This item is the latest addition to our collection of experimental transducer prototypes. What you see is a multi-layer miniature winding on a custom machined former, entirely made in-house at the Agnew Analog Research & Development Laboratory.

 

Over the past few years, we have restored a number of SME 3009 and 3012 tonearms, covering most of their variants made over the impressively long production life span of this model range.

This outstanding tonearm was first introduced in 1959, setting a standard for high performance tonearm design which is still hard to beat, 60 years later.

We have used our restored SME tonearms on a large number of reference reproduction systems, for our own use and for our customers, such as the Thorens TD160 project which was presented here last February. These systems are excellent for Quality Control in vinyl record manufacturing, to ensure that any defects are caught early.

They are of course also capable of offering an intensely enjoyable, accurate listening experience, coupled with an accurate cartridge.

Following up on the progress of the restoration work on a vintage Presto disk recording lathe and the Agnew Analog Reference Instruments Type 6021 Toolpost with integrated oil dashpot, as described in our previous episode, we are now presenting the complete suspension assembly.

The need for a new suspension for our recently presented Presto MRC-16 modification project brought about yet another innovation from our R&D laboratory: The Agnew Analog Reference Instrument Type 6021 Lathe Suspension Toolpost!

Inspired by the toolposts used in metalworking lathes and improving upon the cutter head mounting system used by Neumann, the Type 6021 will accurately and rigidly hold any cutter head fitted with a suitable bar, including Neumann, Vinylium and FloKaSon heads, as well as any other head imaginable, through the use of our Series 1400 head mount adapter range.

A rather optimistic gentleman arrived with a Presto MRC-16 disk recording lathe, inquiring about the possibility of repairing the broken suspension and making a cutter head bracket from scratch. He then asked about the possibility of figuring out some way in which lead-in, lead-out, and track mark spirals could be cut on this machine, which was originally intended as a very basic machine, with no provision for spirals, not even a hand crank. Then came the really ambitious part: He would ideally like to be able to adjust the pitch and if possible, control the lathe through his computer!

One glance at the steampunk aesthetic of the manufacturer's name plate and the overall state of this primitive machine would have been enough to deter the average engineer, in fear that there might be something potentially radioactive hiding within...