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Leif: A hobby that turned into an
obsession
The Airtangent Story has all the elements of which
High Dreams are made. Its designer, Leif Häggmark has been importing
into Sweden and marketing ARC, Krell, Sonus Faber, Audio Physic,
Wilson, Nordost, Lyra, Magneplanar, Gamut and Theta. In 1983 he found himself so frustrated with the sound of available
tonearms that he started working on one himself.
The result was the Airtangent 1, (in 1986), the granddaddy of the
subsequent designs – the 1B, the 1C, the 2, the 2B, the 2C, the 10B
and the cost-no-object designs the Reference and the 2002.
With the original arm, it was a familiar story.
Leif: “Some friends heard it and ordered it. Some of their friends
heard it…and so on.” There was a favorable review; the word spread
underground among the audio cognoscenti. Then, in 1987, Leif put the arm into regular production. Clearly a
handcrafted product, only a limited number of each model was ever
made.
Each model, and particularly the 2002, can be considered one of
those very rare, final purchases. Achilles Chroneos,
August 2002 |