The award-winning TT-4 is a real trailblazer in the turntable world. One of the reasons is the brand-new ATS (patent pending) technology, that we created during its development. In integrating the new carbon fiber tonearm, some internal resonances and distortions of the arm were found that negatively impacted the performance of the stylus when tracking the groove.
Argon Audio’s head engineer quickly went to work to solve this issue and realized that a small, precise aperture along the underside of the tonearm would eliminate resonances caused by torsion (bending/curving), which would normally cause unwanted noise and distortion that would travel all the way out into your speakers.
The result: you get the clearest, cleanest sound you have ever heard from a turntable in this price range.
Minimum displacement
Most standard tonearms are sensitive to resonances around 450-500Hz. With our ATS technology, our tonearm’s natural frequencies are investigated using modal analysis and resolved with a small incision. The result is a tonearm which is less sensitive to resonances in the highly critical midrange, due to a significantly reduced vibration amplitude.
The simulation below shows a standard tonearm compared to one utilizing our ATS technology. The red color in the standard tonearm signifies higher displacement, resulting in higher distortion.
Vibration vs. frequency
A frequency response plot of the standard carbon fiber tonearm shows a major resonance at ~480Hz. Here, the vibration amplitude audibly disturbs the needle’s ability to track the groove of the vinyl record. The ATS technology ensures a tonearm that does not negatively affect the sound quality of the turntable.
Impulse response
A standard tonearm meets its natural frequency with audible ringing and as a result shows tendencies of an under-dampened system. Tests of the impulse response show an improved system where the new ATS version never meets the natural frequency.
