Origin Live Illustrious Tonearm

Current arms are now in the MK 2 version - these have a much higher performance due to their new arm tube which consists of a superior alloy to the MK1l. The latest tubes are identified by their satin chrome finish as opposed to the black tubes in the MK1 version - older arms can be upgraded to MK2 specification for £299 - the improvement is worth far more than this in terms of performance.

Best of 2005 Award - Hi Fi World

"The best tonearm I've heard to date ....brilliantly detailed yet utterly musical, this arm is set to join the ranks of the all time greats. Wholeheartedly recommended!"
David Price - Hi-Fi World 2003

"The apparent width of the perceived image was enormous, as the image was so large that my living room walls seemed to melt away. This was complemented with a precision of spatial characteristics that made listening to the Illustrious an absolute pleasure... moreover the extra dynamic range over all the other arms here was simply stunning....Along with firecracker dynamics, something SME users will know, it possessed a seamless rhythmic ease and flow which SME V users will not! This is a beautifully fluid listen, yet gives nothing away in terms of grip and focus...bringing almost all the fluidity of the best unipivot with vastly improved grip and incision - the best of both worlds, if you like.

and the winner is... the Origin Live Illustrious, a pick up arm that is quite simply breathtaking. Its ability to display a three dimensional stereo image is above critisism, as is its transparency and lack of artifice. It also has amazing tonal accuracy, which lets the "flavour" of each instrument or voice flood out of the speakers. This is the respect in which it is most obviously superior to the SME.... on any deck ... this is surely the best.
Albert Lee - Hi-Fi World 2004 Group comparison test of 7 tonearms

Won Stereo Times "most wanted component of the year Award 2004" in combination with the Resolution Turntable
see reviews
Ground-breaking design is behind the astonishing performance of the Illustrious arm. This award winning arm has been highly acclaimed as a true performance leader.

Feature highlights

Arm tube:
High ridgidity accounts for tight, powerful and completely natural bass.

Yoke and arm base:
These house a revolutionary design to decouple the bearings and thus isolate the armtube.
The yoke offers high inertia in the horizontal plane for cartridge stability but minimizes inertia in the vertical plane to enable excellent tracking.

Highly specified bearings improve on the already amazing level of tonal and sound-staging of the Encounter arm.

Headshell:
Holographic images of headshells taken during record playing reveal that most headshells flex and twist significantly. To prevent this microscopic twisting the Illustrious headshell is machined from a solid block of high strength alloy incorporating side flanges.

Photos showing the MK1 arm - easily identified by its black taper arm tube