Product Name
Option 1 / Option 2 / Option 3
Weekly Delivery
Product Discount (-$0)
COUPON1 (-$0)
-
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
+
Remove
$0
$0
Success message won't be visible to user.
Error message won't be visible to user.
Success message won't be visible to user. Coupon title will be listed below if it's valid.
Invalid code
Coupon1
Coupon2
Subtotal
$0
Order Discount
-$0
COUPON2
-$0
Total
$0

Thomas Bowden is on a mission to rid the world of distortion.

By day, Thomas Bowden is a lawyer in Richmond, Virginia. By night, he’s an enthusiastic audiophile with an ear for invention. Granted his first patent earlier this year, Bowden has developed a new tonearm that mimics the movements of the lathe used to cut records and therefore decrease the friction and subsequent distortion created when a needle makes contact with a groove.

While most tonearms pivot to accommodate the spinning record, Bowden’s tonearm sits at 90 degrees and is attached to a free rolling ball-bearing held between two parallel tracks. Speaking about the design, Bowden says: “By allowing the needle to move in the exact same way as the cutting head moves, you are avoiding a lot of distortion.”

While engineers have been looking to crack the question of vinyl distortion since day one, Bowden believes his design – which came to him while adapting a set of tracks for his model train set – has one over on the competition. Using air compression and computer technology may cost up to $20,000 but he says his simple kinetic design has “corrected” the “flaws” those technologies still encounter. [via Richmond BizSense]

Watch the prototype tonearm in action below.

Want to know what’s really going on in your grooves? Watch this stunning slow motion video of a needle running through vinyl, captured under an electron microscope.

Subscribe to newsletter
By subscribing you agree to with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.