Reed 2A, 12", Finewire C37 Eichmann Bullet Plugs, Red Cedar Armwand

June 2011

The Reed 2A is the second 12” tonearm I have had on my turntable which is a Garrard 301 with a custom plinth designed by Steve Dobbins. The first was the SME 312A.  It was originally installed to handle mono playback only.  The Triplanar VII mkII was my main reference tonearm.  I never achieved success with the SME using various mono or stereo cartridges.  I eventually sold the SME and used my Triplanar exclusively with the first generation Allnic cartridge a Denon 103D and a Soundsmith Aida.   
I heard about the Reed tonearm when it was in its developmental stage and when it finally entered production I purchased one to fill the vacant spot left by the SME.  A trade in offer was extended by Allnic to upgrade to the Verito Z cartridge and I took advantage of it.  The Verito Z cartridge has had mixed reviews on Audiogon.  I can understand why this might be in some circumstances.  When I had the Z on my Triplanar its performance was good but not special.  Perhaps there was a cartridge tonearm mismatch. Even after 40 hours of break in on the Triplanar it never really came to life.
When I moved the Verito Z from the Triplanar to the Reed the improvement in the performance improved appreciably exposing the shortcomings of my Triplanar.

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Reed 2A 10.5", Black edition, Finewire C37 Eichmann Bullet Plugs Ag wiring

December 2010

Last winter I made the jump. After a few years of research on the web and listening to different analog set-ups I came in contact with Steve Dobbins.
My analog setup was a Well Tempered Reference with various cartridges and a modded EAR 834P. I feel the WT is a very good Turntable. Extremely quiet, nice Tone and timbre and pace. It was a lot better than an all out LP12 at the time (the difference wasn't even funny). Though I liked it I was looking for something else and better. That is what this hobby is all about.
I tried to make a massive plinth for a Lenco and used an DV505 for a while to see what the hype in many forums is all about. I am no professional plinth builder, but I definitely heard the big potential an idler wheel driven Turntable can bring. The bass, tempo and dynamics of this set-up was definitely beyond what the Well Tempered brings. I was mainly using my VdH Colibri cartridge in Myrtlewood body as my reference at the time, and got some nice result. The Well Tempered however had a much blacker background, and the music flows so nice. The Lenco was noisy, more dynamic had better micro dynamics and separation of all the instruments. So two Turntables with pros and cons.
After this try-out I really got curious about a Dobbins Garrard 301. After some long talks with Steve I decided in the Winter of 2009 to go for a two armed Garrard, with special platter, Loricraft power supply and finally a Reed 2A 10,5 inch Tonearm with Cobolo wooden arm tube and Silver cryo wire. Also I got my hands on a Allnic H1500 Phono to replace the EAR.

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Reed 3Q 12", Gold Matte edition, Finewire C37 WBT Nextgen wiring

August 2010

The main topic of the June issue was the turntable and tonearm of the Lithuanian company turntables.lt. Both elements were brilliant, but in my opinion, the turntable requires still some work around cosmetics and, maybe, the motor power supply. However the Reed 3Q tonearm is a finalized, brilliantly finished product, splendid sound wise, and a beautiful item to look at. Thanks to the laser pointer setting the VTA is a breeze. All this makes it clear, that when looking for such items, we should have a very close look at the company’s offerings. This is also the reason I bought such a tonearm for myself. This may look like reverse logic in acquiring an analog system, as I do not posses a turntable, but I think it was a good move. I could not resist the Reed, I have mine already, with the inscription engraved on the base – my name and the “High Fidelity” title – a very nice gesture from the Lithuanians.

Wojciech Pacuła / Editor of High Fidelity (Poland)

Reed 2A 12", Rhodium Satin edition, Finewire C37 WBT Ag wiring

August 2010

The two arms were Red Cedar and Pernambucco with Cryo Ag wire. The audio systems were both well evolved for phono playback.

The first was a slate based Garrard 301(modified grease bearing) with a resident Ikeda IT407 running Koetsu CoralStone and a Sugano built MK I Urushi with Alnico magnets, Sonus Veritas phono stage and line stage, 45 tube proprietary amps and Gran Sfera horn loudspeakers.

The second was another Garrard 301(modified grease bearing) this time in a PorterHouse plinth with an Audiocraft AC4400 and an Air Tight Supreme running beside a Technics SP MK III also in a PorterHouse plinth with a Fidelity Research FR 66S and another Koetsu Coralstone, this going into Alnic's top phono and line stage, a Lamm phono stage was also used, then CAT amps into Karma speakers. Purist Audio cable throughout. So this was the context and the items to be compared.

I received the arms in fine condition and was impressed with the new packaging being wooden boxes that will stand up to repeated use over the years. I also found the new finish and design excellent. I was very curious to get them going. I mounted them in 20Kg bronze arm towers and put them to work.

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