Vertere SG-II Pathfinder Tonearm

Vertere

Vertere SG-II Pathfinder Tonearm

Price
£13,500.00
Vertere SG-II Pathfinder Tonearm

Building on the critically acclaimed SG I PTA, the Super Groove II shares its sibling’s aesthetic style, but has evolved in almost every aspect of its design and performance. The SG II PTA achieves a groundbreaking new level of balance, precision, and connection with the record surface - a perfect upgrade option for owners of the SG-1 and RG-1 record players.

It may look similar to the SG I PTA, but Super Groove II Pathfinder Tonearm shares only three components with its sibling; the fine tracking force weight, the lift lower mechanism, and the silicon nitride triple bearing assembly. Every other element of SG II’s design and build has been carefully recalibrated to improve upon the SG I, and yield performance levels as close as possible to the flagship Reference Tonearm.

Weight distribution has been fine tuned to optimise the effective mass seen at the stylus tip - significantly reducing movement whilst elevating efficiency and information retrieval. To do this, key improvements have been made including a new titanium headshell that achieves better dynamic mass distribution, and a heavier dual-axis counterweight that's decoupled and fitted with adjustable outriders for enhanced azimuth adjustment. A new bearing yoke aligns even closer with the stylus tip, and a stiffer rolled carbon fibre tube improves the connection to the headshell and bearing yoke joints.

These, and many more nuanced improvements, mean the SG II PTA delivers an astonishing amount of musical detail - elevating the performance of your entire analogue source.

Tri-Pivot tonearm bearing

The unique Tri-Pivot bearing consists of three super-round silicon nitride balls, with an aerospace-precision Tungsten Carbide pivot at its centre. 

a black small cylinder shape on the left and a silver pointed object on the right that looks like a wizard's hat

The pivot point centred between the silicon nitride balls provides flawless support and articulation. The new Tungsten Carbide pivot is made and polished similarly to the RG-1 record player’s main bearing to deliver exceptionally low friction and noise.

Carbon fibre tube & headshell

Roll-wrapped carbon fibre is used to construct the arm tube, delivering a more robust structure. The new titanium headshell is optimised for dynamic balance - connected to the arm tube using a new, structurally improved bonded alloy end insert.

The black Vertere tube of with a cylindrical bit of metal one end and a flat rectangle of metal the other end.  Beside it is a piece of metal with shapes cut out of it.

Bearing yoke and Stainless Steel pillar

Tungsten Carbide bearing pivot is bonded to a new precision-machined aluminium alloy yoke. The pivot point and the counterweight’s centre of gravity are critically positioned relative to the stylus tip for super improved dynamic response.

A metal cyclinder with a black ring around it

Fine-tracking weight adjustment

An adjustable and decoupled stainless steel ring provides ultra-fine tracking weight adjustment. The relative position of this ring and the main counterweight can alter the arm/cartridge resonance frequency, optimising the cartridge's playback performance.

A close-up of the rear part of the tonearm showing the weight

SG Tonearm Pillar Holder and Clamp

The precision machined stainless steel pillar is held in place with a new, high-precision pillar holder and clamp to improve rigidity when coupled to the record player.

A silver metal cyclinder

Internal Wiring & Contact Connectors

The cartridge tags and the 5-pin connector pins are designed, machined, and gold-plated to Vertere’s specifications. The 5-pin connector main body is CNC machined from solid PTFE for its superior dielectric characteristics. Internal wiring utilises Vertere’s Pulse HB super-fine conductors.

A close-up of the front of the tonearm showing the cartridge and connecting cables

Bias-curve adjustable anti-skate mechanism

Anti-skate can be set variably across the record – for example, variable increase from the outside to the inner. Optimal results can be established by listening at the beginning, middle and end of a record and choosing the best performance across all three positions.

Specifications
  • Type: Tri-pivot articulated
  • Effective Length: 240mm
  • Overhang: 17.5mm
  • Offset Angle: 22.9°
  • Head-Shell: Titanium
  • Arm Tube: Wrapped Carbon Fibre
  • Bearing Yoke Structure: Aluminium Body
  • Bearing Type: 
    • Precision Captive Silicon Nitride Balls (x3) 
    • Tungsten Carbide point
  • Counter Weight:
    • High Polished Stainless Steel
    • Stainless Steel T/W Adj. Sleeve
  • Internal Wiring: Pulse Hand-built
  • Connector: 
    • Proprietary Cartridge Tags & 5-Pin
    • Triple Thickness Gold Plated Contacts
  • Tonearm Cable: veRum
  • Weight: 459g

Overall Rating