field questions for you even if it has nothing to do with his arm.

My Technics SL-1210 G had a few issues. The biggest issue, for me, was that despite its great slam and amazing attack the high end was very shrill. Voices were noticeably sibilant. The bottom end also had a wierd bloat to it. This combination worked well for Rock music - but trying anything like Andreas Vollenweider or Ray Lynch was ear-splitting. It also was insanely unforgiving to any kind of surface noise. The stock Technics tonearm seemed to pick up an unusual amount of it compared to other tonearms I've tried (Jelco TK 850S, Sorane TA-1, Kuzma 4 Point 9).

Using an Ammonite Audio Technics SL 1210 G arm-board made installation extremely straightforward (also a great vendor - they sent me a free set of mounting screws for the G when I upgraded from the GR). It felt practically fool-proof when you use the recommended JIS screwdriver.

Setting the arm up itself was a joy. The tonearm height setting looks primitive at first but actually works quite well. The locking collar is much, much more pleasant to use than every other tonearm I've ever owned, I despise the set-screw solution digging into other arms. For this arm, the ring (clamp) simply tightens around the arm and doesn't blemish the tower. I was pleasantly surprised, and somewhat astonished, that his overhang gauge actually works quite well. Azimuth setting is equally simple, this time the setting is done at the tower instead of the headshell which is a much more pleasant and less fiddly experience than I was accustomed to.

Was there anything difficult with setup? Absolutely. The arm is basically frictionless, and you need to be careful when setting anti-skate. I left mine on 2 when first trying to set the arm up and quickly learned that was not a great plan. After getting over that brain-fart, It tested well with my Wally-Skater. With my Hana ML, the arm performed ideally at roughly 1.5 of anti-skate set. The 1210 G is kind of cramped to begin with, so unlocking the arm to set proper height can be a pain. Once I realized you can unlock the tonearm lifter, this became much less of a chore.

I told Alexey this , " The Korf tonearm TA-SF9R took the fun-but-flawed sonics of my expensive direct drive table and turned it into a show-stopper. It eliminated the sibilance, made the high-frequencies pleasing and accurate, and was able to keep the bass,slam, and PRAT intact. Everything is both more accurate to the source material and simultaneously more pleasing which is hard to achieve in audio. The Korf TA-SF9R probably represents the best value in hi-fidelity audio, easily besting tonearms that cost several thousands more with smart engineering and elegant execution. "

I will say this as well, I forgot to mention it cured the low-end bloat the table was suffering from as well. Imaging is shockingly better with this arm.

Were there negatives? Sonically, I don't believe so. Cosmetically, you do lose the ability to use the stock dust cover, which is dissappointing. Apparently, Alexey tried to get it to work with a smaller counter-weight but the sonics suffered. I for one will take enhanced sonics any day of the week. Tapping the plinth was slightly more audible with the Korf Tonearm versus the Technics (both are audible) - however I noted absolutely no noise when stomping on the ground without having a great isolation solution at the moment (I'm using sorbothane feet under the Technics feet as well as under the lowest model Isoacoustics board).

I noted no grounding issues from installing the arm (these is a grounding wire that disconnects from the Technics arm, I reconnected it using my own wire, I wonder if that could have been the cause of another user's issue noted above). I am using balanced cables to a Lino C, which feed a Mjolnir 3 and my Ether 2 headphones I evaluated the table with.

Forgive the stream of consciousness here, I am certainly no audio-reviewer. Take that for what it is worth. For me, I think the arm is incredibly special and deserves consideration. It turned a dissapointing purchase into something special. I feel that in hi-fidelity audio it is hard to find something that enhances virtually every aspect of your listening experience without either breaking the bank or having severe compromises in some area. This arm is an achievement.
 

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Yeti

Well-Known Member
Dec 25, 2020
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France
My grounding issue isn’t due to the Korf arm as it’s still there with the cable unplugged from it and it’s the same using the Ortofon or Lyra cable. I just leave the ground wire hanging and ignore it, for now.

There’s more to this but not in this thread, I’m still delighted with my Korf.
 
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PSAF

Well-Known Member
Jan 18, 2019
23
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64
His blog is great stuff. I took a bet somewhere between the first and second run. I had a quick change in circumstances - I lost out on a dream-table ( a 5000 dollar Kuzma Stabi Reference ) and decided to pursue learning how to create music instead of listening to music as a result. When it came time to finalize the order, I felt too guilty to cancel, I didn't want to do that to a small business. It also helps that the creator himself is a pleasure to deal with and will freely talk analog audio and field questions for you even if it has nothing to do with his arm.

My Technics SL-1210 G had a few issues. The biggest issue, for me, was that despite its great slam and amazing attack the high end was very shrill. Voices were noticeably sibilant. The bottom end also had a wierd bloat to it. This combination worked well for Rock music - but trying anything like Andreas Vollenweider or Ray Lynch was ear-splitting. It also was insanely unforgiving to any kind of surface noise. The stock Technics tonearm seemed to pick up an unusual amount of it compared to other tonearms I've tried (Jelco TK 850S, Sorane TA-1, Kuzma 4 Point 9).

Using an Ammonite Audio Technics SL 1210 G arm-board made installation extremely straightforward (also a great vendor - they sent me a free set of mounting screws for the G when I upgraded from the GR). It felt practically fool-proof when you use the recommended JIS screwdriver.

Setting the arm up itself was a joy. The tonearm height setting looks primitive at first but actually works quite well. The locking collar is much, much more pleasant to use than every other tonearm I've ever owned, I despise the set-screw solution digging into other arms. For this arm, the ring (clamp) simply tightens around the arm and doesn't blemish the tower. I was pleasantly surprised, and somewhat astonished, that his overhang gauge actually works quite well. Azimuth setting is equally simple, this time the setting is done at the tower instead of the headshell which is a much more pleasant and less fiddly experience than I was accustomed to.

Was there anything difficult with setup? Absolutely. The arm is basically frictionless, and you need to be careful when setting anti-skate. I left mine on 2 when first trying to set the arm up and quickly learned that was not a great plan. After getting over that brain-fart, It tested well with my Wally-Skater. With my Hana ML, the arm performed ideally at roughly 1.5 of anti-skate set. The 1210 G is kind of cramped to begin with, so unlocking the arm to set proper height can be a pain. Once I realized you can unlock the tonearm lifter, this became much less of a chore.

I told Alexey this , " The Korf tonearm TA-SF9R took the fun-but-flawed sonics of my expensive direct drive table and turned it into a show-stopper. It eliminated the sibilance, made the high-frequencies pleasing and accurate, and was able to keep the bass,slam, and PRAT intact. Everything is both more accurate to the source material and simultaneously more pleasing which is hard to achieve in audio. The Korf TA-SF9R probably represents the best value in hi-fidelity audio, easily besting tonearms that cost several thousands more with smart engineering and elegant execution. "

I will say this as well, I forgot to mention it cured the low-end bloat the table was suffering from as well. Imaging is shockingly better with this arm.

Were there negatives? Sonically, I don't believe so. Cosmetically, you do lose the ability to use the stock dust cover, which is dissappointing. Apparently, Alexey tried to get it to work with a smaller counter-weight but the sonics suffered. I for one will take enhanced sonics any day of the week. Tapping the plinth was slightly more audible with the Korf Tonearm versus the Technics (both are audible) - however I noted absolutely no noise when stomping on the ground without having a great isolation solution at the moment (I'm using sorbothane feet under the Technics feet as well as under the lowest model Isoacoustics board).

I noted no grounding issues from installing the arm (these is a grounding wire that disconnects from the Technics arm, I reconnected it using my own wire, I wonder if that could have been the cause of another user's issue noted above). I am using balanced cables to a Lino C, which feed a Mjolnir 3 and my Ether 2 headphones I evaluated the table with.

Forgive the stream of consciousness here, I am certainly no audio-reviewer. Take that for what it is worth. For me, I think the arm is incredibly special and deserves consideration. It turned a dissapointing purchase into something special. I feel that in hi-fidelity audio it is hard to find something that enhances virtually every aspect of your listening experience without either breaking the bank or having severe compromises in some area. This arm is an achievement.
Very nice, Thanks for the update and very good description of the improvements, I wish I would of kept mine and worked out the issue I had with the noise, it probably was due to grounding. I had just upgraded to a DS Audio system and was recouping some funds.
 
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