EVO CA Premium

Description

EVO CA Premium Tonearm Tube & Wiring

We use a hybrid solution for the EVO Premium CA tonearm tube. The outer tube is made from a single piece of carbon fiber- a material that’s both light & strong. Inside the carbon fiber tube, a 2nd aluminum tube is used which adds mass and helps to damp vibration. This utilizes the strengths of both materials. If you look closely, you can see that the armtube has a conical shape, meaning its diameter is tapered toward the cartridge & headshell. This design avoids standing wave reflections. The armtube is fixed by a single screw that allows for easy azimuth adjustment. The inner wiring is flexible, high-purity crystal-matched silver- an ideal conductor for the low-level phono signal (especially as it pertains to detail!). Each lead wire is fitted with a gold-plated cartridge connector clip.

Tonearm Bearing

The tonearm pivots on an inverted cardanic ABEC 7 quality bearing with 4 stainless steel tips. This bearing type is very stable and low-friction, guaranteeing clean tracking. This results in a detailed and open soundstage where all the micro-information from the record groove is preserved. The bearing is seated in a high-mass stainless steel housing which provides the necessary stability. Its mass draws vibration & resonance away from the cartridge and critical tonearm parts. The massive outer gimbal ring is open to avoid bell-mode resonance. Due to the tonearm design, the bearing is maintenance-free but very easy to adjust if needed.

Tracking Force & VTA Adjustment

We supply two counterweights with each tonearm for wide cartridge compatibility out of the box. The counterweights themselves are more than meets the eye. They are TPE-damped, which measurably assists in resonance control. The EVO Premium counterweights enclose the TPE entirely for a cleaner look. Always use the counterweight that can be set closest to pivot point with your desired tracking force applied. This ensures maximum stability and keeps tonearm inertia as low as possible.

The tonearm height can be continuously adjusted by loosening & retightening the two grub screws in the armboard. This allows the arm to be set perfectly according your VTA requirements. Experimenting with the VTA & azimuth is crucial in extracting every last bit of performance from your phono cartridges.

An Overview of Pro-Ject’s Tonearm Design Philosophy

The tonearm is one of the most important parts of a turntable and can have a huge impact on overall sound quality. This is why we did in-depth listening tests with various bearing types, tonearm materials and cartridge combinations to achieve the sound quality we strove for. About 15 years ago we designed and released the revolutionary EVO CC tonearm range in 9″, 10″ and 12″ lengths featuring one-piece carbon fiber armtubes. These were a huge success and propelled us forward in our research & testing, amounting to our latest & greatest tonearms. The EVO and EVO Premium range of tonearms are the fruits of our labor, and we are proud to offer them in new finishes and with many additional improvements.

10 Key Insights from our Research & Development

Pro-Ject has been designing tonearms for more than three decades. We have tested numerous arms both by ear and by performance measurement with close to 50 cartridges from across the market. Our research led us conclusively to these ten key insights…

1. Damped counterweights and high-mass bearing gimbals dampen tonearm resonance.
2. A one-piece armtube increases stiffness while reducing mass at the end of the tonearm, increasing transparency.
3. Low-compliance cartridges perform best on tonearms high in effective mass.
4. A high-mass flange (armboard) is crucial to fixing the tonearm securely to the plinth.
5. An assortment of counterweights is optimal so that the weight itself can be set as close as possible to the pivot for increased stability and low tonearm inertia.
6. A conical tonearm tube guarantees that resonance travels toward the bearing block (away from the cartridge), and also reduces the moving mass of the tonearm/headshell combo.
7. Proper tonearm and cartridge matching and the resulting cartridge/tonearm resonance are remarkably critical for accurate tracking and controlled bass reproduction.
8. Good conductors have a significant and positive influence on low-level cartridge signals, which is why we use the highest-purity copper (EVO arms) and silver (EVO Premium arms) to carry the signal from your phono cartridge.
9. A sturdy, massive tonearm holder actually reduces the overall resonance of a tonearm.
10. A precision tonearm must be made with the highest level of diamond knife machinery, allowing you to work with tolerances within 1/1000 of a millimeter!

We’ve designed the latest EVO tonearm series based on these technical insights. The central design concept is that a high-mass gimbal is used with a low-friction 4-point Swiss-made bearing assembly. We have implemented the best 4-pinpoint cardan bearings to guarantee precise tracking and expansive soundstaging.

The EVO range is a comprehensive family of tonearms. It allows you to select the ideal tonearm for your favorite cartridge, or a tonearm that can accommodate a collection of cartridges. We offer lower-mass arms (carbon fiber), slightly heavier carbon/aluminum arms as well as higher-mass S-shaped aluminum arms with universal bayonet-style headshells. Of course, replaceable headshells allow for another world of fine-tuning. The EVO tonearms are available in 9, 10 and 12“ lengths, in standard black or hand-polished silver finishes. Premium versions use an improved stainless steel bearing block design, silver tonearm wiring and an improved counterweight design, making this is the most complete tonearm range on the market today.

Considerations for Cartridge Resonance Frequency

When selecting a cartridge for your turntable, the total effective mass of the tonearm (tonearm & headshell effective mass + cartridge & hardware mass) has to be taken into account in relation to the mechanical compliance (elasticity) of the cartridge cantilever system. A correct mechanical match between cartridge and tonearm is one of the most important factors for neutral sound. A mismatch can result in bad impulse behavior (less resolution of dynamics and micro-dynamics, a narrowing of the soundstage, bloated or thin bass). A resonance frequency within 7-12Hz is optimal for any tonearm/cartridge system.

Turntable/Tonearm Compatibility Overview

Compatibility among Pro-Ject turntables & EVO tonearms is simple. In short, if your current or prospective turntable has a 9″ arm, any of these 9″ variants will work perfectly: EVO 9 CC (included), EVO 9 CA Premium, EVO 9 AS, EVO 9 AS Premium. If your current tonearm uses a balanced 5-pin DIN plug, EVO tonearms output the same way and are drop-in replacements (no soldering needed!). If your current tonearm is terminated in a junction box with RCA outputs, soldering will be required. For DIY hobbyists who can do the advanced work needed to properly install a tonearm on a foreign plinth, the EVO tonearms are mounted according to the Linn standard and ship with mounting templates. Here’s a quick rundown of tonearm length compatibility with our current turntables:

9 Inch Tonearms

Xtension 9, X8 Evolution, RPM 9 Carbon, 6PerspeX*, X2 B*, RPM 5 Carbon*, The Classic EVO* (*requires soldering)

10 Inch Tonearms

Xtension 10, RPM 10 Carbon

12 Inch Tonearms

Xtension 12

Please do not order a tonearm with a length that’s incompatible with your plinth. As an example, if you mount a 10″ arm on a deck designed for a 9″ arm, you’ll not be able to align your phono cartridge properly. Also note that the Signature 10 & 12 tonearms are not interchangeable with the EVO range.