Clearaudio Universal

The Universal is Clearaudio’s reference pivoted tonearm — the pivoted arm most Innovation, Ovation, and Reference Jubilee owners pair with their turntable. It held Clearaudio’s pivoted-tonearm flagship position until the 2025 Unity replaced it, and it remains in standing production because the 9-inch and 12-inch effective lengths cover mounting scenarios that a 10-inch Unity does not.

The engineering decision at its centre is a precision-machined vertical and horizontal ball-bearing assembly, held to ultra-high tolerances. This is a gimbal design — not a magnetic bearing, which is a different Clearaudio patent that sits on the Verify tonearm instead. The armtube is a three-piece telescoping carbon-fibre structure whose varying diameters break up resonant modes while adding rigidity to what is otherwise a very low-mass material. An aluminium one-piece headshell provides a stable mounting platform for the cartridge and allows accurate azimuth adjustment for maximum stereo separation.

Setup is deliberate throughout. Interchangeable multiple counterweights let the listener position mass close to the pivot point for any cartridge weight class; the counterweight is underslung for optimal centre of gravity, which also gives fine tracking-force adjustment. Magnetic anti-skating is mechanically decoupled and adjustable via a locking thumb screw. Internal wiring is Clearaudio’s Six Stream cable — the same wire specification used in the Statement TT1 tangential flagship.

Universal is the right tonearm for an Innovation-family, Reference Jubilee, or Ovation turntable where a pivoted-arm architecture is preferred over the tangential Statement TT1 or the newer Unity flagship. Available on order at LMC Scottsdale — walk in during business hours or book ahead if the audition needs a Universal-vs-Unity or 9-vs-12-inch comparison with your specific turntable.