⌈ Muarah is a Polish manufacturer of audio components related to vinyl playback, founded in 2015. Its current product line includes not only turntables and a tube integrated amplifier, but also a phono preamplifier, speed controller and new proprietary tonearms. We are testing the longer, 12-inch version marked MY-1/12. ⌋

MUARAH has permanently inscribed itself in the Polish audio market. It is known primarily to fans of vinyl records, although its lineup includes also tube amplifiers. Nevertheless, it is (almost) the black record and everything needed to enjoy music listened with that that Mr. Jacek Siwiński and Mr. Wiesław Zasada are particularly focused on.

They introduced themselves to the public with a somewhat strong and unusual statement - a presentation of a quadraphonic system during one of the Audio Video Shows in Warsaw, several years ago. The presentation was meant to attract attention, as a debut of this type in the 21st century was highly original. Later, however, they focused on more typical, though, as some would say, still old-school products. But not only that. They offer an excellent, patented, 21st century-worthy PSC speed controller (for turntables), which also includes a record clamp, packed inside with the electronics that transmit speed data to the controller.

Muarah turntables, on the one hand, do not seem like particularly fancy designs, on the other hand, however, one will find some interesting solutions in them. Even the MU-2 phono preamplifier was created using elements from two worlds - tube and solid-state. The effects of this marriage are excellent, as it is one of the best devices at this price. And the latter is among the quite reasonable ones. This, by the way, is a characteristic feature of the entire Muarah range. The gentlemen set themselves to create devices that play very well, are superbly made and attractive to the eye, but at the same time also reasonably (relatively to the competition) priced. In other words - these are products for the people who have high expectations but don’t want to spend crazy amounts on money to listen to the music in a satisfying way.

One of the elements that allowed Muarah to keep the prices of (especially) cheaper turntable models at a very reasonable level were the originally used Jelco tonearms. As black record lovers are well aware, this Japanese company went out of business in 2020, and manufacturers of turntables using their arms struggled to replace them. To solve the problem, the gentlemen of Muarah reached for the excellent but more expensive Japanese Sorano arms, as well as the even more expensive offerings from Danish Mørch.

They were and, at the customer's request, still are, installed in turntables of this Polish brand, but this has not completely solved the problem of Jelco shortage. Admittedly, both are excellent, classy arms, but first of all they are quite expensive, and secondly there is still the question of their availability (especially in the case of the Japanese Sorano). So Muarah followed in the footsteps of a number of other manufacturers who, faced with the fact of the lack of Jelco arms (and also some time earlier with the withdrawal of SME from selling their tonearms to manufacturers of other turntables) decided to develop their own.

The result of painstaking work are two tonearm models, the 9- and 12-inch ones, designated (respectively) MY-1/9 and MY-1/12. The former, together with the MT-3 turntable, was tested in March this year; see → HERE, it was also featured on the cover of the March issue of the magazine. This time, the latter made it to the test.

▌ MY-1/12

THE PACKAGING, AS USUALLY with this company, is quite modest, yet elegant, and, most importantly, will do its job of protecting the product inside during transport. The arm itself, in the tested 12-inch version, has an effective length of 305 mm and an effective weight of 15.5 g. If you are considering buying an arm for the deck you already have, take into account that the hole in it must have a diameter of ø between 18 and 25 mm. To mount the arm base, you need three holes with a diameter of ø 3.5 mm spaced at equal intervals on a circle with a diameter of ø 40 mm. The distance from the bearings to the center of the platter axis is to be 291.5 mm (+/-1 mm).

The arm tube is constructed from two layers, that is, two tubes, aluminum and carbon fiber placed one inside the other and glued together. Such a construction is intended to provide adequate stiffness on the one hand, on the other hand, the combination of these materials, and even the properties of the glue used, significantly reduce resonances. The arm is based on a gimbal suspension using precision micro bearings. The internal wiring is made of high-purity copper and solidly shielded. It is terminated with a DIN socket located at the bottom of the tonearm column (so the cable plugs in from the bottom).

The headshell belongs to a type that I just like, because it significantly simplifies the life of the user. It is not a Muarah patent, because other manufacturers have been using this solution for years, nevertheless I count the decision to use it as a big plus. For the thing is that the arm ends in a piece with a longitudinal hole, and the cartridge is screwed with two screws in the crossbar fixed in this hole, but only one screw.

So we unscrew this one screw, remove the crossbar and.... we conveniently fix the cartridge in it in the place of our choice. This is especially important for those pickups without threaded holes (like my, also used in this test, Audio-Technica PTG33 Prestige). All adjustment of the cartridge positioning (forward/backward and angle) is done with a single crossbar mounting screw - simple, easy, effective.

The anti-skating was solved traditionally. It's a weight on the thread, although the latter is threaded through a Teflon roller which minimizes friction. Admittedly, Mr. Zawada told me that this (i.e., the weight on the thread) is not his favorite solution, but it is simple and effective, and the tonearm requires this adjustment. There are manufacturers who do not use anti-skating at all in some arms, such as J.Sikora (I mean there is also a small weight on a thread but it is for show, not for the job), and according to them a separate adjustment is not needed (there this role is performed by cables coming out of the arm and adjusted accordingly), but in the tested one the weight on the thread solves this issue effectively. Nevertheless, as the designer says, he will keep on working to develop a better solution in the future.

The counterweight was also solved classically. It is a counterweight screwed onto the back of the arm tube. Except that, unlike in many arms I've dealt with (some even more expensive), the adjustment of the VTF is smooth and precise. Seemingly nothing, but it was simply pleasant to turn the counterweight and easy to get even small changes in VTF. The VTA (arm height) is also traditionally adjustable. You have to unscrew one screw to raise or lower the arm and tighten it back on. Similarly (although you unscrew/loosen a different screw) you can adjust the azimuth.

There are three more elements that I liked, because they are not standard, but rather proof that the manufacturer approaches its product from the users’ perspective and tries to make their lives easier (even more than by all features that I have described so far). The first is the, already mentioned, detachable interconnect. There is a DIN socket on the underside of the arm, and we get an inexpensive but decent Pro-Ject phono cable with the arm. The fact that it is detachable allows users to look (if they feel the need) for other solutions, which, after all, audiophiles love and which I had the opportunity to test - more about it later.

The second thing - a template for a cartridge setup. A seemingly simple thing, it is usually - as in the case of Muarah arms - printed on a rather soft cardboard. On the side of the arm, it ends with a cutout that allows you to put it on its column, which increases the precision of the operation. And it doesn’t increase the requirements for the user, who - as is the case with many other simple templates often supplied with arms - does not have to aim "by eye" with a drawn arrow at the pivot of the arm. A small thing, but one that many will appreciate, as I did.

And there is the third thing I liked a lot. There is a screw in the arm holder with a comfortable grip from the top, which, when necessary, can be used to lock the arm completely, or to adjust the hole in the holder so that the arm comes out of it neither too easy nor too hard, just right (without scratching the surface of the arm tube). As much as I love my J.Sikora arms for their brilliant performance, the lack of anything to make it difficult for them to fall out of the holder (e.g. when accidentally pushed) annoys me a lot sometimes.

Well, and, last but not east, the arm just looks and feels nice, slick and somehow it's easy and comfortable to use, because the lift operates smoothly, too. And yet, none of these features is an industry standard, although all of them should be. So far - bravo! It remains to be seen whether all this is followed by a sound of the class that can be demanded from an arm from this (realistically) not very high, but also not low, shelf.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • The tested tonearm was mounted in my reference turntable, the J.Sikora Standard Max. During the test, I used two cartridges in the arm, first the excellent and rather expensive Hana Umami Red, which has been hosted by me for several weeks as part of another review. Later I went the other way, that is, I put on a much cheaper, but also great, cartridge that i own, the Audio-Technica PTG33 Prestige.

The signal for a good part of the test (changes were made at the end to see if replacing the cable with a better one makes a difference) with the help of the included Pro-Ject interconnect went to the GrandiNote Celio Mk IV phono preamplifier, and further with (slightly improved, as I once accidentally learned from the designer at some point) a long TelluriumQ Black interconnect to my SET 300B, or (also modified by the designer) ArtAudio Symphony II. The latter, via a Soyaton Benchmark Mk II speaker cable, drove the GrandiNote MACH4 speakers.

Performing this review on the surface was not easy, after all, there is no single standard of tonearm mounting, and in the case of J.Sikora there was also the issue of the height of the arm base. It turned out, however, that one visit by Mr. Zawada plus a few days to make the necessary component was enough for the test to take place. After all, the assumption was not to test the arm on any of the Muarah turntables (which was an option, but only if it would not be possible to mount the MY-1/12 on my turntable), but on a one perfectly familiar to me. After all, it was about evaluating the arm itself, not the arm and the turntable.

Two Kevlar arms from the same company, the KV12 and KV12 Max, work on the J.Sikora Standard Max turntable on a daily basis. This aforementioned element was necessary to mount the tested arm in the armbase of my turntable instead of the KV12. The measuring and drawing took place on Thursday, and after the weekend Mr. Wiesław showed up with the completed piece. It fit perfectly, so the whole assembly including setting up the cartridge took maybe 10 minutes. And I was ready to start my evaluation.

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AS I AM, TO WHICH I have admitted many times before, quite lazy, instead of removing my cartridge, namely the Air Tight PC-3, mounted in J.Sikora's KV12 Max arm (which would force me later to install and set it back up later again), I decided to start my listening with another one hosted by me at the time, namely the Hana Umami RED. Like my Air Tight, it comes theoretically from a bit expensive level for this arm (as both cost about twice as much as the MY-1/12), but this guaranteed that this cartridge would not limit the arm.

Later, for a while, the ZYX Ultimate Exceed 100 cartridge, tested for the same "High Fidelity’s" issue, was also mounted on the MY-1/12, but - as it turned out - it performed better on the lower effective mass arm. And finally, I dusted off the inexpensive (I bought it years ago straight from Japan for about $500), but excellent Audio-Technica PTG33 Prestige, the anniversary version of the renown model. I should also add that I discussed right away with Mr. Wiesław, and he agreed, that if I had the option, I would check out his arm with different phono cable(s). As I mentioned, Muarah adds a basic Pro-Ject Connect It cable to the MY-1/12. As the designer himself said, it's a good, solid, but ultimately, inexpensive cable.

The company adds it to the set because, on the one hand, it offers good sound, and on the other, the assumption is that many customers at some point will probably look for other solutions anyway. So it didn't make sense to add an expensive cable, but to offer audiophiles what they like - the ability to do their own testing, comparing various models and finding one(s) that suit them best. The group of phono interconnects available on the market terminated with DIN plugs on one side and RCA (or XLR, depending on the phono stage’s inputs) plugs on the other is not small at all, so there is plenty to choose from.

I asked Bartek Szymanski (SzymanskiAudio) for help, who has recently become a distributor of the van den Hul brand, and two days later I received a package with two models of the brand's cables: D 502 Hybrid (1,290 PLN for 1m) and D 501 Silver Hybrid (2,200 PLN for 1m). So I used the chance to find out for myself if the investment in more expensive (than Pro-Ject) cable made sense for this tonearm.

I listened to the Hana Umami Red cartridge earlier in the arm of (another great Polish) turntable, the BennyAudio Immersion 2. The latter with its sonic character reminded me a bit of my J.Sikora turntable, that is, it delivered a fast, dynamic and energetic performance, which combined with the character of the Umami Red - dense, smooth, gently warm, but also very rich in information - gave excellent sound effects.

The first impression after transferring the cartridge from this turntable to the tested Muarah MY-1/12 arm on my Sikora was as if this beautiful, red Japanese baby... slowed down a little bit. The Hana in the tested arm did not lose much of its high resolution resulting in the presentation of an abundance of information. It continued to impress me with its smoothness and coherence of sound, and continued with its dense, highly natural playing. In fact, the character of the sound was similar in many respects, with some elements slightly weaker (for which I blamed, as it later turned out rightly, mostly the interconnect), and the biggest difference to my ear was precisely the slightly slower response to fast impulses.

The attack of the sound was slightly, but still, softened and rounded. When it was necessary to "kick hard", and a lot of rock records and a couple with big classics and electronics landed on the turntable platter, so the slam was sometimes needed, with the Muarah tonearm everything was as it should be, strong, full, even at times I felt the bass somewhere deep in my gut. Only that the impulse itself, the impact wasn't as fast, wasn't as precise as before on the BennyAudio.

Interestingly, I listened to this cartridge several times installed in different turntables and what i heard of it mounted in the tested arm coincided with most other experiences, and it was the one in the Immersion 2 that was somewhat different. It showed that this cartridge can play a little differently. Perhaps this is because it is used privately by the owner and chief designer of BennyAudio, and perhaps his turntable has been "tuned" a bit for Hana and the sound the man expected from it. Either way, the Muarah MY-1/12 arm performed unexpectedly well with a cartridge twice its price, and for the audible limitations, as I mentioned, I was willing to blame the signal cable in the first place.

On the aforementioned rock records, and I played both FLOYDs and DIRE STRAITS’ ones, and finally, in preparation for an upcoming concert, AC/DC’s, Muarah's new 12-inch arm proved to offer a good PRAT, confidently leading the rhythm and in a way that encouraged uncontrollable, albeit steady, movements of the feet and swinging of my head from side to side. I was easily carried away by the well-known pieces, and this happened despite the fact that somewhere in the back of my mind there was sometimes a little voice reminding me that with my (meaning J.Sikora's) arm the same pieces sound even more dynamic, that there was even more energy in them.

But, after all, these are arms three and six times more expensive, I replied to that voice, which had no choice but to concede my point and join in the sheer fun of listening to music with the tested MY-1/12. And yes, the music was delivered in a bit.... softer way, but still stimulating and a offering tones of fun. In its price class, the Muarah did an excellent job. The only thing one could point the finger at was precisely that clearly more expensive arms played even better. On the other hand, I couldn’t really point out any evident weaknesses, anything that I would perceive negatively about the Muarah MY-1/12 performance. And that was saying a lot, as I was used to the sound provided by the several times more expensive arm

Marcus Miller's band's concert as part of Warsaw Summer Jazz Days became a reason to reach for some classics, including, for example, MILES DAVIS' TuTu with THE bass. The edition of this album I own may not be one of the best, but it's pretty good, and the consequence of listening to it was searching for even more of the master's albums, namely Kind of Blue, or Sketches of Spain, which I have in my collection as pretty good editions. The Muarah MY-1/12 arm thus had the opportunity to demonstrate its ability, or lack thereof, to present the multitude of fine details and subtleties hidden in these recordings, to assemble them into a seamless, coherent, natural whole, and to recreate the unique atmosphere of each of these discs.

And, as it turned out, even in the factory setup and with a not very expensive cartridge (PTG33), the tested arm effortlessly built a unique, immersive atmosphere of the music. It was able to take advantage of the wealth of information (even if, compared to the reference setup, it was not so overwhelming) and put it together in a highly communicative whole. By communicative, I mean a presentation that mimics what we hear live at concerts, that is, presenting the music in a holistic way.

Holistic, meaning that we listen to the musicians and their instruments co-creating the music, more than each individual, and it is played in a way that almost forces an involvement, that draws listeners in, plays on their emotions. With the MY-1/12 and the PTG33 I got presentation that was gently warm, but at the same time clear and differentiated well-enough so that instruments behind the foreground could also be followed, even if what was happening at the front of the stage was the most important element of the presentation.

The soundstage wasn't as deep and didn't have such clearly defined layers as I know it from my turntable (i.e. the same one, but with my arm and Air Tight cartridge), but I didn't really mind it, because the focus was on naturalness and emotional involvement. And so, I enjoyed every record I played but at some point, however, I thought that maybe it was finally time to check whether the phono cable might be the somewhat limiting factor here in terms of resolution, precision and dynamics. The first replacement was the cheaper of the two I received for the test, the van den Hul D 502 Hybrid.

Oh yeah!, I said to myself literally seconds after the stylus dropped into the groove. For the changes in sound were large and unequivocally positive. For example, Davis' trumpet, which gained in terms of mass and richness. On the other hand, its texture was shown much better, and as a result it sounded more natural, i.e. sharper, more penetrating, with more air around it and with more pronounced reverberation.

I don't want to exaggerate the magnitude of the effect achieved with this one change on the system, because I had already listened to Davis with pleasure in the factory setup without feeling unsatisfied. Nevertheless, changing the cable, which took maybe 30 seconds, quickly reminded me that in addition to all the advantages that Muarah showed with the "factory" cable, there is simply more information and realism on this album, which were now brought to the surface. Except that I don't mean their individual exposure, but rather their greater role in creating the whole. Yes, the holistic approach to music presentation come sup again.

I wrote earlier that I was lacking some stage depth and good layers gradation, that with the Pro-Ject cable the stage was sort of compacted, with the foreground dominating more than usual. Adding the not inconsiderable, yet in proportion to the price of the arm reasonable, amount of 1,290 PLN to the tested MY-1/12 resulted (at least for me) in a progress so clear and so significant that as an owner of this arm I could not go back to listening with „factory setup”.

Let me emphasize it again: even with the Audio-Technica, which is not particularly expensive, the van den Hul phono cable added some essence to the music, on the one hand, and vibrancy and openness on the other. It cleaned up the presentation, added some energy and dynamics, improved resolution, differentiation and enhanced the presentation of fast impulses. I probably shouldn't write this, but both van den Hul cables were, it seems to me, brand new, not broken-in, and I only gave each a few hours of playing time so they certainly didn't show their maximum potential yet. Nevertheless, they did their job, because the latter, as I'll discuss in a moment, clearly raised the class and refinement of the sound of the tested arm.

Encouraged by such a good impression the D 502 Hybrid made, I reached for yet another representative of van den Hul's phono cable family, the D 501 Silver Hybrid model, that is almost twice as expensive. "Well, where's the logic in audio?" - That, literally, was my first thought. Because a cable worth 1/4 of the entire tonearm, the only changed component in the whole setup, with a fantastic, but costing at the time I bought it, about $500 AT cartridge, made my eyes open even wider, and brought a smile to my face. For now Miles's trumpet and the rest of the brass took a deep breath, sounded invigorated and some „sparks” finally showed coming from them. They sounded feistier, at times perhaps more aggressive, but without crossing the line and remaining very natural. And with all this, there was no question of any sharpening of the sound, slimming it down or hardening it - it was still coherent, smooth, natural playing, only that it was even better than before!

▌ Summary

I'VE MENTIONED IT MANY TIMES before, and I’ll keep repeating it: I'm a huge fan of good (!) Polish audio. That's why I'm happy with every hi-fi and high-end product that is made in our country. It will come as no surprise when I say that because of my personal preferences, I especially root for components dedicated to analog record playback (and tube devices, of course :-)).

The Muarah MY-1/12 tonearm, and I'm sure the 9-inch one as well, is a complete, well thought-out, refined product, and in the case of its makers, the statement that they made it "for themselves" is not a marketing slogan. The result is not only a product that is pleasant to use, offering all the necessary adjustments, which, in addition, are easily operated, but also a great sounding one! What's more, as usual with this brand, the proposed price in relation to the value offered (against the market) is, in my opinion, really attractive.

So if you are looking around for a tonearm costing even between ten and twelve thousand zlotys, you can surely afford to spend only 8k. And if so, ask for a presentation of the Muarah MY-1/12 (or MY-1/9) and you may save quite some money and be really happy about your choice. And if you decide to go for one of them, at some point (probably rather sooner than later) you will replace the cable with a better one and the arm will sing even better. Give it a try and, I am pretty sure about it, you will be satisfied! Which leaves us no choice but to offer the ˻ RED Fingerprint ˺. ●

▌ Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

Mounting distance (pivot to spindle): 291.5 mm
Effective length: 305 mm
Cartridge top height vs armboard: 35-65 mm
Overhang: 13.5 mm
Maximum tracking angle error: +1.36
VTA range VTA: 30 mm
Effective mass: 15.5 g
Offset angle: 18°
Mounting hole diameter range: 18-25 mm
Anti-skating force range: 0.8 – 2.5 g
Cable connector: DIN-5P
Tonearm mass w/o the counterweight: 190 g
Mass of standard counterweight: 130 g

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THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org