The Wand Dark-Light tonearm
Pick-up arms are wonderful things. They do an amazing job of supporting a signal generator over an fast-moving undulating groove while ensuring that the stylus reading the groove maintains good (enough) contact with the groove walls in order to extract all the musical information contained within it.
Approaches to achieving that have been many and varied, and they range from pivoted arms, parallel trackers, ball-bearings, knife-edge bearings, pots of damping fluid… the list goes on. Then you can add varying groove profiles, stylus shapes and debates over different alignment arrangements.
The Wand has been around for many years now, and its (for the time) radical wide-to-narrow carbon-fibre arm made it a very distinctive item when it first appeared. That profile made it unmistakable, and it quickly gained an almost cult following which has not diminished with time.
However, as with any design, and particularly in the field of materials science, new materials, manufacturing techniques and our understanding of the behaviour of all the different facets of vibration control, bearing behaviour, interaction with different generator (cartridge) types and weights, and the new breed of non-electrical (optical) cartridges on the market, continuous development is understandably important in maintaining the status and following of an already exceptional product.
The Wand Dark-Light’s taper is chosen to produce an even spread of essentially benign harmonic resonances which (to quote the amazing hard-back coffee-table-quality picture book) ‘contribute to the arm’s characteristically natural and satisfying sound’.
Please note that a very comprehensive installation guide is available via a link on line from the website, which also details how the arm can be mounted on a turntable originally designed for arms of a different length – impressive.
Though originally conceived very early on, the Wand Dark-Light is the newest iteration of the Wand. To put things in perspective, I’m going to quote again from the book which accompanies the arm:
0.1mm: The width of a vinyl record groove – and the scale of the largest bass modulations
0.001mm: The best achievable tolerance in a precision rolling bearing
0.0000001mm: The size of the smallest recorded signals in a groove roughly equivalent to the wavelength of visible light
These are orders of magnitude which are huge, and at the same time (if it’s not a contradiction in terms) hugely-small! With a pick-up arm, and the associated stylus, generator, and then the impossibly-small audio signal which the cartridge produces (which then needs EQ and massive amplification) it’s astonishing that vinyl works at all. And yet it works, and even at a basic level, brilliantly. With a good cartridge and an arm like the Wand Dark-Light truly great things are possible, and all this in the comfort of your own listening space.
Mundanity
I’m going to take a step back here. The most mundane record player can engage. The most mundane replay system can engage. That engagement comes from the material which is being played. I wrote a piece years ago about how, when driving, you can have the car radio on, and be so immersed in what was being played that many miles can roll past almost unnoticed because you’re immersed in the programme. No-one’s at risk, your eyes are on the road, if a hazard appears you’d react, but your imagination has been captured for that moment. Car radios weren’t (and still aren’t) perfect. They’re frequency and dynamically limited. Clarity is questionable.
The humble Dansette did (does in some cases still) a creditable job. People got up to dance, they enjoyed their music in the home on it. It engaged (if the music and the mood was right). There’s no way either the car radio or Dansette was blessed with any attribute we now know as ‘hifi’, and none of the parameters we use to assess audio gear now would ever apply.
Ease
The Wand Dark-Light brings that ‘ease of listening’ to whatever you play. It does not intrude, it does not appear to mask anything, it does not appear to colour anything (despite the name). It is an open conduit between the information in the grooves and the rest of the replay system. To quote an oft-used phrase, it simply acts like a window on a concert hall: wide open, letting everything through. There is never (in the context of my system) any hint that the arm provides anything but a truly faithful channel through to the performance.
Many cartridges were tried, many cartridge types were tried (MM, MC, strain-gauge, optical, even a piezo). The differences between them were clear to hear, but the constant was the arm’s lack of intrusion, lack of colour, even-handedness, transparency. So where did the arm really score? Not only was detail easily heard (no straining to pick things up, it was simply ‘there’) but an important element for me is an emotional connection with the performance. A performance doesn’t need to be a perfect rendition. But it needs to have the soul of the music laid bare, and accessible, together with the performer(s) input and interpretation.
Breeze
Listening was carried out with the Wand Dark-Light on my venerable and trusty SME turntable. Long in the tooth now, well used, and whose sonic signatures, vices and abilities I know well. Setting the arm up is a breeze, but I would caution here: many with a new product will rush to ‘get it sorted and playing’ in fairly short order. The Wand Dark-Light instills similar urgencies and anticipation, but, please, please read the manual first. Not only does it contain a wealth of information about the Wand Dark-Light but it also contains, photographed in the most glorious way, all the steps you need to go through to get the Wand Dark-Light set up right first time. A complete toolkit is supplied, with a tracking gauge, alignment tool (itself rather unique, and brilliantly thought-out), all you need, in fact.
I guess the install took about an hour and a half – but then I was taking things slowly, and wanted to make sure I did get it right to give the arm a fair hearing. Once installed, setting up tracking force, azimuth, VTA etc was really simple and all that was left to do was listen.
Critical listening
Sometimes people ask me how I listen ‘critically’. The short answer is that, essentially, I don’t. As those who read my reviews will know, my preferred listening is acoustic music, so that tends to be classical and jazz. However, there are many fantastic acoustic tracks in other genres where my musical knowledge is rather scant, so things like country, folk, bluegrass and a whole host of other music types tend not to figure in my auditions. As long as you’re happy with my ‘sphere of operation’ then we’ll get along just fine.
First to hit the platter was a syrupy rendition of some of Ronald Binge’s glorious and so very ‘english’ music. Sailing By has been recorded many times, but it is quintessentially a piece born in the 1960s, originally recorded by the Alan Perry / William Gardner orchestra, and used as the signature tune for the BBC’s Shipping Forecast. Typical of British light music of that era, its silky syrupy strings, warm and gentle orchestration and ability to conjure exactly what the title says, it seems too easy a track to use. But within the orchestration and arrangements are some very nice touches which lesser arms might fail to let through.
I played the Gold Star version (1500 003) released in 1974 which is particularly well recorded, has a wonderful sense of a large acoustic, and yet still managed to locate all the sections of the orchestra quite firmly (but not rigidly) in their own space. Nicely distanced from the mikes, the perspective really is what you’d expect from halfway back in the auditorium at a concert. The Wand Dark-Light was flawless in presenting a seamless and remarkably believable soundscape, full of detail yet unfatiguing, and with the depth and tendress associated with the piece.
As a stark contrast I followed this with one of my favourite Arkiv recordings – Dances from Terpischore (ARC73153). Here the totally raw timbres of the early music ensemble, the almost guttural viols and woodwind were a very different kettle of fish from the Binge played before. This was a 1960 recording, but from the sound quality, immediacy and absolutely joyous tone colours you’d be hard-pressed not to think it had been recorded far more recently. The Wand Dark-Light did an exemplary job, placing each instrument in its own space, and laying out the ensemble clearly and with refreshing ease.
What was interesting was the sense that you could feel the players move as they played, with the tone of some instruments changing slightly as they moved away a little from the mic, and then back again. If you’ve ever watched an ensemble live you’ll realise that they all move to the music as they play.
At this point the strengths of the the Wand Dark-Light were definitely centred on its ability to compare and contrast and leave the listener with no doubt about what they were listening to. The ability of the Wand Dark-Light to bring out really subtle tonal and perceptual nuances within a performance was something which added immeasurably to the feeling that you were as close to a live performance as you could get.
A little heft was required at this point. Edgar Winter’s Frankenstein (on a 45rpm single S EPC 1440) is one of my all-time favourites. I know it’s a bit ancient, but as an all analogue recording, with deep bass, a lot of drive, loads of stuff going on up top, it is a real test of an analogue front end. The opening riff left no doubt as to the Wand Dark-Light’s capabilities in not only retrieving deeply-buried textures down in the depths of the mix, but also in its ability to let the top end shine without losing focus, poise or clarity. Despite all the treble energy the sound was clear, not shrill, the cymbals sparkled (but were never splashy as is often the case), and the bass was rock-firm, articulate and deft without losing any of its weight.
Vision
A foray into something completely different was needed. As a long-time fan of Yes, their Tales from Topographic Oceans were next to be spun. With a huge raft of electronic textures, heavy drums, almost ethereal vocals and a tape recorder which kept breaking down at the session, it’s an amazing testament to Anderson’s vision which finally reached fruition when the final tapes were mastered. The final straw was that the tapes almost got destroyed when producer Eddie Offord put the tapes on the roof of his car, and drove off forgetting they were there. Fortunately no harm came to them and we have that iconic album today.
But what of simple stuff? Nora Jones self-titled album (now something of an old favourite) is an enduring celebration of the softer sultry tomes of the female vocal genre. The Wand Dark-Light manages to allow us to access all the air and space around Jones, the subtlety of the instrumental arrangements and the difference between her close-miked vocals and the more distant ensemble. Again, it’s the Wand Dark-Light’s ability to keep bringing out (but not throwing at you) all the small details which make using it such a joy. The big stuff is there in abundance, but it’s the small details which really make the music sound real, and encourage you to keep listening to more and more music.
Some commentators have said that they keep listening to a new piece of kit because they hear more than they did before. The Wand Dark-Light is a bit more refined than that. It’s not lacking slam, detail, subtlety, musicality or any of those other plaudits which are so often used. What it does do is let you access music on a ‘sounds like it’s real’ basis, and with that comes the ability to delve inside what makes music ‘music’, the energy, the pathos, the anger, and ultimately the emotional journey that every piece takes you on.
Lastly, just to add a bit of ‘confusion’, perhaps that’s the wrong word. The Wand Dark-Light also has a small range of headshell spacers made from variously brass or magnesium. These sit discretely between the headshell and the cartridge. Obviously the arm height will need amending if you decide to adopt one of these. Do they make a difference? Yes, they do. Did I prefer one over the others? Well, yes I did, but it may depend on your musical preferences which one you might want to use – if at all.
The main listening was done without a spacer. But the differences with a spacer can be summarised as: Brass – more punch, slightly harder upper treble, and a fuller body to the sound; Magnesium – a more natural presentation than the bare arm, and if I was going to choose one (to suit my listening tastes) it would be the magnesium. In fact, the magnesium is fitted as standard.
Conclusion
As with all my arm reviews, more than one cartridge was used, over extended listening, and with many records from many eras. At the end of the day, to my mind, it’s no good having to buy one arm for rock, another for jazz and so on. An arm has to be even-handed, but also reveal the best of the recordings’ content, both sonically and emotionally.
The Wand Dark-Light is a supreme performer. When you sit to listen you are transported to as near as dammit where the recording took place. The Wand Dark-Light allows you to easily distinguish between studio and live performances, gives aural insight into the recording venue itself, put ensembles in a realistic ‘space’ between your speakers, and conveys all the energy and enjoyment they are putting into providing you with an engaging musical performance. I would be very hard pressed to find a better, more engaging and complete performer than the Wand Dark-Light. More than highly recommended.
Pros
Exceptionally transparent and uncoloured presentation
Ease of listening – non-fatiguing, natural, and highly engaging
Excellent detail retrieval without sounding analytical or forced
Strong emotional connection to music; conveys performance nuance and intent
Superb soundstaging with convincing space, depth, and instrument placement
Handles a wide variety of cartridges (MM, MC, optical, etc.) with consistency
Wide genre compatibility – equally adept with classical, jazz, rock, and more
Impressive bass control and treble clarity without harshness
Reveals subtle tonal shifts and micro-details in recordings
Well thought-out design with high-quality materials and resonance control
Comprehensive setup kit and detailed instructions included
Relatively straightforward setup and adjustability (VTA, azimuth, etc.)
Optional headshell spacers allow for fine-tuning of sound character
Cons
Requires careful setup and attention to the manual (not ideal for beginners)
Installation can be time-consuming if done properly
Sonic differences with spacers requires experimentation (not plug-and-play optimal)
Premium product likely to be expensive (implied positioning)
Benefits may be less apparent in lower-quality systems or recordings
Lacks obvious “character,” which may not suit those seeking a more coloured or euphonic sound