New T8 Prototype Tonearm From Goldmund

Well, Goldmund is a name that's recognized for two things mostly: first of all, it's the extreme quality of its products and then comes their fabulous pricing that makes Goldmund gear available only for those with really, really strong bank accounts.

The Reference 2 turntable is one piece of Goldmund technology which has simply demolished any charts with expensive gear around the world: priced around $300,000, this turntable is a mixture between a piece of technology and a piece of art, embedding the most careful design and finishing with some of the most advanced technology ever to be used with vinyl record players. Well, as if the Reference 2 wasn't advanced enough, Goldmund have recently announced the new prototype tonearm, codenamed T8, promising even better specs for a sonic reproduction closer to reality (if possible).

The new T8 tonearm comes with features that have never been even specced before as it will be a real hybrid between a CNC machine and an audio piece of tech. This time, the Goldmund tonearm will be software-driven and more - the new digital operation will be able to control both the vertical tracking angle and the oil damping in the arm, offering unprecedented fine-tuning for your best acoustic s�ance.

As far as the availability is concerned, the Goldmund T8 tonearm still has to wait: the prototype has been crafted and the attached picture shows how will it look when mounted on the Reference 2 turntable; yet the arm-driving software seems to be a job far more complex than expected as the Goldmund specialists have declared that "the software development is a huge task that may need a few months to be completed."

Now, regarding the most painful aspect of all this, namely the financial aspect, since the Reference 2 price tag runs around $300,000, I don't expect you could buy the new T8 with a month's wage...unless you are really well-paid and again, you have really, really strong bank accounts.

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