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Glanz MH-124 S - steel - controll and elegance! (translated from Danish)

Latest update 12 December 2018

Glanz MH-124 S - 12" stainless steel tonearm - dkr. 52.125,- / approx 7.000 US$
Producent:  Hamada Electric i Shizuoka, Japan - http://glanz.tech/e/
Danish distributor: Connaisseur-AV -  http://www.connaisseur-av.eu/

One can rightly ask: "What should a perfect tonearm do?" It sounds like a simple question, but actually there are many answers, and then again more questions and contradictions. The biggest problem is that the arm must hold the cartridge firmly in place, but at the same time the cartridge needs to be moved over the record. This creates a lot of compromises, such as weight, mass, bearing friction, resonances and much more. Here i look closer at an arm that a single man has spent a great deal of his life optimizing. In many areas this arm can be compared to a fine watch. Precision, perfection and a really nice finish .

The very elegant Glanz MH-124S is a serious bidding on how it should be done. The Japanese arm seems almost as an anachronism, as it appears both simple but also complicated. Today we see 3D printed arms, as well as arms made in magnesium, carbon fiber, wood and mostly in aluminum. Many have a variety of adjustment options and are equipped with micrometer screws for VTA and all the comforts. The Glanz MH-124S ​​is the opposite. Here we are back to the basics. A 12 "stainless steel arm (also available in 10" and 9 "), with emphasis on precision bearings, as well as optimal internal damping of the solid steel structure. A high-mass arm designed to be used with absolute low-compliance cartridges.

Glanz MH-124S is number two from the top in a larger progarm. Glanz only makes arms and shells. There are three series - the MH 9B and 10B are verrsions using stainless steel arms, but otherwise chromed brass to the base. The MH-94S, 104S and 124S models are all 100% stainless steel. The type designation indicates their size in inches. It's the124S (12 ") I'm looking at here. At the top of the program you'll find 124SD, where a carbon layer with the same hardness as diamond has been added to all metal parts. Inside you find pure silver cables with silk insulation surrounded by polyester fibers. There is a further attenuation in the counterweight suspension. 124SD is in the price range of more than 15.000 US$.
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A headshell is also enclosed. Like the rest of the arm it is made of special high quality steel. The shell is narrow and with a rubber damping on top. I wondered about the little metal crossbar used to fasten the cartridge. Here you have a steel arm with a lot of effort to keep vibrations and resonances down, but then the cartridge must be fixed with a thin metalbar?

But np, this is done the right way. The relatively solid metalbar is of course also solid steel and when the cartridge is fastened it sits firmly in place. At the same time it is possible to turn it slightly for optimal off-sett adjustment. Optically and mechanically, this house and arm make up a whole. Pretty nice and if you do not use a fixed-shell cartridge, it's a good solution.

The arm base is 30 mm in diameter and Glanz recommends a 31 mm hole for easier passage. The mounting plate may be up to 20 mm thick. Everything came into place without any problems. Antiskating and armrest can be removed if you do not want them. Glanz recommends removing these for optimal sound quality. They go to extremes to keep it as simple as possible and avoid everything redundant, which may create unwanted resonances. This way of thinking also shines through, in the construction where no glue or screws have been used. Everything is press-fit - carefully pressed together and with the greatest possible precision. This also applies to the high-precision ball bearings used. As a watchmaker would do, they are very carefully hammered down into place where they are stuck firmly.

The "S-shaped" arm itself is internally damped, so that Glanz avoids what he calls "time echo distortion". In other words, attenuation of resonances.

The armrest is a bit tricky. One can not just unlock flip it open. It requires 2 hands where the arm is to be held while the lock is tilted to the left. 

If you have a turntable with a lid, you must take into account whether the arm can be there. A 12 "arm is reach uot far back and the counterweight sticks out a bit. My record player is without lid, so I did not encounter that problem.

A little history

Glanz is not a new brand. In fact, it dates back to the 1950s. The Japanese company Mitachi Acoustics products were developed and marketed under the Glanz brand. They have, for example, made many cartridges, both MM and MC types. Several of their products were developed by Masataka Hamada, who in 2008 were licensed by Mitachi to market his tonearms under the Glanz name. In this way, the Glanz became reborn, at the time of the growing interest for the analogue medium. The tonearms are now manufactured by Hamada Electric in Shizuoka, Japan. 

Glanz MH 124 could immediately seem like a copy of the arms we saw back in the 70's. The FR 66 is obvious,  and today for example. Ikeda, Jelco, Ortofon, SME, Schick and a few more. All of these manufactureres makes 12" tonearms. They seem somewhat notalgic in their appearance with the standard SME fitting .

But there is more than just a 12 "arm behind the history. Hamadas design philosophy is based on vibrations and how to treat them. The cartridge sends vibrations up through the arm, which generates a lot of unwanted effects. The vibrations must be led away through the arm, the bearings and down through the base. Everywhere where different materials meet, there are barriers. Wire suspension, magnetic disconnection or combination of materials such as wood, metal and plastic create this transition. Here the energy is sent back to the cartridge and creates what Hamada calls "echo distortion". With a construction of steel and the tight coupling all the way there are no transitions and the energy can flow freely through the arm and ensure the cartridge the optimal conditions. This is the explanation why you find no knife or unipivot  bearings  here. which will make the arm dangle around only held in place by gravity. Hamada especially highlights the bottom  oversized pressure bearing which carry the arm. This ensures a smooth and friciton less motion of the heavy arm.

One might wonder why the tonearm is made with SME fitting for headshells. The explanaion is, that Hamada is a big fan of Ortofon SPU. He has worked for many years with the known Ortofon cartridges  and repaired them for customers in Japan. Therefore, the arm is designed to provide the Ortofon SPU with optimal conditions. Some other cartridge manufacturers offer similar cartridges with a fixed house and the SME fitting. I can briefly mention IKEDA, EMT, Sony and Dynavector. 

Another aspect is attenuation or damping. We often see it in arms with siliconeoil or decoupling down through the arm. Damping is good, but too much attenuation and the sound gets dull and lifeless. The detailsand the air in the   music are suppressed. As a solution to this compromise, Glanz uses something they call "parallel damping". The desired effect is achieved without renouncing the dynamics and the fine details. The damping takes place in the tonearm as well as in the decoupling of the counterweight using a triple layer of carbon fibers and ABS plastic as well as special  rubber. 

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I waited a little with the Glanz Steel House and instead mounted my Ikeda 9Gss pickup in a graphite shell from Italian Audio Silente. This is heavy! Shell and cartridge weighs 34 grams (In the Glanz steel house, the combined weight was 25 grams). Both tonearm, sehll and cartridge thus pulls in the wrong direction of what you would consider optimally. A quick calculation showed an arm resonance of 6.3 Hz in this set up (6.8 Hz in the Glanz shell). However, there were no problems with balancing the arm and tracking. Bumps and unevenness in the record were played without problems. Of course, you need to aim for an optimal arm resonance, but you certainly should not be blind to how well it's been damped. Here it seems like Glanz has full control of everything.

Adjustment of needle pressure is done by displacement of the counterweight. There is a smalll scale on the back of the counterweight, but I used an electronic needle pressure weight. Glanz refuses to use a spring to adjust the needle pressure, as they consider this as adding a resonance source. The same applies to anti-skating, which works as simpel as possible through a small lever arm.

The lift worked fine, but could need  a bit more silicone damping. I do not tthink the arm I borrowed was brand new.

Correctly  the arm should be mounted in a steel base or at least one of aluminum. However, the loose bases I use for testing the arms are 10 mm thick acrylic. Absolutely stable, but not quite the optimal solution.

The sound

I can imagine how some may think that this should sound "cold like steel" or similar analogues. No, I'd rather say "exactly" like steel. It "cuts" and reveals everything in both the width and the depth of the sound image. There is a nice calm controll and everything is placed pin point in the image. Voices are as nailed stuck in the middle, if it is where they should be. I know it's a special hifi phenomenon, but it's so nice to experience.

Initially, one could think that this it is a bit too clean and analytic, but it is quickly discovered that it is due to the absence of the soft and undefined reproduction of the lowest octaves. A clean cut, a clean sound comfortable free of dyeing and stresses. There is therefore no artificial loudness or boost at the bottom. On the contrary, everything seems smooth, precise and very dynamic. The sound is firm and controlled, and stop when it has to stop. More controlled and smooth, even compared to my Dynavector DV 507.

The above with the graphite shell from Audio Silente. I tried the Glanz headshell. Initially with my Benz LPs. It must be said to be a successful combination. There was more "bite" and ease over the reproduction. They were almost in a kind of symbiosis and definitely a fit. When my Ikeda G9ss came in the steel shell, the impression was more mixed. Well, there was something more smooth and easy in the sound, but at the same time the bottom were clearly muted and less firm. Compared to the heavier Audio Silente graphite shell, there was less substance and power, as if the music lacked a stable platform to set off from  The dynamics were slightly suppressed. So here it was clear that the heavy graphite shell best suited the Ikeda pickup. The following is the graphite shell on the Glanz MH-124 and Ikeda 9Gss pickup.

Another recent favorite is Paul Simon's "In the blue light". A proof that today you can also make fantastic recordings and a good silent pressing. I have always loved Paul Simon's albums, but this is definitely a masterpiece. At time more toned down and other tracks more forward and dynamic.
I had heard the album several times before the Glanz arm came on, but after it opened up for new details. Pauls voice is even more vibrant and well articulated solidt in the image behind the speakers. You hear all shades and there is no trace of emphasis on either "s" or "t" sounds.
An excellent recording paired with an excellent tonearm and cartridge. This touches and make a sizzeling sensation down your back. Pure pleasure!

Carmen is always good, whether it's opera or "Carmen suite" as the excellent recording with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra from EMI. Lots of dynamics and space. A while since I last heard this album, but now with the extra large sound image and the surprising dynamic effects a really good recording delivers. A short listen with the same LP and Ikeda pickup switched back to my Dynavector arm gave a somewhat different experience. Both absolute in the top range, but now a bit darker, heavy and somewhat closed in in comparison with the Glanz arm. Here, after some weeks of listeneing with the Glanz MH 125S, I've grown used to the extra emotion and the smoothness that makes the music more present.

Can an arm be "fast"? Well, that question I asked myself after hearing a crack from a minor scratch at the beginning of an LP. Now, I'm not ruining my records, the faults are often there when you buy them! In this case it was clear that it was reproduced as a shorter "click" that quickly died out. With the cartridge in my DV 507, it was a more dump muted sound - a slow "plump". This aspect also explains very well why this tonearm sounds "fasert" and more transparent when it comes to music.

Summing up...

TILBAGE TIL FORSIDEN (in danish)