Korf Removable Headshell Tonearms
One Architecture. Two Lengths.
9 inch. 11 inch.
A removable headshell has been part of tonearm design for generations, providing a standardized interface between cartridge and arm. Korf’s TA-SF9R and TA-SF11R bring that familiar architecture together with the company’s approach to rigidity, quality of motion, and mechanical stability.
Both arms use stainless-steel arm tubes and the standard Ortofon/SME/JIS headshell connection, allowing the listener to choose from a wide range of compatible headshells—including Korf’s own HS-A02 ceramic design. The two models share the same fundamental construction, differing primarily in effective length.
Korf’s zero-friction, zero-stiction flexure horizontal bearing is paired with ceramic-hybrid vertical bearings. Magnetic anti-skating, precise VTA and azimuth adjustment, and a screw-adjusted counterweight make setup repeatable and help the arm remain correctly adjusted over time.
Korf TA-SF9R
Stainless steel · 9 inch
The TA-SF9R packages Korf’s removable-headshell architecture into a conventional 9-inch format. Its stainless-steel arm tube, flexure bearing system, and standard headshell interface make it suitable for a broad range of turntables while preserving the flexibility that has made removable headshells useful for decades.
Price: $3,000
Korf TA-SF11R
Stainless steel · 11 inch
The TA-SF11R extends the same architecture to an 11-inch transcription-length arm, particularly at home on transcription turntables designed to accommodate longer tonearms. The longer arm reduces tracking-angle error across the record while retaining the bearing system, removable-headshell interface, and adjustment architecture of the TA-SF9R.
Price: $3,500
Choosing a Korf Tonearm
Across the SF, AF, and CF, different materials change the mechanical behavior of the structure while the architecture and Korf’s underlying priorities remain consistent. That makes choosing among them a question of the turntable they will become part of, the performance of the rest of the analog front end, and what the listener wants that combination to accomplish.
At Backbeat Audio, the TA-AF10 is installed on our Dr. Feickert Blackbird and available to hear by appointment. We can help determine which Korf arm makes sense for your setup.
Specifications
| TA-SF9R | TA-SF11R | |
|---|---|---|
| Arm tube: | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Effective length: | 229mm | 278mm |
| Pivot-to-spindle: | 214mm | 265mm |
| Offset angle: | 22° | 18° |
| Effective mass: | 28g* | 29g* |
| Headshell connection: | Ortofon/SME/JIS | Ortofon/SME/JIS |
| Horizontal bearing: | Flexure pivot | Flexure pivot |
| Vertical bearings: | Ceramic hybrid rolling bearings | Ceramic hybrid rolling bearings |
| Balance: | Static | Static |
| Internal wiring: | OCC Litz | OCC Litz |
| Cable connection: | 5-pin MDIN | 5-pin MDIN |
| Mounting: | JIS/Linn or SME | JIS/Linn or SME |
| Price: | $3,000 | $3,500 |
*Effective mass specified with Korf HS-A02 ceramic headshell.