Who made the original Aro

While we all know who sold it was it made in house at salisbury?

Yes, there was a small corner of the old speaker dept. that was reserved for building the Aro. It was essentially a one-person job - they were very good at making them and that also ensured that there was very close consistency from one Aro to the next. In my time there were few if any rejects.

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And what an arm it is Richard - l absolutely adore mine set up perfectly by Harry

Not many in Australia but Harry tracked one down in immaculate condition

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Yup, if they’re out there then Harry will know…

Excellent, well engineered arms, handmade in Salisbury, by Clive I believe…

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Yes, Clive built the Aro.

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It seems (to me) to be pertinent to the Aro heritage/legacy that they were hand-crafted in Salisbury, by a dedicated person…and still are a bl**dy good, well respected arm !

Designed by a proud Frenchman, Guy Lamotte, incidentally

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…par excellence :+1:

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from 't’inty…(so may or may not be true…)

‘’ In 1983, Guy Lamotte was hired as a designer. He completed the development of the NAT01 and NAT101 FM tuners and piloted the development of the Hi-Cap power supply and modifications to the company’s burgeoning pre-amplification (NAC42 and 32), the NAXO [active crossover] and the ARO uni-pivot tonearm (developed jointly with David Beck).’’

‘‘The ARO (reputedly an anagram of ‘Analogue Rules Okay’) …’’

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I have a picture of myself with Clive at the factory :slight_smile: I am a Naim geek alert!

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The Analogue Rules Okay thing is a myth, sadly - ARO was actually named for the aluminium alloy it was made of. One of the many things you can read more about in the Solstice Special Edition book that comes in the package :wink:

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I think analog rules ok came much later, I believe it was called an aro because the extruded arm tube was from a supplier that supplied tube to an Olympic arrow manufacturer. Richard will correct me if I’m wrong.

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Yup, the arm tube was made by a company who made shafts for archery Arrows.

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Dev, did you send Clive a copy…?

Its an expensive book ! :grinning:

if I didn’t already have 4 TT’s, an original Aro, and the NVSTT platter was about half the height, then I would buy one…

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Do you provide a copy of the book to the Bodleian?

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Why didn’t I think of that? My understanding is that the British Library has a right to automatic legal deposit and the five other libraries may request it.
From a quick search it appears there is a similar system in France, so the partnership with Focal might mean similar there?
The BL website put a positive spin on doing so, saying “Legal deposit has many benefits for publishers and authors. Your deposited publications can be read inside the British Library and will be preserved for future generations. Your works become part of the nation’s heritage, providing inspiration for new books and other publications.”

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Will it be categorised as Industrial Heritage or Anthropology?

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As much as I can do a public search, nothing at the Bodleian, the BL holds something in Trade Directories.
It’s a bit early for the turntable to be heritage though?
Without ploughing back through the Solstice thread, do I recall @Naim.Marketing saying a pdf would be put on the website?