The Tosca
"Frankly, I don't think that I've ever heard better LP playback than the DS Audio DS Master 1 hosted by the NVS and the Durand Tosca."
(David W. Robinson, Positive Feedback, Issue 107, January 2020)
“Stone cold killer…. This is the best tonearm I've ever heard.”
(Mark Z., customer)
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The Tosca™ was first presented to the public at the 2019 Axpona show in Chicago. It is our first gimbal-bearing design and we are confident that we have pushed the boundaries of tonearm design one more time! As usual, the utmost attention has been devoted not only to the design of each single part, but to the materials used as well. Metals were chosen for their specific tonal and mechanical qualities; the armwand is made of a complex construction of damped carbon fiber; the bearing and armwand neck are in a composite material also based on carbon fiber, and the headshell is in nickel-plated magnesium. All these elements were tested over a period of several years in order to achieve the best interaction between themselves and tonal balance.
photo Steve Korn 2019
The bearing assembly is contained in a unique mechanism designed to reduce vibration, so that it is ideally isolated from mechanical disturbances coming from the outside. Another innovation can be seen in the system used for the VTA/SRA adjustments. After freeing the bearing assembly on the VTA columns, it is a simple matter of turning a screw that activates a mini-jack placed under the bearing assembly. Convenient engraved markings on the VTA column ensure reproducibility of any setting.
Like all our models, the Tosca™ offers all the adjustments needed to explore its full potential: VTA is adjusted with a mechanism placed under the bearing assembly that doesn't require a hole to be bored in the armboard/plinth. For the first time on our models, the azimuth can be very easily adjusted directly at the headshell, which means that any rotation of the system is done in same the plane as the stylus. Anti-skating is of course available, and can be defeated with a simple operation.
As we did with the Kairos™, the Tosca™ has a DIN connector built inside the back of the tonearm base — as system that greatly minimizes the transmission of vibrations to the cable. This allows you to choose between several of the phono cables that we offer separately (DIN-RCA or DIN-XLR), and that were developed specially for the Tosca™.
The Tosca™ was designed to be the best tonearm on the market. Contact your local dealer and judge for yourself!
Specifications
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Effective length: 258.5 mm (10.18”)
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Pivot-spindle distance: 242.6 mm (Loefgren A geometry).
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Overhang: 15.92 mm (Please see our page on cartridge alignment here)
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Offset angle: 21.2 degrees.
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Cartridge mount: 1/2” (12.7mm)
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Mounting on the plinth/armboard is done with 2 x 10-24 (or M4) screws (for metal armboards) or 2x #8 wood screws (for wood armboards).
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Weight of the whole assembly: ca. 3.9 lbs (1.625 kg)
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If you want to make sure that the Tosca™ will fit on your turntable, you can download a mounting template here (scroll to “Tosca™ Mounting Templates”)
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Bearing: gimbal, hybrid design
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VTA/SRA: fine adjustment with screw activating a mechanism located under the bearing assembly (no need for a hole in the armboard). Range: ca. 18 mm. We provide a cartridge plate (spacer) if the armwand needs to be elevated beyond the range of the VTA mechanism.
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Azimuth: adjustable at the headshell. We discuss the question of azimuth setting here
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Anti-skating mechanism can be disabled if desired
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VTF with coupled counterweights: 96 gr, 2 x 64 gr. Counterweights are of a special alloy of much higher density than stainless steel. The Tosca™ is a medium mass tonearm, and the combination of counterweights provided with it allows use of most cartridges currently available.
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DIN connector inside the arm base.
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Jig to set the pivot-to-spindle distance provided; no need for a ruler, the jig places the tonearm exactly in the right position
Like our other tonearms, the Tosca™ is a medium-mass tonearm that can be used with most modern cartridges on the market.
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We offer a range of DIN-RCA (or DIN-XLR) phono cables developed specifically for the Tosca™, with copper or silver wires.
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MSRP:
Tosca: $18,000
Phono cables:
Level 1 (copper wires):
$2,100 in DIN-RCA, 4’ configuration
$2,450 in DIN-XLR, 4’ configuration
Level 2 (copper wires):
$4,400 in DIN-RCA, 4’ or 5' configuration
$4,700 in DIN-XLR, 4’ or 5' configuration
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Level 3 (silver wires):
$4,700 in DIN-RCA, 4’ or 5' configuration
$5,000 in DIN-XLR, 4’ or 5' configuration
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Like all Durand Tonearms products, the Tosca™ is entirely made and assembled by hand in the USA.
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Please note that our invoice will state full price paid, regardless of where it is sent. Durand Tonearms will not misrepresent your tonearm’s value for customs purposes. Please do not ask us to do so.