The Q UP Automatic Tonearm Lifter

The Q Up — The Inexpensive Way to Stop Your Stylus Circling

A mechanical tonearm lifter that raises the stylus at the end of a side. It installs in a few minutes without tools, and it is designed to suit most manual turntables rather than any one make.

A stylus left in the run-out groove keeps tracking for as long as the platter turns. It is the least musical wear a diamond can suffer, and on a manual turntable it is the one thing that happens whenever you are not in the room.

How It Works

Trigger and Lift

The Q Up uses a trigger-and-lift arrangement: the arm meets a trigger as it swings inward past the end of the music, and the lift raises the stylus clear of the record. It is an old idea, rebuilt to suit turntables and arms that did not exist when it was first used.

It interacts with the tonearm only at the end of the record. For the whole of the side it is not touching the arm at all, which is why it can be added to a system without changing how that system sounds.

Adjustable to the Arm You Have

Rather than being machined to one turntable, the Q Up can be configured for a range of tonearm heights, thicknesses and shapes. That is what lets one part cover so many decks, and it is also why a few minutes of setting up is part of fitting it.

Will It Fit Your Turntable?

What It Needs

A manual turntable with a pivoted arm, and a flat area of plinth outside the record where the unit can sit and meet the arm as it reaches the run-out. Installation takes minutes and needs no tools, so nothing is drilled or modified.

What it cannot do is work on a linear-tracking arm, which has no arc for a trigger to intercept, and it has nothing to add to a turntable that already lifts its own arm.

Who Is the Q Up Best For?

• You have a manual turntable — this adds the one automatic function worth having
• You fall asleep to records — or leave the room, which comes to the same thing for the stylus
• You want to spend the money on records — this is the least expensive lifter we sell
• You would rather not modify anything — it installs without tools and comes off again
• Your turntable is already automatic, or linear-tracking — the first does this for you and the second cannot use a trigger; the alternatives are in tonearm lifters

How Do You Install It?

Position it on the plinth so the trigger sits where the arm will reach at the end of the side, then set the height and the trigger for your arm's shape and thickness. Play a record you know all the way through and watch what happens; adjust and repeat until it lifts cleanly every time.

Pairs Well With

What most owners fit alongside a lifter.

• Replacement styli — what a run-out groove costs you if nothing lifts the arm
• Stylus cleaning — the other half of making a stylus last
• Record cleaning solutions — clean vinyl is the cheapest stylus insurance there is
• Record mats — mat thickness changes the clearance under your arm

Frequently Asked Questions

Will it fit my turntable?

It is designed for most manual turntables with a pivoted arm and can be configured for different tonearm heights, thicknesses and shapes. A linear-tracking arm is the exception.

Does it affect the sound?

It only touches the arm at the end of the record. For the whole of the side there is no contact, so there is nothing acting on the arm while music is playing.

Does it need power?

It does not. The mechanism is triggered by the arm itself, so there is nothing to plug in.

Does it stop the turntable?

It lifts the arm only. The platter keeps turning until you switch off, but the stylus is out of the groove and safe in the meantime.

How long does setup take?

The unit itself installs in minutes and needs no tools. Getting the trigger position exactly right for your arm takes a few passes with a record you know well.

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Learn More

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