My first introduction to The Wand Tonearm was at Capital Audiofest last fall where they showed with Gary Koh’s Genisis Audio and Heed. Though at CAF they showed their turntable with the arm, not just the arm. I knew from that moment I wanted to check out the Wand more long-term, but my previous turntable, the LP-7, was not quite up to the task. I upgraded about 2 months ago to a VPI Prime with the 10″ 3D Unipivot Tonearm and thought, this would be the perfect time to reach out and get a Wand Tonearm in. I talked to Bob of Profundo Distribution and he set me up with the 10.3″ Wand Tonearm. While I waited for it to arrive, I fired up CAD and designed an armboard that would accommodate the Wand’s geometry and mount to the VPI Prime. Once the arm board printed I got to work mounting the Wand, and not to toot my own horn but it worked perfectly. I plan to do a little more refining on the board to add a mount for the RCA cables. The arm board mounts to one of the legs on the Prime by clamping down on it and is secure enough for Herc to stand on it. The Wand was fairly easy to mount and set up but more on that later

The Wand is a fairly unique-looking tone arm and I can’t really think of anything else on the market like it. There are a handful of Carbon arms but I am pretty sure all of the ones I know of are gimbal-style arms. Beyond that, most tonearms are much thinner and more delicate looking, while the Wand is substantial with a commanding presence. That lends to it being extremely rigid and acting as a strong foundation for your cartridge to mount to and do the best job that it can.

Unboxing and Setup

Bob trusts UPS about as much as I do, and what I mean by that is, that the Wand came in a box that could probably accommodate about 20 more tonearms. Buried in the center of the box in loads of packing material was a perfectly preserved Wand Box. Inside the actual box for the tonearm, you will find a neatly packed Wand Tonearm, setup tools and instructions, and a parts box. There are quite a few parts in the box so make sure you open everything over a table and sort everything out so you don’t lose anything. I recommend reading through the instructions once before beginning anything to familiarize yourself with everything and to avoid making any mistakes. While the installation is fairly simple and straightforward if you are mechanically inclined, this may not be a project for everyone. In some cases, it may require drilling into your turntable plinth. Some tables have a spot to mount different arm boards which means you can always go back to OEM without any permanent changes. The instructions are very clear and easy to follow, so I won’t go into much detail on how to mount the arm.

Every table will be different in terms of what work you will need to do to mount a custom or additional tonearm, and Design Build Listen (the Company that makes the Wand) has directions specifically for many popular models. The VPI Prime is not on that list, yet anyway, so this may be unchartered waters. the biggest tip I can give is to be mindful of the cables, the RCA ends are a bit heavy and can pul on the delicate wires running into the arm up to the cartridge. Picking the mounting spot is easy using the provided alignment tool, following the directions it should be fairly difficult to do wrong. For anyone interested in mounting a Wand to their Prime I will be supplying the file for the arm board free at the end of the review.

Setup

The setup for the Wand was fairly straightforward as it is a unipivot arm. Just gently set the arm on the pivot and adjust the nuts on the back to get the right tracking force, and adjust the height for proper tracking angle, as well as balance the rear disc to get proper azimuth. Attaching the cartridge is simple, though depending on the weight of the cart you may need to add the supplied weights which makes it a bit more fiddly. Something to keep in mind is that the Cartridge mount does not allow for any angle adjustment as viewed from the top. That said how much that matters is up to you, to me, it simplifies setup and aligns perfectly on the template to be ideal in the middle of the sweep. If you mount the arm correctly you should be good to go. VTA is adjustable by loosening the pivot and raising it and the armrest assembly to the height you need, and there is a decent amount of adjustment available so you can run a wide variety of cartridges. Azimuth is adjusted on the back by the counterbalance, just loosen the plate and rotate until you have the alignment correct and tighten back up. If you are running a particularly heavy cart you may find you need additional counterbalance weights which are available from your dealer.

The Sound

The sound, or perhaps I should say the lack of sound, as in the Wand doesn’t impart any additional sound to the music, rather it is a neutral party in your system. What I mean by that is the Wand Tonearm doesn’t get involved with the sound so much as it acts as a bridge to transport it from the cartridge to the phono preamp. What I notice the most is that it offers a rigid yet freely moving foundation for your cartridge. It is unwavering along the length of the arm, and for a unipivot, it is incredibly stable. The majority of its weight is below the pivot point which lends to its stability. My 10″ VPI 3D Unipivot is not quite as stable and is a bit more finicky. Every time I lift it to queue up a record I feel I need to give it a moment to settle then lower it onto the album surface. I imagine that also has to do with the lift being off to the side which will inherently tilt it while lifting whereas with the Wand you lift from the very end, in line with the pivot point. To really get a feel of how the Wand Tonearm performed I tried it with a variety of cartridges and a few different phono preamps. And as always a wide variety of music types as well as new and only vinyl to see how it does on those less-than-perfect vintage records we all have.

This is probably one of the lengthiest reviews I have done in terms of testing. To do the best comparisons I could I tried each of my cartridges on both the Wand and my VPI tonearm playing the same tracks back to back. This meant a lot of time spent doing setup. Testing out amps is much easier as you don’t have to spend nearly as much time when swapping them in and out. Speakers are the next longest process as positioning and listening and repositioning take time. However, when I have speakers in I have floor markings for A/B testing to make swaps much easier. It’s not quite that simple with cartridges, though it’s a bit easier on the Wand as it has a single mounting point so once it’s on its ready. Both arms have azimuth adjustment which will need to be tweaked with each cartridge as they have a slightly different balance, as well as tracking angle and force, though to make testing a bit easier I did all my 2M’s one after the other as they use the same VTA and Tracking force.

While I worked through my Cartridges I kept everything else the same, as too many variables would end up with a huge amount of combination possibilities. So for this part, I used the Pyxi Phono Stage, the Advance Paris My Connect 250, and my MC250 Power amp, Sonus Faber Sonett V, and Paradigm Defiance V8 Subwoofer. Later I tried my various available phono stages with a single cartridge, again limiting the variables and staying out of the weeds.

Ortofon 2M Red

The 2M Red is one of my favorite budget carts available. While I am somewhat harsh on it in this review below, it is still one of the best for 100 bucks. It just goes to show that if you have a setup that extracts more from a cartridge you will be well served to go with something better. On my LP-7 it did fairly well, as well as the other 2M series of carts, but it is the limiting factor in my current analog system.

Music: Lil Wayne – I am Music (best of album)

In my teen years, Lil Wayne was at the height of hip-hop popularity. Throughout his career his big album drops, known as “Tha Carter” 1 through 5 became highly anticipated with Tha Carter V being quite the wait, Wayne even released a song “Sorry for the Wait”. These represent his Studio Albums while others have more of a mixtape vibe to them. I am Music is a best of album, one of the best, best of, albums. Perhaps I should say it’s the best to me, as it has all of my favorite songs from throughout his career, almost as if they asked me personally what tracks to put on it.

On the Wand

It may seem out of place to use such an entry-level cartridge on this setup but in the real world, people use all sorts of different gear together. Someone may buy this arm to upgrade and use the cartridge they have for a while. The first thing I notice is that Wand and Prime are extracting everything the 2M Red has to offer and it is the limiting factor. Compared to the Quintet Red there is a bit of dullness and veiled sound. High notes are not quite as detailed and the mids are flatter. It is clear that the Wand is capable of better sound when used with a better cartridge and it deserves it. The bass is okay, but not as clean as it could be. Wayne’s older beats used a lot of snares as well as light cymbal rides and the 2M isn’t really up to the task of fleshing those out with the detail you want.

On the VPI 3D Unipivot

The experience with the VPI Unipivot is more of the same, the 2M Red just isn’t the tool for the job. Sure you can use a hammer to drive a screw in if you try hard enough, but that doesn’t mean you will get the results you are after. The lackluster experience is exacerbated on the VPI by the more time-consuming setup. You do all that work and get okay sound, it just isn’t worth it. It is really difficult to compare the sound difference between the two arms when you use a cart like the 2M Red. Don’t get me wrong it is a great cartridge at its price point, but It is best used on entry-level gear, lest you limit the capability of your higher-performance equipment.

Ortofon 2M Blue

The 2M Blue represents a significant jump up in sound quality for the relatively small jump in price over the red. It may be the lowest-level cart that is even worth using on this table arm combo. Though much like the Red, the Blue is still a limiting factor. Before sitting down and listening critically to each cart I have been swapping and playing with different carts and can say the 2M Bronze (next up) is even better so we know you can get more performance out of the arm and table in the case of both the Wand and VPI arm. That said this is where I was able to see slight nuanced differences.

Music: Taylor Swift – Midnights

Midnights is the 10th Studio album by Taylor Swift, and I didn’t immediately like it as much as previous albums, though it grew on me. Songs like “You’re On Your Own Kid” aren’t the radio hits many have come to expect from Taylor, but they certainly have an impact when you sit down and listen to the lyrics. The album is mastered well and the vinyl is cut well, with minimal surface noise. If you own original copies of her first two albums you will know this has not always been the case. My Debut and Fearless (Original Version) albums are nearly unlistenable, with so much surface noise.

On the Wand

The sound is relaxed and easy to enjoy, detail is perfectly adequate for the price point of the cart. As mentioned you can tell that you are not getting as much performance from the arm and table as possible but I also don’t think anyone would think the sound is bad either. Maybe best Described as cromulent. The Wand moves extremely fluidly and channel balance is great with the Blue. I have to say my 2M Blue has never sounded quite this good. The vocals are more vivid and lifelike than on my LP-7, It’s impressive how much you can squeeze out of a piece of gear when the rest of your system is up to the task.

On the VPI 3D Unipivot

Listening back through the album with the 2M Blue on the Vpi arm, I noticed that the Wand is a bit more delicate with the sound. It seems that even though it has a higher effective mass than that of the VPI, the VPI has a bit less nuance, and transient sounds aren’t quite as present. Perhaps the pivot point is more refined to give a more fluid swing. It is noticeable that The Wand floats a bit better and you can start to notice these differences with the 2M Blue. I wouldn’t say it’s a massive difference in sound, more so the type you may hear if you really pay attention. I have to say that I prefer the Blue on the Wand Tonearm. The blue expresses a bit better resolution and openness on the Wand. That is not to say the VPI is not a great arm, it is, but in this comparison I find myself preferring the Wand.

Ortofon 2M Bronze

The bronze, being 3/4 of the way up the 2M line is the highest level 2M cart I have. It is a great cartridge that improves even more on the 2M platform. If you have the money you will certainly get better sound than the Blue and Red 2M, and Is a very worthwhile upgrade. I was able to easily hear the difference between it and the Red/Blue even on my LP-7 so seeing how it performs on the Wand and VPI Unipivot is certainly an interesting test of its limits.

Music: Laufey: Bewitched

Ever since first hearing Laufey last year while playing through my Discover Weekly on Spotify I have been hooked. She is an Icelandic Jazz singer and musician. Her voice and tracks are simply sublime. She is high on my live bucket list and I tried to get tickets to her show in Pittsburgh but alas they sold out immediately. She has a sound not like any modern artist I can think of really, and is a must listen for any Jazz fan.

On the Wand

The 2M Bronze really starts to take advantage of quality Tonearm. The sound, much like the Blue, is unlike anything I have heard from this cart before. The lightness of her voice is perfectly reproduced while the dynamic instrumentals are beautifully detailed and spacious. The stage is large in all dimensions, especially depth, and imaging is precise. While the Blue would be a decent place to start if you picked up a Wand, this is really where things start to get good. With the Bronze, I didn’t feel like I was missing out as much as the Blue and Especially the Red. If someone had this or the 2M Black in their inventory and wanted to get the Wand, they likely wouldn’t feel the need to go out and buy a new cartridge immediately. Certainly though as I experienced with the Quintet Red, there are gains to be made by simply going to a Moving Coil cart. That said the frequency range is balanced, with clear bass, and pleasant but detailed high notes, mid-range which covers the vocals and most instruments has depth and lushness that lends to a lively sound.

On the VPI 3D Unipivot

The first thing I noticed on the VPI tonearm is the stage was a bit smaller in depth. Tonality wasn’t drastically different but the higher notes seemed a little less sparkly. The midrange wasn’t different enough to really take note, so the bulk of your music will be similar enough that you may not notice. But that top-end detail that adds dimension and a little excitement is not quite as good with the VPI arm. Laufey’s voice was largely the same between the arms, though not quite as airy on the VPI, which is most noticeable on “Dreamer” or “Misty”. Upbeat and faster-paced songs like “Must be Love” it is less noticeable. But I have to say again I prefer the Wand to the VPI arm in this case. Overall I think the Wand outperforms the VPI Unipivot with the 2M line, even if its not by loads it is still better. I would be interested to see how some of the other VPI arms would compete such as the Fat Boy as well as the Gimball arms.

Ortofon Quintet Red

I had both a Blue and Red, though unfortunately the Quintet Blue died before finishing the review and is not really repairable. I had Groovetickler take a look and unfortunately, it needs re-wound, which for that cart isn’t quite worth it. However, My Quintet Red and my 2M collection are all still in great health. The Quintet red represents a great value in the Moving Coil category, at $399.00 you get a really good performance for the price point, and I’m honestly surprised I don’t see them more. The 2M Red is one of the most popular Moving Magnet carts on the market and I tested it on the Wand due to how ubiquitous it is. It may seem silly to put a 100-dollar cart on an 1800-dollar tonearm, but many people who upgrade may start with what they already have and then figure out what they want to get after some time with a new product. To be honest I recommend this method, try a new product out, figure what you want out of it, and then look for the supporting upgrades, if you change more out at the same time and don’t like what you hear now you have to undo each change one by one to figure out what may have caused that. I would say the one caveat to that is cabling, it’s best to stick with a brand and model throughout your system, or at least that has been my experience, so when upgrading, if you can, upgrade all of them at the same time.

Music: Tchaikovsky – Swan Lake, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy

If you are a regular here you know Tchaikovsky is my favorite composer, and that Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra are my favorite who play and record Tchaikovsky pieces. Though this is a departure from one of my favorite pieces, The 1812 Overture.

On the Wand

There is something about MC carts, that even an entry-level one sounds as good as it does. The low mass and ease with which they navigate the grove really can not be matched by equivalent MM carts. The Quintet Red takes full advantage of the rigid Wand Tonearm offering detail beyond what I have heard from it in the past. The Speed and reaction to dynamic parts of the music are quite wonderful. The Red is what I have been using primarily on the VPI as my Blue was out for inspection for a couple of weeks so it was more apparent, the differences between the arms. I hadn’t had the others on the VPI for any significant amount of time before getting the Wand in for review as I just didn’t see much need at the time. It was pretty much just the Red and Blue Quintets.

On the VPI 3D Unipivot

The Quintet Red performs well on the VPI arm, I would say it is almost a closer comparison to the Wand than with the 2M Bronze. It is possible that it has to do with the cartridge’s compliance compared to the 2M Bronze as the Quintet is a bit less compliant so the mass difference may be less immediately noticeable to my ears. I was actually quite happy with the sound of the Quintet red on both arms and I’m not sure I have a preference in this comparison. The detail on both was nice, as was the balance across the frequency range. In either case, I enjoyed the orchestral pieces of Swan Lake, and in both cases, I felt the speed and dynamics were quite good.

Zyx Exceed Bloom

Zyx is a Japanese company that makes high-performance cartridges. Zyx is an initialism, meaning you pronounce it Zi/ks/. I reached out to Sora Sounds to check out the Exceed Bloom and they got one sent over for review. Everything from the packaging to the cartridge itself is purposeful and beautifully built and presented. It certainly primes you for the performance you are about to experience.

The Music: Peter Cat Recording Co. – Bismillah

If you have never listened to Peter Cat Recording Co. you are missing out. I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure how to describe them, they have a bit of Sinatra influence, some electronic elements, jazz, and probably other adjectives as well. All that said, I love them, I plan on seeing them live here in a couple of months in Columbus for their new album tour.

On the Wand

The Zyx Exceed Bloom is an entry into the Exceed Line from Zyx, though at $1,400.00 U.S. it may not be what some consider entry-level. Its performance on the Wand was also not that of an entry-level cartridge. This is the best I heard from the Wand and goes to show the potential on tap, and I would have no issue using cartridges that double triple, or even quadruple the price of the Wand. It won’t hold back a quality cartridge and easily could be an end-game tonearm. The detail and articulation from the Exceed on the Wand is stunning. It is incredibly fast and reactive to dynamic frequency changes and ate up anything I threw at it. Hearing Bismillah by Peter Cat Recording Co, was like hearing for the first time again. This combo is my favorite analog setup I have had in my system to date and both the Bloom and Wand will be hard to send back.

On the VPI 3D Unipivot

The Exceed Bloom is a wonderful cartridge so it’s certainly not going to perform poorly on any quality turntable setup, but that doesn’t mean it won’t perform differently on different tonearms. It sounded great on the VPI Arm, but it seemed a little less expressive as compared to the wand. It is a minor difference, certainly not like a world-changing difference. The detail and speed seemed very comparable, but the edge wasn’t quite as sharp. The Wand is more rigid due to the shape and material and it lends to how the cartridge reacts to the groove, which likely lends to differences in sound. The Zyx doesn’t sound bad at all on the VPI arm but I found that on the Wand, the overall sound was better and more enjoyable.

General Comparisons

Some interesting things I looked at when comparing the two arms were the overall weights. The Wand is significantly heavier at 510 Grams with its attached wiring, the VPI arm came in at 358 grams with its attached wiring. Now the effective mass of each is 14.0 grams and 9 grams respectively. Putting the Wand more into the medium mass category and the VPI closer to the Low/ Medium Low Category. The nice thing about the medium mass tone arms is there are far more cartridge options, as with anything the average tends to have the most options. The extra weight and how it is positioned seem to help with stability on the Wand as it is much more stable when queuing and also seems to move more smoothly. It is also far easier to set up, which may or may not be a deal breaker for some users. Both arms are in the 10″ arm realm, the Wand measures 10.3″ from pivot to mount and the VPI measures 10.25″ to the center of the mounting slots, so ± 1/16″ depending on where you set your cartridge. I would say you likely wouldn’t hear much if any difference between the same arm if it were 10 or 10.25 inches as the tangential changes would be fairly negligible over that difference. Now where you may notice a difference is your ability to slightly rotate the cartridge in the head of the VPI as it has slotted mounting points. I would argue that additional settings will get a large portion of audiophiles in the weeds trying to set up a cart, but if you have the tools and technical ability extra settings can mean squeezing a bit more out of a cartridge.

Phono Stages

I currently have three Phono Stages that will accept both MC and MM, granted my Marantz will take MM but I didn’t want to include it as you can’t use an MC with it. The three I have available are the SOTA Pyxi, the iFi Zen Phono 3, and the Advance Paris My Connect 250’s integrated Phono Stage. The Pyxi is a super affordable phono stage that well outperforms its price point of $300.00. I actually reviewed it a while back (Link here) and I recently bought one. The built-in phono stage on the My Connect 250 is pretty good for an integrated phono stage, I would say the comparison between the three in general would come down more to personal preference with a little extra weight going to the Pyxi or Zen for the loading options, but overall sound quality-wise, all three are great for the price. Now to keep things a little simpler, I used just one cartridge, the Quintet Red to test out the differences between them all.

The Music: Peter Cat Recording Co. – Bismillah

With the Pyxi

This section will be a bit shorter as the Pyxi is what I used in all the previous comparisons so you know my thoughts pretty well already. What I want to talk about is the sound difference between the different Phono Stages. I am using Bismillah by PCRC as my listening material as I am quite familiar with the music and I think it is a great album with a lot of interesting sonic details. I quite like the combination of the Pyxi with the Wand, it’s not the best phono stage on the market but it’s solid and I don’t feel like it is selling the Wand short. The bass is powerful without being muddy and the blend into the mid-range is seamless. There is certainly no feeling of thinness or harshness. The loading options also mean you can dial in your cartridges a little more to get an even better sound from the setup. As I mentioned it was the phono used in all the above cartridge tests so there isn’t much more to mention about the sound.

With the iFi Zen Phono 3

The iFi Zen Phono 3 is another great product that sounds better than its price point would suggest, being just $249.00. It also supports MC and MM carts with a variety of loading options as well as a smart subsonic filter. Listening to Bismillah back to back on the Pyxi and the Zen Phono, I think for this arm I would probably pick the Zen. There seems to be a bit more body in the mid-range. The Wand is really a blank slate. It doesn’t impart any tonal information to the music which means you can tailor the sound using cartridges or phono stages. It allows tiny nuances to become apparent so that minute differences in cartridges and phono stages can make more of an impact on your listening experience. I really enjoyed the sound using the Wand with the Zyx and the iFi as I set that up for the iFi review and the combo had great sonic beauty. The level of detail is way beyond what the Zen should be capable of if you just consider the price.

With the My Connect 250

The My Connect 250 as with the previous two Phono Stages, supports MM and MC though no loading options are available. Considering the market it is aimed at, I don’t take issue with it being a little simpler in its setup and usage. The My Connect 250 uses a tube preamp and a solid-state power section, meaning you get a bit of warmth, and it is a rich and dynamic amplifier. As I mentioned with the Zen Phono, the wand is a neutral party so the tube sound is plenty present. I would say detail is certainly good as is the frequency response. The My Connect leans a bit to the warm side of neutral with Quintet Red at the helm.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Easy to setup
• A wide variety of tables supported
• Rigid design
• Easy to use
• Neutral sound
• High-quality build

Cons:

• No adjustment in the cartridge mounting point
• Armlock is not my favorite design

10.3″ Arm Specs:

• Weight: 0.6Kg (Arm alone measures .510Kg
• Effective Mass: 14.0 grams
• Length from Spindle to Stylus: 262mm or 10.315″
• Lead Capacitence: 35pF
• Material: Carbon Fiber
• Arm Diameter: 22mm
  
• Price: ~$1800.00 U.S.

Associated Equipment

• VPI Prime
• VPi 10″ 3D Unipivot arm with VTA Base
• Ortofon 2M Red, Blue, Bronze
• Ortofon Quintet Red
• Zyx Exceed Bloom
• SOTA Pyxi
• iFi Zen Phono
• Marantz SR7009
• Advance Paris My Connect 250
• Mcintosh MC250
• Sonus Faber Sonetto V
• Paradigm Defiance V8
• Synergystic Research Found SX cables
• Synergystic Research Powercell 8 SX

Conclusion

I think my favorite thing about the Wand is that it really is a blank canvas that allows you to create art with various cartridges and phono stages. It is much harder to switch out Tonearms than it is to switch out cartridges, or phono stages, so having an arm that lets the tonality and character of your cartridges shine is a major win in my book. The only critique I have for the wand is the armrest, it leaves a tiny mark on the arm as it is stationary and holds the Wand with just a bit of tension. My VPI arm has an arm lock that swings over the arm and then swings back off when you want to use it. I worry that over time it may wear the Wand or the arm lock to the point it doesn’t hold it any longer. I don’t think it would stop me from buying the Wand for myself, but something I would change if it were up to me. Beyond that, you get a great product at a very attractive price. Mounting it is simple and with the included parts and tools you can mount it to a wide variety of turntables. The Wand has been added to my list of future purchases and should be one you consider if you are looking to upgrade or add an additional tonearm to your current table.

For more information about the Wand and how to mount one on your table click the link below

https://designbuildlisten.com

To Download the Armboard file for the VPI Prime click Here

U.S. Distribution:

https://profundoaudio.com/the-wand

Disclaimer:

Profundo provided Hifi Chicken with a Wand Tonearm for the purpose of this review, Profundo, Design Build Listen nor any affiliate paid in part or full in exchange for this review.