IntegrityHiFi - The Steel Trinity! Tru-Lift, Tru-Sweep, and Tru-Kleen.
They say good things and bad things come in threes. What is it about that number? Well historically the number three has come to represent the holy trinity in many religions.
It is also called the number of man, because the human being is comprised of a body, a soul, and a spirit. According to the Book of Rites we are also an intermediary between the sky and the earth, which also corresponds to the number three. It also happens to be the sacred number for women in the Mayan culture. It goes on and on, but at the end of the day the number three is revered in many ways and in many cultures.
Hence I decided to call this review the Steel Trinity! For your consideration are three different products from IntegrityHiFi that make no sound at all, but will make your vinyl experience better in a way that cannot be quantified by measurements and graphs. As a matter of fact, only one would have a true impact on sound. The others are convenience focused, and boy are they focused.
Carlo Lupo and Tina Jang are the owners and design geniuses behind IntegrityHiFi and the Tru Series of products. Located in Canada, the Tru Lift items are the work of Carlo Lupo. Carlo does all the design and fabrication. Tina runs the business and handles all the marketing, and for the most part the communications. The three items represented here are the bread and butter of the line. They also distribute the Nasotec Swivel headshell I mentioned recently in my TJN review (HERE). They actually offer all of the Nasotec items in addition to the Swivel headshell. Record Clamp, vibration isolation feet, and some other nice items.
Carlo is fastidious when it comes to quality, tight tolerances, and exemplary production. Consider this HiFi jewelry with a purpose. All the products are crafted from 304 & 316 surgical stainless steel. If you have never worked fabricating this material you cannot imagine how intensive it is to work with. That being said, it is one of the most durable metals we have, sans perhaps titanium.These are stout and comparatively heavy items compared to the competition. The minute you hold one of their products in your hands you know immediately that this gear is built to last a lifetime, move from table to table if needed with very little changes. Not only are they gorgeous, they are also exceptionally well thought out.
If you are a regular reader of this magazine you have already read about the Tru-Sweep. Michael Corsentino reviewed it back in January of 2019. I encourage you to read his full review (HERE). Sans that I am lifting some of his comments and placing them here.
"The Tru-Sweep, a static draining arm and brush combination that gives users a terrific new tool in the battle against pops and clicks." "Tru-Sweep achieves its static draining mojo via an ingenious design featuring a ground wire attached to its stainless steel base that is in turn attached to your phono stage or preamp, grounding it and virtually eliminating static. It works like a champ, tracking in prefect unison with my tone arm as it travels along LPs from beginning to end, gently picking up dust with the camel hair brush mounted to its head, and removing static in real time along the way. The brush/head assembly can be easily removed using an included Allen key and washed as needed." "After thorough torture testing in dry static producing forced hot air conditions, Tru-Sweep never once let me down, continuously keeping my records quiet and dust free. This bad-ass arm now falls squarely into my turntable essentials category. Recommended with 2 big thumbs up!"
The bottom line of his review was that it was "one sexy beast," and well worth looking into. I have to concur with my esteemed colleague 100%. The Tru-Sweep is easily the best crafted sweep arm I have ever laid hands on. The tracking of the arm is adjusted with a sliding weight on the arm. The further towards the brush the weight is placed, the faster it will track. After a small period of trial and error I was able to dial mine in so that it tracks about about one quarter of a track ahead of the stylus. Living in the exceptionally dry weather of the Nevada desert, static is just a part of everyday, all day life. The house walls can store up enough of a charge to zap you pretty good on some days. The Tru-Sweep has done an exceptional job keeping static to a minimum, and because it is in contact with the LP the entire time it is playing it is continually draining that static from the LP during the entire playing. This is unlike my previous grounded static brush, which did a good job when the album was first brushed, but did nothing for additional static interference when playing. My previous wand / brush was cheap and flimsy, and immediately hit the garbage once the Tru-Sweep was in place. This new unit is so superior. You can even remove the brush and wash it as needed.
So you have a very well thought out static and dust brush that works all the time, every time you are playing an LP, and it should last a lifetime due to the build quality and materials.
Next up in the trifecta is the Tru-Kleen. This is a seriously an ingenious bit of kit. Not only is it highly effective at cleaning your stylus, but could also double as a fidget spinner. As you can see from the picture it has two wells on a spinning arm. One well contains, wait for it...Blu-Tac. The other, opposing well holds, wait for it again... A piece of Magic Eraser. Gently drop the stylus down on to the Blu-Tac side for the initial clean, and then spin the head unit around to the Magic Eraser, and it has a polishing effect according to Carlo. The unit even comes with spiffy rubber caps to place over the wells to keep out unwanted dust. Thorough design, thoughtful execution, and easily replaceable cleaning agents. No cantafordium or unobtainium here. Easy and inexpensive to replace. What audiophile does not have at least one full pack of Blu-Tac? A single box of Magic Eraser may be enough to last a lifetime.
This item also can be configured regarding height by using the base and head units with different size sleeves for increasing or reducing height to match anything from a slim platter like on the TJN, up to a 4" heavy platter all with the simple changing of sleeve. They can even custom craft (for additional charges of course) sizes for oddball tables. They make a Tru-Lift that has a base specifically for Technics tables.
Finally we have real headliner in this show, The Tru-Lift. IntegrityHiFi is not the first, or the only company producing end of play arm lift designs for turntables. There are a number of options, but none that I have seen, and I am rather certain there are none made to this exacting standard. Carlo uses the same stainless steel used on all of the IntegrityHiFi Tru products. The lift is created using the same base and sleeves as the other Tru items, but the Tru-Lift has a very precise spring loaded mechanism integrated into the top piece that must be pushed down manually at the beginning of each play. This spring mechanism is directly attached to the lift arm itself. Attached to the top of the lift is a thin wire arm that is triggered by tonearm movement that moves the release lever as the arm tracks the runout grooves, and the Tru-Lift slowly and gently lifts the tonearm. For those perhaps a bit older and not as quick to rise as they used to be (me), or those with issues (again me) like a blown out knee that is two weeks away from surgery, not having to jump up as soon as the album ends is an absolute life saver.
The setup and dial in process of the Tru-Lift is perhaps the only difficult thing to deal with regarding all three of these items. One must simply follow the instructions, or watch one of the many delightful and easy to follow instructional videos to get the set up right. A little trial and error will ensure that the device works smoothly each and every time. It took me about 20 minutes to get it dialed in. At that point you utilize a small piece of Blu-Tac to anchor it. I was helping a friend with his table setting up the Trifecta, and we actually used Flex Seal Glue (easy to remove) to really lock his in, and it hasn’t budged since. He bought the entire Trifecta after examining the products in use on my TJN turntable. What is really a significant testament to the quality is that silky smooth and slow lift. Most other items I have seen are made primarily of plastic, and the lift is often times sudden and jerky. Not even close with the Tru-Lift. This is the result of The Tru-Lift being crafted to incredibly tight tolerances, and the quality of the materials. Jewelry for the eyes and the durability is amazing. You should never have to replace any of the Tru items we are discussing here. The Tru-Lift mechanism is fully and easily serviceable. Also the Tru-Lift has a lifting capacity of 17 grams. This is about 3-4 times the lift capacity of many of the competitors. This is the Patek Philipe of the HIFI accessory world.
So here you have three items that can make your vinyl journey even more enjoyable. Easy cleaning of your stylus with every play, an anti static dust brush that tracks the album in front of your clean stylus, and not only picks up dust but goes a long way towards completely eliminating static in playback, and at the end another device that gently lifts your tonearm at the end of play. How can you not love that?
The Tru-Kleen starts at $149 for the standard size, the Tru-Sweep starts at $259 for the standard size, and the Tru-Lift starts at $209 for the standard, with a single height tube. Cost increase based on size. So we are talking about a total investment starting at $617 plus shipping, and any applicable tax. Total around $700. Cost increases based on upgrades.
Make no mistake, the production of these items is really a true labor of love for Carlo. It shows in every piece that they make. I do not think I can endorse these items any more emphatically than to buy all three and make them an integral part of my vinyl ritual.
No listening notes, no technical jargon, no hype! Simply put you should buy these items if you can afford the ticket. Buy one at a time if you can’t swing them all together. I would start with the Tru-Sweep because it will immediately impact the sound of your vinyl in the aforementioned way and then follow up with the Tru-Lift. The last item would be the Tru-Kleen. Either way, I would definitely create a budget for the Trifecta. You will not be sorry.
Now while this piece is primarily to introduce you to IntegrityHiFi, and the items in the trifecta as I have been living with mine and using them for some. That being said I do get to throw a bit of a teaser your way. Stay tuned to these pages because shortly I will be reviewing the brand new IntegrityHiFi Tru-Glider Tonearm! Positive Feedback will be the first publication on the planet to host a full review! This arm is revolutionary in so many ways it is truly a paradigm shift in tonearms. Without giving away too much:
- Tru-Glider Pendulum floating stand alone tonearm.
- Avg time to set up is about 2 hours to achieve crystal clear soundstage.
- No cables to buy (all included)
- No holes to drill
- No bearings
- No Unipivot
- No Azimuth
- No Antiskate
- No Friction
- No Setup Man
- No expensive Protractor to buy
- Zero Offset
- Nasotec Swingheadshell included
- Special Tru-Lift included
- Arm Tested for 4 hours - pre packing
- Terminated Direct Cardas wires
- Easy to follow video instructions
- Live help on standby
- Transportable to another table
- Customized height
- Sound Dynamics
Like I said. Stay tuned always to Positive Feedback for the latest and greatest, and of course the most innovative gear on the market!!
IntegrityHiFi and their innovative products are an exciting company run by true audiophiles with an absolute fastidious devotion to quality manufacturing and lifetime audio products. Not just that but they are truly caring and friendly people. They are even capable of offering customization. Contact Tina for more info and to find out where you can buy all of the Tru series from IntegrityHiFi.
Tru-Kleen
Retail: $149 standard
Tru-Sweep
Retail: $259 standard
Tru-Lift
Retail: $209 standard
Cost increase based on size and upgrades.
Integrityhifi Canada
519.204.0195
