TA-500 NEO
A turntable is only as good as its weakest link! As a matter of principle, we do not want to allow ourselves to call our ‘smallest’ an entry-level tonearm. The TA‑500 NEO is simply much too good for that!
TA-500 NEO in silver
Special features:
- 9 inch tonearm with dual-layer carbon armtube
- Low resonance, rigid tube design
- Excellent tracking results due to precision miniature ball bearings
- Better rigidity and smooth operation due to stainless steel tonearm axis design
- Internal studio-quality copper wiring by Mogami
- Supplied with external Audioquest 5-pin copper phono cable (RCA)
- Counterweight made of brass
- Adjustable VTA
- Anti-skating weight
- Rega-type mounting version
- 5-year warranty with registration
Quality ‘Made in Germany’
Lovingly handcrafted in Germany, the TA‑500 NEO scores with cardanic precision ball bearings that provide excellent control and a stainless steel tonearm axis for more rigidity and smoothness.
Performance at a high level
A rigid yet well-damped dual-layer carbon armtube effectively minimizes unwanted vibrations. Of course the TA‑500 NEO offers VTA, azimuth and anti-skating adjustment, allowing fine-tuning for optimum cartridge performance.
Thought out in every detail
The headshell of the TA-500 NEO offers virtually no surface for unwanted resonances. The internal MOGAMI studio-quality copper cabling and the included 5‑pin copper phono cable from Audioquest also contribute to the TA‑500 NEO’s performance – far beyond its price range.
Absolutely flexible
The TA‑500 NEO is designed as a 9‑inch tonearm. In addition to the brass counterweight, an add-on weight for heavy cartridges is also included.
Test reports
“The nine-inch tonearm, known as the TA-500 Neo, is also the company’s entry-level model, but it proves to be just as uncompromising as the turntable itself. […] It became clear that even top MC pickups […], whose potential it makes accessible, do not overtax it. […] If you prefer to run an MM pick-up […] it fits perfectly with the straight, assertive, but also sensitively graduated character of the Acoustic Signature that is only small on the price list. But it worked its magic with all of our test pickups. Its magic lies not least in the ability to generate and sustain musical tension even when not much is happening yet.”
(test with Merlin NEO)
Stereo
07/2026
by Matthias Boede
“I really enjoyed the Merlin NEO and TA-500 NEO combo and think it is a very accomplished spinner that fulfils all the things I want a turntable to do.”
(test with Merlin NEO)
Hifi Pig
08/2026
by Stuart Smith
“it was to the credit of the MCX2 and the company’s smallest tonearm, the TA‑500 NEO, that the musical sequences were as clear as glass”
(TA‑500 NEO with Tornado NEO and MCX2)
Fidelity
11/2021
by Roland Schmenner
“Perfectly crafted and equipped with a superb lift, the TA-500 Neo is very pleasant to operate. The elegant, noble tonearm guides any pickup safely, the platter rotates in a stoic, controlled manner – the sonic result is beyond any doubt. This is money well spent.”
(Test with Double X NEO and MCX1)
Stereoplay
08/2021
by Alexander Rose-Fehling
“Precision all around … Precise ball bearings without clearance allow the cartridge to effortlessly follow every path the record offers.”
(Test with Maximus NEO & MCX2)
Stereo
07/2021
by Matthias Boede
Unboxing & Setup Video
This video features the unboxing of a TA-500 NEO tonearm followed by a step by step guide to the tonearm’s assembly. Additional adjustments highly depend on your cartridge. Please refer to it’s manual and the TA-500 NEO’s printed manual for further steps.
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Technical data
| Available sizes: | 9″ version |
| Length: | 293 mm |
| Effective length: | 239.3 mm |
| Mounting distance (from pivot to center of platter): | 222 mm |
| Total weight: | 349 g |
| Effective mass: | 10 g |
| Tilt angle (depends on cartridge): | 22° |
| Overhang: | 17.3 mm |
| Cartridge balance range: | 6 to 16 g |
| Mounting: | Rega style, SME style upgrade option at additional charge |
| Armtube: | Dual-layer carbon |
| Signal cable material: | Copper wiring by Mogami |
| Phono cable: | Phono cable by Audioquest |
| Connectors: | 5-pin to RCA/ground connector |
Available finishes
| Tonearm: | Silver (anodized) |
| Armtube: | Carbon |
Package contents
- TA-500 NEO tonearm
- Counter weight
- Adjustment template
- Phono cable
- Additional weight
- Screws
- Anti-skating weight
- Toolset
- Instruction manual
Warranty
- 5 year warranty for registered products manufactured after October 2020.
Made in Germany
Our ‘smallest’ tonearm convinces with big qualities: selected high quality materials and manual assembly at the Acoustic Signature manufacture in Germany are certainly for us on the TA-500 NEO production.