![]() Recommended Components: 2. Edition Turntables, Tonearms, Cartridges, etc. Turntables. Editor's Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, www. Analog. Planet. com, which is edited by Michael Fremer. A+Tech. DAS Air Force One: $1. A visually stunning technological tour de force," the 1. Air Force One has a three- layer chassis of damped aluminum, a forge- processed stainless- steel platter, and a massive AC synchronous motor controlled by an outboard dual- 5. W amplifier. The platter uses an air bearing; LPs are held to the platter with vacuum suction. The review sample was equipped with a Graham Engineering Phantom II Supreme tonearm. Though it didn't sound as smooth as the Continuum Caliburn or the Onedof One Degree of Freedom, the Air Force One was sensational in terms of harmonics, space, texture, and microdynamics, said Mikey, who concluded: "The Tech. DAS Air Force One was a sonic masterpiece." After noting, in Vol. No. 1. 1, that the less expensive Air Force Two nipped at the One's heels rather more fiercely than expected, MF borrowed a second sample of the latter and noted "far less of the mechanical sound" that had checked his enthusiasm for the first sample—and he enthused over the One's new titanium- platter option (ca $5. Vol. 3. 6 No. 4, Vol. No. 4). VPI Classic Direct turntable: $3. A brand- new, US- made direct- drive turntable—in the 2. Century? Believe it. For VPI's Classic Direct, designer Harry Weisfeld selected a $4. Thin Gap motor, servo- controlled by a custom- designed active- feedback loop, which he combined with an 1. The platter and drive system (combined weight: 2. MDF plinth measuring 2. To this, Weisfeld has mated a version of his tried- and- true JMW unipivot tonearm updated in both mechanical design and materials choice, this one a seamless resin creation whose existence would not have been possible even five years ago. Tonearms are the unofficial champion of the "biggest pain in the ass component" contest. They are usually very difficult to set up (especially for a beginner) and, in. Turntables Editor's Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, www.AnalogPlanet.com, which is edited by Michael Fremer. A+. ![]() Referring to his longtime reference 'table- arm combination, MF observed that "the Classic Direct with its JMW Memorial 3. D- printed 1. 2" tonearm comes as close to the [Continuum] Caliburn's sound as has any turntable, and for less than one- fifth the price." Quibbles: MF wondered if even greater performance could be had with a more sophisticated plinth, and lacked enthusiasm for the model's peripheral platter clamp. Vol. 3. 7 Nos. 5 & 6 WWW). AAcoustic Signature Ascona Mk. II: $3. 3,9. 95. At the heart of the "massive yet surprisingly compact" Ascona Mk. AC motors, while the upper holds an adjustable tonearm support, a platter bearing with a Tidorfolon thrust plate, and an appropriately massive platter fitted with 3. Acoustic Signature's signature Silencers. After using the Ascona Mk. SAT tonearm and with the 9" version of Acoustic Signature's own TA- 9. MF found the turntable to be "pleasingly rich in the midrange and delicately drawn in terms of attack, sustain, and decay" of notes. He concluded that the "ingeniously designed, superbly machined and constructed" Ascona Mk. Vol. 3. 9 No. 1. 2). Audio Union Dohmann Helix 1: $4. DIY Projects by Sylvain Bergeron, Home Page. Tube Buffer (In Progress.). Basic cathode follower with a choke for the cathode resistor.Designed by Mark Döhmann, who headed the design team at Continuum Audio and now works under the auspices of Bulgaria- based Audio Union, the belt- drive Döhmann Helix 1 was intended to achieve the same goals as the well- regarded Continuum Caliburn turntable, but at a far lower cost. Incorporating a CNC- machined aluminum- alloy plinth that itself weighs 1. Helix 1 also makes use of a Negative Stiffness isolation platform, a high- torque motor with a software- based control system, a 3. Paired with the Helix 1 is the Captive Bearing (CB) tonearm from Frank Schröder, also a member of the Audio Union design team. The CB features a carbon- fiber armtube and ultralow- friction hybrid ceramic bearings that include internal magnetic damping of horizontal motion. MF praised the Schröder CB as a "strong performer for $4. Helix 1 turntable with his reference SAT tonearm—an experience that led him to declare that "the Helix lets the music erupt (as I wrote about the Caliburn 1. Mikey concluded: "Had I installed the Helix 1 in the same 2. Continuum, I'd have written about it what I felt about the Caliburn: 'no turntable in my experience comes close to its sonic performance and you are guaranteed to hear your favorite demo LPs, indeed all of your LPs, as you've never before heard them.'" (Vol. No. 3). Brinkmann Balance: $2. The ready- to- play Brinkmann Balance is a plinthless 'table with an attractive, low- profile base available in a variety of sizes and configured for specified tonearm masses. Its high- tech feet are designed to effectively isolate the supporting base from horizontally and vertically induced vibrations, and its platter's speed can run at precisely 3. The Balance combined "deep, tight, articulate" bass performance with "the lightest, airiest, purest" soundstages to breathe new life into MF's favorite LPs, adding "greater holography of imaging but without etch." Recent upgrades include a new motor and new power- supply electronics. Adding Brinkmann's optional RöNt tubed power supply ($4. MF. "The Brinkmann Balance remains one of a handful of the finest turntables being made today." Brinkmann 1. Brinkmann EMT- ti cartridge adds $4. Vol. 2. 8 No. 5; Vol. No. 4 WWW). Brinkmann Bardo: $7. The Bardo is a direct- drive, suspensionless turntable with an eight- pole, speed- controlled motor. It has a vinyl platter mat, a polished granite base, and the superbly designed and machined spindle and bearing used in Brinkmann's more expensive Oasis, La Grange, and Balance models. Fit'n'finish were outstanding, and setup was quick and simple. Though it lacked the rich, deep bass of Brinkmann's more expensive 'tables, the Bardo "produced superbly well- organized sound with clean, sharp attacks, reasonably strong sustain, and pronounced decay, all against a jet- black backdrop," said Mikey. Precision- ground crystal platter mat and screw- down record clamp now included in price; optional Balance power supply adds $1. Vol. 3. 4 No. 5 WWW). Brinkmann Spyder: $1. Offered as a replacement for Brinkmann's previous next- to- best turntable, the La Grange, the company's Spyder is a belt- drive turntable with a somewhat modular design, built around a small aluminum stand that holds the same heated platter bearing used in Brinkmann's top model, the Balance. The stand can accommodate up to four of the Spyder's massive aluminum tonearm bases (one base is included; extras are $3. Brinkmann's own AC motor, the Sinus. A solid- state power supply for the motor comes standard; a tubed supply, the RöNt II, is a $4. Partnered with Brinkmann's new 1. Brinkmann Spyder lacked the very last word in weight and drive, but impressed MF with its "authoritative dynamics, an especially strong sense of musical flow, and backgrounds so 'black' that I often thought I'd selected the wrong input when . I unmuted the preamp." MF concluded that the combination of "innovative, flexible, upgradable design, quality manufacturing, careful attention to small but important details—and outstanding sound—make the Brinkmann Spyder with 1. Vol. 3. 8 No. 5). Dr. Feickert Analogue Firebird: $1. While it isn't the first commercial turntable with a three- motor drive system—that would be the original Voyd, of 1. Feickert Firebird is probably the first such product whose motors are synchronized by means of a custom phase- locked loop (PLL) feedback circuit. Nor is that the Firebird's only claim to fame: Dr. Christian Feickert's top- of- the- line turntable also boasts a newly redesigned inverted platter bearing, a 1. POM, and said to have characteristics similar to those of vinyl itself) embedded with eight solid- brass damping cylinders, and provisions for two tonearms up to 1. Reviewed by MF with his own 1. Kuzma 4. Point tonearm, the Firebird provided "a sensation of gliding smoothness and a sophistication of leading- edge transients. It avoided rough, hard edges as well as oversmoothed transients, but it definitely leaned toward the latter." His conclusion: "I greatly enjoyed my months of listening with it." (Vol. No. 3). Kuzma Stabi M with 4. Point 1. 4 Inch tonearm: $2. In contrast with other Kuzma turntables, the plinth of the Stabi M exists as two separate components: a massive aluminum frame and a no less massive aluminum inner platform, the latter elastically isolated from the former.
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