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The superbly made, finely finished pivoted Wheaton Tri-Planar IV Ultimate tonearm reminds me of the engine compartment of a Bugatti type 57—full of beguilingly beautiful shiny metal surfaces. The arm, designed and manufactured by Herbert Papier in Silver Spring, Maryland, demonstrates the careful attention to detail that renders a high-end analog product a work of art.

The Wheaton arm was introduced at the 1981 Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show and has since been continually refined, bringing it to its…

Analog sources included a VPI TNT Jr. turntable on a Bright Star base mounted with the Wheaton Tri-Planar, Graham Model 1.5t, or Clearaudio/Souther tonearms. Cartridges included a van den Hul MC-1 Super, Dynavector XX-1L low-output MC, Benz LO4, Fidelity Research/van den Hul FR-1, and Denon S-1.

Digital sources included the EAD 7000 Mk.II D/A processor and PS Audio Lambda CD transport connected via coaxial and AT&T optical connectors. Preamps were the Dennesen JC-80 Mk.II Gold, Boulder L5-AE, and Vendetta SCP-2A phono preamp. Power amps included…

The first review of the Wheaton Tri-Planar tonearm I can remember reading was in The Abso!ute Sound back in 1985. (Let me put that date in perspective for you: Wilson Audio's David Wilson then reviewed components for TAS, and Steven Stone reviewed records there. I had yet to write for any audio magazine.)

Over the past 12 years or so, both of the Graham and Tri-Planar tonearms have undergone extensive upgrading and refining; along the way, enough has been written about them to leave a paper trail stretching…

LP Source: VPI TNT Mk.3 turntable; Transfiguration Temper, Lyra Parnassus DC, AudioQuest Fe5, Grado Reference, Goldring Excel phono cartridges.
Preamplifiers: Audible Illusions Modulus 3A, Ayre K-3.
Power Amplifiers: VTL MB 450, Adcom GFA-5802, Conrad-Johnson Premier Twelve.
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo, Aerial Model 8, Sonus Faber Grand Piano; Audio Physic Terra subwoofer.
Cables: Yamamura Millennium 6000, Cardas Golden Heart, Yamamura Quantum, Electra-Glide AC cord.
Accessories: VibraPlane, Symposium Acoustics, and…

Back in late 1997, when I auditioned the Tri-Planar Mk.V Ultimate tonearm for my review in the February 1998 issue, designer Herb Papier asked if I knew anyone interested in taking over the company. Herb is getting on in years (he's an octogenarian), and while his mind was and still is sharp, his dexterity was slipping. I couldn't help him, but Dung Tri Mei, a young, enthusiastic analog fan (see "Analog Corner," March 2001), hooked up with Herb and bought the company.

The Tri-Planar Mk.VI Ultimate ($3250…

Architect Louis Henri Sullivan's maxim of "form ever follows function" is simple and elegant—a device or object should look a direct result of the design choices made to best serve the uses to which the device or object is to be put. Unfortunately, advertisers have for so long used the phrase to justify poor designs and arbitrary styling that it's become just another slogan.

The Tri-Planar Precision Mk.VII tonearm ($4950), on the other hand, is a perfect example of Sullivan's ideal. One look at it tells…

Description: Medium-mass, damped, fixed-bearing, radial-tracking tonearm with fixed headshell.
Dimensions: Effective length: 250mm. Pivot-to-spindle distance: 233.5mm. Overhang: 16.5mm, Headshell offset angle: 22°. Effective mass: 11 grams. Weight: 28 oz.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 2465 (1998).
Price: $1795 (1988); $2375–$2550, depending on termination (1995); $2710 including tonearm cable (1998); $3250 with 1m cable/RCA plug termination (2001); $4950 (2010). Approximate number of dealers: 50.
Manufacturer: Wheaton Music Inc., Wheaton, MD…

Three digital outputs for driving digital recorders are provided, two XLR and one Toslink. Two of the outputs (one XLR, one Toslink) are in parallel, selected by the record output selection feature described earlier. The signal being listened to…