DBL The Wand Plus 9.5″ Tonearm

Here we have a nice example of the Wand Plus Tonearm from New Zealand company Design Build Listen (DBL). Unusually styled with its large diameter arm tube the Wand is very well respected and here comes in very good condition. Our example is 9½ inches in length and comes supplied in original factory packaging along with spare weights, manual, setup tool, Ortofon tracking force gauge, plus our usual three month warranty.
Decent Audio (original importers) Said….
Uni-pivot tonearm with carbon fibre arm tube and machined counterweight. Easily adjustable VTA, vibration shunt (damper), silver coated copper wiring, and silver carbon fibre.
Developed by New Zealand-based company Design Build Listen (DBL), The Wand unipivot tonearm represents a step change in tonearm design. Pared back in rather clever ways, it is crafted to deliver superb sound at a considerably more modest price than might otherwise be expected. The result: remarkable musical bang for your buck.
The Wand tonearm is available in three lengths: 9.5″, 10.3″ & 12″ and three specification levels, The Wand Classic, The Wand Plus and The Wand Master Series. In all cases the first thing you’ll notice is The Wand’s unusual looking (but undeniably cool) large diameter carbon fibre arm tube which is cut off at a sharp angle, hence effectively negating the need for a traditional headshell. Instead, the cartridge bolts straight to the arm via a fixed metal block. The cartridge angle is fixed but with an adjustable overhang.
The Wand’s engineering is top-class. The tube is said to be four times stiffer than an arm of more conventional diameter and is the result of many hundreds of hours of computer-aided design modelling, as well as considerable time spent listening to various alternative materials.
The arm’s pivot, bearing and counterweight design are also different from the norm. The counterweight and bearing housing are a composite assembly, keeping mass as close to the pivot point as possible and therefore structural resonance to a minimum. Within the bearing itself the pivot point rests into three ball bearings inside the arm tube, as distinct from the more common point-and-cup approach.
The 9-inch arm, being mounted at a pivot-to-spindle distance of 222mm, can be used as a drop-in replacement for Rega tonearms. Design Build Listen also manufacture a range of adaptors for Lenco, Thorens, SME and the Linn LP12.
The ‘Master Series’ also features high quality sockets rather than a supplied arm cable, allowing the customer to choose their preferred audiophile-grade lead.
Since its launch in 2011, The Wand’s design has attracted a number of highly favourable reviews along with some impressive honours: The Wand Classic and The Wand Plus have won awards for innovation, excellence and value-for-money in design and construction, while in 2016 The Wand Master picked up a BEST Design Award (New Zealand).
The Wand certainly looks to be a powerful performer that punches above its price tag.
Features:
Big diameter (22mm) carbon-fibre tube is 4x stiffer than a normal diameter arm.
Ergonomic cueing via tip of arm or damped cueing mechanism.
Careful termination of arm vibrations with extra damping.
Medium effective mass suits most cartridges.
Ease of installation enabling 90% of the performance to be achieved quickly, first time.
Fitted with Eichmann/ETI plugs and Cardas wire in a single unbroken run.
Thread/weight type anti-skate.
Standard Baerwald alignment (with consideration given to real world inner groove dimensions).
Specifications:
Effective Length: 9.5”
Pivot/Spindle Distance: 222 mm
Effective Mass: 14 g
Mounting: 25mm diameter hole
Armtube Damping: Yes
Viscous Damping: Yes
VTA Adjustment: Adjustable during play; graduated scale
Cartridge Weight Range: 3 – 8.4 g
Finish: Silver carbon fibre
Weight: 750 g

For a review from US publication Stereophile please click here (please note this review is for the lower model Wand Plus Tonearm)