SAT carbon fibre tone arm from Sweden

[Detlof]

Has anyone heard, played with, owns this newcomer, Mikey is so raving about?

 

[DaveyF]

Has anyone heard, played with, owns this newcomer, Mikey is so raving about?

From what I have been told, the price of $28K assured that it sold out immediately upon its release here in the US.

 

[Detlof]

Thank you Davey, thought as much

 

[spiritofmusic]

From what I have been told, the price of $28K assured that it sold out immediately upon its release here in the US.

What, did they only release one? LOL.
Prices escalating - Durand Telos w/Sapphire headshell $25k (Mike Lavigne's current fave), Vertere reference arm $35k+, this SAT $28k.

 

[Ron Resnick]

At T.H.E. Show in Irvine, CA, the tonearm was static, in a display case.

"Sold out" may not mean much if we have no idea how many were made.

 

[DaveyF]

What, did they only release one? LOL.
\.

Not sure how many, maybe more than one...Mikey Fremer has one...which he acquired at full retail price.

 

[BruceD]

.which he acquired at full retail price.

Really! seriously?--Tell me it isn't so! joking yes?

BruceD

 

[DaveyF]

Really! seriously?--Tell me it isn't so! joking yes?

BruceD

Come on Bruce, we're talking of Mikey here, LOL.

 

[spiritofmusic]

He's not the only one, surely? And then there are the l/t trials, where, strangely enough, no gear ever goes back to the company.
Just how many SATs have been made? It's great if it really is an advance on the SOTA. But if only 3 guys can experience this, just what is the point?
I'm not even a fan of the practice of eg Aston, Lambo and Ferrari etc only producing a couple of dozen limited edition cars to strut their stuff.

 

[FrantzM]

The Onslaught of very expensive tonearms ... As usual Waiting for whom will break the $100K mark

 

[PeterA]

I thought I read from Fremer that each one is custom made and a special order. I think you buy from the company with no dealer network. You specify the wire and whether or not the phono cable is attached. Very limited production. I may be mistaken, but this is what I think I read somewhere.

It replaced his former favorite the Kuzma 4 Point. I'd love to hear one in a familiar system.

 

[spiritofmusic]

So, you travel to a showroom somewhere to hear it? Or the designer's home? Or you take a complete punt on $28k?
If so there had better be a sale or return policy.
At least w/a limited edition Porsche you'll get a chance to drive it round and round the Nuremberg Ring until you get a dizzy spell .

 

[Detlof]

I thought I read from Fremer that each one is custom made and a special order. I think you buy from the company with no dealer network. You specify the wire and whether or not the phono cable is attached. Very limited production. I may be mistaken, but this is what I think I read somewhere.

It replaced his former favorite the Kuzma 4 Point. I'd love to hear one in a familiar system.

That is correct. I had an exchange of mails with Marc Gomes and we skyped. Seems the phono cable is attached, however the headshells are interchangeable. He seems to be doing well and seems to have struck a deal with Techdas. If you order the wait is about three months and he is willing to travel and help with set up, although he says that set up is easy. As far as I could make out, his ideas are solid and in a no nonsense way based on sound technology. My general impression was, that I had met a very dedicated man who is very serious about and loves what he is doing. He has just quitted his bread job. I wish him the best of luck. We need more people like him, who strive to advance the art on the basis of no bs engineering.

 

[Detlof]

Seems he has now sold more than thirty. He can be found in Munich together with Nishikawa who seems taken by his design. So am I. Vinyl has never sounded so good here at home. Anybody want to buy a Graham? (Just kidding, holding on to mine, Marc said he would make another armboard for my AFO)

 

[CKKeung]

That is correct. I had an exchange of mails with Marc Gomes and we skyped. Seems the phono cable is attached, however the headshells are interchangeable. He seems to be doing well and seems to have struck a deal with Techdas. If you order the wait is about three months and he is willing to travel and help with set up, although he says that set up is easy. As far as I could make out, his ideas are solid and in a no nonsense way based on sound technology. My general impression was, that I had met a very dedicated man who is very serious about and loves what he is doing. He has just quitted his bread job. I wish him the best of luck. We need more people like him, who strive to advance the art on the basis of no bs engineering.

The Hong Kong dealership of SAT is obtained by Forthwse HK who is also the local dealer of Techdas.
During the Hong Kong AV Show this weekend, Forthwise is showing/demoing an Air Force One Premium installed with a SAT.

This is not a surprise.
The real surprise is that Forthwise also gets the Walker Audio dealership and Mr. Walker is with his Proscenium Black Diamond V in Forthwise's room at the Show!

 

[Steve Williams]

I thought the SAT arm was fabulous. Nishikawa San is also making the wand for it in Titanium as was he doing the same for the Graham Phantom Elite

 

[Mosin]

I made a SAT armboard for one of my customers to put on his Saskia, but I haven't heard the arm, yet. The armboard was a bit of a challenge because Marc wanted the distance from plinth to the top of the platter to be more than I have seen on any other arm. Still, the result was nice looking. My customer has promised a photo, but I haven't received it, yet. I'll post it when I get it.

By the way, working with Marc Gomez was easier than working with 90% of the tonearm makers out there. He provided all the information that I asked for almost immediately. You may think this is the norm with tonearm manufacturers, but trust me it is not. Getting information from many of them is like pulling teeth. This experience was a breath of fresh air.

 

[Detlof]

I made a SAT armboard for one of my customers to put on his Saskia, but I haven't heard the arm, yet. The armboard was a bit of a challenge because Marc wanted the distance from plinth to the top of the platter to be more than I have seen on any other arm. Still, the result was nice looking. My customer has promised a photo, but I haven't received it, yet. I'll post it when I get it.

By the way, working with Marc Gomez was easier than working with 90% of the tonearm makers out there. He provided all the information that I asked for almost immediately. You may think this is the norm with tonearm manufacturers, but trust me it is not. Getting information from many of them is like pulling teeth. This experience was a breath of fresh air.

Yes, that sounds like Marc. He is so sure of his design that he has nothing to hide.

 

[Mosin]

Yes, that sounds like Marc. He is so sure of his design that he has nothing to hide.

How do you hide anything on a tonearm, anyway? Maybe bearing details?

I work in slate, and holes are cut with waterjet equipment beforehand. That means that I require very precise CAD files to accomplish the task. Surprisingly, some tonearm guys have no CAD files to offer. It seems that they depend on mounting holes to be made when the customer has possession of the arm. That is often impossible when the armboard is made of stone, so I'm thrilled when a maker makes my job easier by providing information. It means I don't have to do work that should have been done when the tonearm was designed. SAT has that part of the act together in spades.

 

[Detlof]

I see your point now and I know what you mean. I' ve been through with that, fiddling around, with quite a famous brand