| About Tri-Planar
Tri-Planar officially came into being when the Wheaton Decoupled Arm, now referred to as the Tri-Planar Mk. II, was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in 1981. But, the design of that first arm was the result of years of research and development by Tri-Planar founder, Herb Papier.
The meticulously handcrafted Tri-Planar Ultimate continues to be rated among the world's best. It is an ultra-precision tonearm offering maximum adjustability and watch-like precision. And, just as Herb Papier had envisioned, the arm's unique dual-pivot design provides unrivaled tracking, transparency, and resolution.
|
As a young man, Herb Papier played trumpet in amateur Big Bands
and, later in life, owned a music store. In World War II, he received
official recognition from the U.S. Navy for his expertise in chronometer
calibration, a skill he continued to hone throughout his civilian
career as a watchmaker. Eventually, Herb settled in Wheaton, Maryland,
where he combined his talent for fine mechanisms with his love of
music by creating one of the best tonearms the world has ever known. 
Between
1967 and 1980, Herb experimented with tackling the three major problems
of tonearm design - adjustable azimuth, adjustable vertical tracking
angle (VTA), and bearing at record height. The arms he produced
for he and his friends are generally referred to as Mk. I. By 1981,
Herb found a design he liked and premiered the Mk. II at the Consumer
Electronics Show. He later renamed the arm Tri-Planar, a name that
reflects the three planes of tonearm geometry. 
In 1999, during the Mk. VI years, Tri-Planar was purchased by Herb's
handpicked successor, Tri Mai, of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Herb passed
away in 2003 at the age of 83, just as Tri was introducing the current
incarnation of Tri-Planar, the Mk. VII, which fittingly includes
many of Herb's final thoughts on the design.
©
Copyright Tri-Planar 2003