The WE-709 is where SAEC rebuilt their signature idea from the ground up. The double knife edge bearing is what the company has been known for since the 1970s: instead of ball races, the arm pivots on two knife edges, cutting bearing friction so the stylus tracks what is actually in the groove rather than fighting its own pivot. For the WE-709 the knives were made larger in diameter and the blade holders redesigned, which pushed sensitivity and rigidity up together. Those two normally trade against each other. Getting both is the engineering headline here.
The inside force canceller is also new, designed from a vibration countermeasure perspective rather than just adjusted from the old part. String type mechanical system, no magnets near your cartridge.
Internal wiring is PC-Triple C, the forged continuous crystal copper SAEC introduced to audio. The phono signal is the smallest in your system, and it travels this wiring first.
The numbers: 261.7mm arm length without headshell, 221mm pivot to spindle, 17mm overhang, 23.1 degree offset angle, zero tracking error at the 63mm and 123.9mm null points. Arm height adjusts 40 to 80mm. Two counterweights standard: Light for 17 to 25g, Heavy for 24 to 32g total mass.
The SHS-5 machined aluminium headshell comes in the box. Mounting hole 31mm, M4 bolt fixing.
We are offering 20% sitewide with promo code PIROUZ20. Pirouz means victorious in the Farsi Iranian language.
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