Origin Live Conqueror MK4 Tonearm

THE CONQUEROR MK4 TONEARM

One of the very best tonearms on sale at any price aptly named the Conqueror. Yet, this isn’t an overblown or showy performer – it’s not voiced to impress some of the people, some of the time. Rather, it’s exceptionally even-handed and balanced in its presentation and sounds sublime across a wide range of music. An immensely high resolution measuring instrument, it is nevertheless consummately musical and organic sounding. A real ‘fit and forget’ product, no matter what you play, it just dissolves away.

Compared to more affordable Origin Live tonearms, there’s an obvious increase in transparency, and with it a heightened sense of realism. Music sounds more natural and less processed as if a bright light has been shone on the recording and it’s there in front of you, in all its glory. Yet it confers an uncanny smoothness on the music, too; there’s a wonderful sense of ease and rhythmic ebb and flow. Bass is yet more powerful and defined than Illustrious, which is no small feat. Vocals shimmer with natural timbre and stereo imaging is almost holographic.