ARO - again?

I’ve put an original ARO counterweight on my Solstice ARO2. It fits and works great.

3 Likes

Has anybody tried a Vetere arm on an LP12? I have an SG-PTA-HB which of course works very well with Roksan and Vertere turntables, but also has certain similarities with the ARO. I have to admit on balance I prefer the look of the ARO, but does the SG-PTA provide an alternative for the LP12?

It looks like a unipivot , but I understand it isn’t. Looks good though.

Thanks - that’s right… it’s not quite a unipivot, but pretty close I understand (it’s a bit technical for me!?).

Urgency, drive and weight of the Linn. Let’s not get carried away with a list of advantages. The Ekos has more weight (basically a thud) in the bass area, most notably in the drum part of a track. It’s fun and gives a simple life to some music, but inevitably lacks interest. Even on something as raw as an AC/DC track, an Aro produces a wonderful dynamic drum with a fuller range that keeps you glued.

Aro is for the smoking jacket, Ekos for the t-shirt.

3 Likes

Good post.

I went Ekos to ARO and although I missed that “zing” in the bass on certain tracks and the more powerful sound on others, album through album the ARO was the better listen with more natural textures and tones, less compression and forced sounding on complex tracks/ less than perfect recordings and a lovely “flow” which I also hear on my ARO2. It’s definitely a uni pívot v gimbal bearing thing!

3 Likes

Great description - I fully understand what you mean by this.

2 Likes

Yes. Work in progress ATM. It does sound extremely good.
However, there is an issue with the counter weight/rear stub catching on the lid, requiring the lid to be removed. No big problem, but I should be talking to mine. Vertere rep this morning as he is visiting me.:+1:t2:

4 Likes

That’s very interesting, thanks for the reply!

1 Like

I’ve been using an Aro on my Tangerine Audio stiletto LP12 I bought one of the last ones from Audio T Reading.
A sublime tone arm very fluid it’s with a Kiseki Blue NS cartridge the turntable powered by an Armeggedon ticks all the boxes for me.
I’m afraid the spam Javelin is a complete rip off of the Naim Aro.
I’d be surprised if 40 were ever made.

Regards,

Martin

2 Likes

I expect that Naim consulted lawyers to bring proceedings for copyright infringement, passing off, or whatever.

I cannot imagine what Tiger Paw were thinking (assuming that any brain power was involved at all), as it is such a blatant copy of the ARO.

(I am repeating myself, as I said something similar a few days ago - see above. Still, it’s always good when I find that I’ve said the same thing twice, rather than disagreeing with myself!)

2 Likes

Could one still be charged with IP infringement once the patent has expired? The GA drawing has been in the public domain for years.

BTW IIRC the Javelin arm tube is titanium.

1 Like

It’s in the pubic domain, because Naim would have had to lodge details of the design with the Patents Office when registering the patent for the ARO.

But that does not give a third party the the right to copy the patented design.

The ARO armtube is made from the metal used to make competition-standard arrows - hence the name. I no longer remember what metal was used. Was it titanium?

Were aspects of the ARO design patented or is it really copyright that we are talking about?

Also is there any indication that Tiger Paw was trying to pass off their arm as an ARO? I’m finding it hard to see where passing off comes into it.

Hello, David.

I obviously don’t know if Naim patented the design of the ARO, but I would be amazed if they didn’t do so. That would be a green light to pirates wanting to copy the design.

Passing off is where one party copies another party’s property, so that a casual observer would not see the difference. (That’s not the legal test, but it’s good enough for this discussion.)

You can’t just patent something to protect it from being copied, as I’m sure you know. It has to have genuinely novel and essential aspects to the design that have not been already used or published by anyone else.

Also I don’t agree that that description of passing off is sufficient at all. There was no misrepresentation as far as I know. But I am not an expert on any of this law.

1 Like

Indeed, but the ARO surely qualifies as a novel and unique design.

I’ve looked around, and I’ve read from a Stereophile review that the ARO shaft is an aluminium alloy.

I don’t know what, if any, patents, Naim may have had here (probably none).

1 Like

That’s totally not sufficient for a patent. But it could be for copyright I think?

I would be surprised, Richard, as that would give Tiger Paw (and others) a pretty free rein to copy the ARO’s design