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Original Message
RE: Stereophile / Do Your Homework
Posted by Little Fwend on January 13, 2017 at 11:36:25:
Oslo, Norway, 13. jan. 2017.
Hello inmates!
Yes, Little Fwend fills exactly the same function as the other automatic tonearm lifters on the market. It takes care of business when you fall asleep, forget a record was playing (yes, you can be a music lover and at the same time not sit in the sweet spot with eyes closed, visualising the fog outside Scott Walkers darkened castle), the fire alarm went off, a burglar outside your window or after 4 hrs of driving on your way to the cabin in the mountains, you think to yourself HORROR! "hmmmm, did I turn off the turntable at all????" (true story, the cartridge in question was a Lyra, with an hourly diamond-wear-charge of about $3.50).... and other numerous other distractions in the modern world.
OK, so far so good - most lifters can take care of this business, but how do they go about it?
The basic function of a Toyota Yaris is to get you from A to B. The BMW M5 will also do this, itīs just a bit more fun. Apocalypse Now or Shark Sandwich? They are both movies (the reviewer of the latter said the following in his review; "I got two words: Shit Sandwich".
You can take the stairs or you can choose the elevator. There are several ways to Rome etc. etc.
I have nothing against the Q-UPs of this world, it is neither a Toyota (car) or a Shark Sandwich (movie).
Little Fwend came about just because the Audio-Technica AT6006 is not in production (they can be found on Ebay now and then for around $200). In 2014 we asked ourselves; Why in the name of love isnīt there an automatic tonearm lifter on the market that lifts the precious and sometimes expensive cartridge out of the dead wax in a civilized and gentle manner, a lifter that is easy to adjust and reposition without sticky, spongy DIY-mounting solutions? Why is there not a lifter that is precisely made with modern tolerances in solid non-magnetic metal? Why is there not a lifter that does not look like garbage?
We went down in the basement-lab to Mariusī vintage swiss watchmaker lathe, looking for the answer. We spent hundreds of hours talking, drawing, making prototypes, testing friction, reading up on Newton, sourcing "NASA-approved" damping gel and I bet (the Norwegian IRSī) tax money for 2015, etc. etc. etc. - that this uber-niche product is something people out there would love. After v.5 was tested over a long period and after extensive research for serial production, we found a precision machine shop in Denmark - We did not consider China or other low cost options, because it was never about saving money or making the most on each sold unit - Itīs about making what we think is the worlds best automatic tonearm lifter. We have not taken a single shortcut to save money, we are constantly reviewing the mechanics and parts, tweaking 0.2mm here and there, experimenting with 50sh vs 60sh hardness in the rubber - just to incrementally tweak and further optimize Little Fwend. If we wanted to make money, weīd start importing frozen pizza (itīs big in Norway).
You say tomato, I say potato.
I hope this explains why Little Fwend cost more than $60.
Have a beautiful day & enjoy the wonders of analog playback!
Marius & Lasse
Little Fwend
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