Tri-Planar officially came into
being when the Wheaton Decoupled Arm, now referred to as
the Tri-Planar Mk. II, was introduced at the Consumer
Electronics Show in 1981. But, the design of that first
arm was the result of years of research and development
by Tri-Planar founder, Herb Papier.
Still, Herb found room for improvement and continued
perfecting his design. In 1983, the Tri-Planar Mk. III
was given International Audio Review's prestigious
Engineering Achievement Award, the first of many such
accolades.
In 1999, during the Mk. VI years, Tri-Planar was
purchased by Herb's handpicked successor, Tri Mai, of
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Herb passed away in 2003 at the
age of 83, just as Tri was introducing the current
incarnation of Tri-Planar, the Mk. VII, which fittingly
includes many of Herb's final thoughts on the design.
The result of years of
research and design, the Tri-Planars' unique dual-pivot
design offers maximum adjustability and
watch-like precision.
1. Adjustable azimuth
2. Adjustable vertical tracking angle
3. Vertical bearing at record height
A design which completely addresses all
three planes of tonearm geometry.
