RECOMMENDED COMPONENTS RC2020

COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS listed here have been formally reviewed in Stereophile, and we have determined them to be among the finest available in each of four or five quality classes: Whether a component is listed in Class A or Class D (or E), we consider it to be a genuinely recommendable product.

Each listing, in alphabetical order within classes, is followed by a brief description of its performance characteristics and a note indicating the issue of Stereophile in which its review, and in some cases Follow-Up reports, appeared—ie, “Vol.42 No.6” indicates our June 2019 issue. And so forth.

A relatively small number of products listed here have not yet been reviewed but have been suggested by one or more of our writers as deserving of consideration. Those products are rated with the letter K, used to identify new products that we hope and intend to review as soon as possible. No one here remembers what the K stands for, but we’re reasonably certain it isn’t Krispy.

Stereophile’s Recommended Components listing is almost exclusively concerned with products currently available in the US through the usual hi-fi retail outlets, although some of them can be ordered online.

We recommend that you read any product’s entire review before seriously contemplating a purchase (and so products without reviews should be treated with caution): Many salient characteristics, peculiarities, and caveats appear in the reviews but not here. To obtain back issues of the magazine, visit our website: stereophile.com. We regret that we cannot supply photocopies or email copies of individual reviews. All full reviews are republished in our website Archives section: These are marked WWW. More are added each week, usually while you sleep.

HOW WE DID IT

We try to include in Recommended Components every product we have found to be truly excellent or to represent good value for money. The listing is compiled after consultation with Stereophile’s reviewing staff and editors and takes into account continued experience of the product after the formal review has been published. In particular, we take account of unreliability and defects that show up after extended auditioning. The fact that a product received a favorable review cannot therefore be regarded as a guarantee that it will continue to appear in this listing.

The ratings given components included in this listing are based entirely on performance—ie, faithfulness of reproduction to the original, in as many aspects as possible. Products markedly deficient in one or more performance aspects are downrated to the extent that their deficiencies interfere with the full realization of the program material.

Bear in mind that many different tastes are represented. Our reviewers have their own points of view—something in which we who publish them take pride—yet Recommended Components is a funnel into which all of their opinions are poured: The letter grades they have chosen may survive this blending, but the nuances of their perspectives may not. You may see on occasion a very expensive and well-regarded product receive a B while a far less expensive, competing product that has deeply impressed one or more writers gets an A. We editors sometimes intervene in the assignment of ratings, to smooth those steps into a more reasonable-looking wave—but the real answer lies in making sure to read the whole of a review (and, ideally, other pieces by the same reviewer) before making a purchase decision. Of course, you can also audition it yourself.

The prices indicated are those current at the time the listing was compiled (January 2020). We cannot guarantee that any of these prices will be the same by the time this issue of Stereophile appears in print. (Note also that, in products where multiple finish options exist, the price we list is for the base-level finish.) There is a near-universal consensus that at some point in the upward climb of product prices, severely diminishing returns (performance vs price) set in. However, there is no agreement as to the price level at which that takes place. Where we have found a product to perform much better than might be expected from its price, we have drawn attention to it with a $$$ next to its listing.

Please bear in mind that deletion of a product from this list does not mean we woke up one morning, decided the thing was terrible, and banished it from our pages. In general, products do not remain listed for more than three years, for two very good reasons: There’s not enough space in the magazine for several years’ worth of products of merit, and it’s impossible to compare a component to others when your memory of it is dim—which is why a component may remain on the list if one of the magazine’s writers or editors has had continuous experience with it.

Discontinuation of a model by its manufacturer also, of course, precludes its appearance. It is also possible that fast-moving technology has left a once-cutting-edge product high and dry. We indicate with a star ★ products that we have chosen to keep on this list for longer than three years, judging them to have achieved sufficient stature to remain.

So please don’t be upset if a product you purchased on our say-so has fallen, leaf-like, from Recommended Components. And if you are upset, please don’t call to tell us about it.

Individual reviewers identified by their initials are John Atkinson, Jim Austin (JCA), Brian Damkroger, Robert Deutsch, Art Dudley, Michael Fremer, Larry Greenhill, Jon Iverson, Fred Kaplan, Michael Lavorgna, Eric Lichte, Sasha Matson, Ken Micallef, Thomas J. Norton, Wes Phillips, Herb Reichert, Bob Reina, Kalman Rubinson, Jonathan Scull, and Jason Victor Serinus.

TURNTABLES

Editor’s Note: We strongly recommend those interested in LP playback visit our sister website, analogplanet.com, which is edited by Michael Fremer.

A+

TECHDAS AIR FORCE ONE PREMIUM: $162,000 WITH TITANIUM UPPER PLATTER

The standard version of the TechDAS Air Force One turntable was awarded an A+ and sat atop these ratings for six years. Now MF has auditioned the Premium version of same, which betters the original AFO with a motorized air pump and automatic, continuous pressure-monitoring system for its air-suspension mechanism. MF’s review sample also featured an optional titanium upper platter. (Without the latter, the AFO Premium sells for $145,000.) Auditioned with a Graham Engineering Elite tonearm, the AFO Premium impressed MF with “its ultraquiet backgrounds, the generosity of its presentation of instrumental sustain and decay, its neutral spectral balance, and [its] dynamic presentation…. It’s as much reliable test instrument as supreme carrier of unassuming musical pleasure.” (Vol.43 No.2)

A

ACOUSTIC SIGNATURE ASCONA MK.2: $37,995 At the heart of the “massive yet surprisingly compact” Ascona Mk.2 belt-drive turntable are separate upper and lower chassis, both machined from aluminum; the lower chassis is home to three electronically controlled 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 30 brass damping cylinders, which Acoustic Signature callss signature Silencers. After using the Ascona Mk.2 with his SAT tonearm and also with the 9” version of Acoustic Signature’s own TA-9000 arm, MF found the turntable to be “pleasingly rich in the midrange and delicately drawn in terms of attack, sustain, and decay.” MF concluded that the “ingeniously designed, superbly machined and constructed” Ascona Mk.2 distinguished itself by excelling “where music lives—in the midrange,” although its overall performance was “on the polite side.” In 2017, Acoustic Signature applied to the Ascona Mk.2 some refinements that MF described as “audible, measurable, and significant,” and which the company offers free of charge to those who’ve already purchased the earlier version. In particular, the interface between the upper and lower chassis has been upgraded to a magnetic-repulsion system that “floats” the former for greater isolation, and the single drive belt has been replaced by three belts, each of a different Shore hardness. The results, per Mikey, are greater speed consistency and “far more substantial” bass. (Vol.39 No.12, Vol.40 No.7)

AMG GIRO G9: $10,000 WITH TONEARM

The Giro G9 is an AMG Giro turntable bundled with the same company’s 9W2 tonearm. The turntable comprises a 1.75”-thick Delrin platter whose bearing is mounted on a circular aluminum plinth, itself 1.5” thick. The Swiss-made AC motor is electronically controlled, with switch-selectable speeds of 33.3 and 45rpm. That motor isn’t outwardly visible—at first glance, the Giro might be mistaken for a direct-drive turntable—but is hidden underneath, driving the platter from a point inside its rim by means of a thin rubber belt. According to HR, the “Apollonian” Giro G9 was “completely adept at recovering and sorting out complex music”; he praised in particular its “detailed” and “well-articulated” bass. Herb recommends avoiding lean, analytical-sounding cartridges, including AMG’s own Teatro—his best results with the Giro G9 were with the notably colorful EMT TSD 75—and advises the user to consider upgrading the AMG player with a third-party isolation base. (Vol.40 No.10 WWW)

BERGMANN GALDER: $26,800; $35,700 WITH ODIN TONEARM

New from Bergmann Audio, a Danish company known for using air bearings not only in their tonearms but also their platters, is the Galder turntable, which breaks with Bergmann tradition in two ways: Its 26lb, belt-driven, air-bearing platter is machined from aluminum rather than acrylic, and the Galder can be bought without a Bergmann linear-tracking tonearm. Indeed, this turntable can support up to four tonearms, either pivoting or tangential tracking. As reviewed, the 84lb, nearly 19”-wide Galder includes a vacuum record hold-down system; for an additional outlay, it comes bundled with the Bergmann Odin air-bearing tangential-tracking tonearm. A speed-adjustable DC motor allows two speeds: 33 ⅓ and 45rpm. MF praised the Galder’s degree of acoustic isolation, and the ease of use of its vacuum hold-down system; more to the point, the combination of Galder turntable and Odin tonearm impressed MF with is fine bass control and extension—better than Mikey expected based on previous air-bearing experiences—and its reproduction of space, though somewhat diffuse, offered an enjoyably wide stage populated with stable, well-focused images. (Vol.41 No.7)

BRINKMANN BALANCE: $25,990 WITHOUT TONEARM ★

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 33.3 and 45rpm. 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 ($4490) produced cleaner, better-articulated mid- and high-frequency transients, said MF. “The Brinkmann Balance remains one of a handful of the finest turntables being made today.” We haven’t auditionned it in a long time, but special pleading from Mikey keeps it listed: “A superb product that has stood the test of time.” Brinkmann 12.1 tonearm adds $6290, Brinkmann EMT-ti cartridge adds $4300. The 12.1 tonearm incorporates mechanical refinements that, according to Brinkmann, endow it with greater torsional stability and greater immunity to resonances. Crafted from aluminum and stainless steel, it uses precision ball bearings for both vertical and lateral movement, and is available with either flying signal leads or a captured output cable of the usual sort. MF felt the Brinkmann 12.1, when compared with the Kuzma 4Point tonearm, had somewhat less slam but was lighter on its feet—and, with classical and jazz, is perhaps the better choice. And MF loved the 12.1’s “lusciously velvet midrange.” (Vol.28 No.5; Vol.35 No.4 Vol.38 No.5 WWW)

BRINKMANN BARDO: $8990 WITHOUT TONEARM ★

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 $1490. (Vol.34 No.5 WWW)

DÖHMANN HELIX ONE MK2: $49,000

See MF’s review in this issue

GARRARD 301: $23,500 (PLUS FREIGHT) WITH ARM AND PLINTH

Since 2011, when he began using a 1957 Garrard 301 as his reference turntable, AD has been looking for a way to sneak that product among this magazine’s Recommended Components. The Cadence Group, which owns SME, Spendor, and other British brands, has provided a means to do just that: In 2018, they added Garrard to their holdings, and in 2019 they reintroduced the 301 to the market. Samples available now comprise a mix of new, NOS, and reconditioned parts, but the company says that proportion will change as they tool up to make new components. Less than ideally, Garrard will sell a 301 only with their own plinth and with an SME M2-12R tonearm; fortunately, according to AD, that arm is itself recommendable. (He has yet to directly compare the plinth to its competitors.) But the sound’s the thing, and in that regard, AD feels that Edmund W. Mortimer’s timeless high-torque turntable design remains the surest way to retrieve all of the touch, force, color, and momentum locked in the groove. (Vol.42 No.12)

KUZMA STABI R: $8595 WITHOUT TONEARM

According to its designer, Franc Kuzma, the new Stabi R is essentially a scaled-down version of his upmarket Stabi M: same 8kg belt-driven platter, same two-speed (33.3 and 45rpm) DC power supply, and same high-torque DC drive motor. The heavyweight (66lb in its most basic version) Stabi R is also available with a wood frame that adds $910 to the price (and another 13lb), and can be used with up to four tonearms (additional armboards are extra-cost options). Used with a Kuzma 4Point 11 tonearm ($6675 as supplied), the Stabi R wowed KM—whose reference turntable is the less expensive Kuzma Stabi S—with “its ability to communicate force at lower volumes, a kind of tranquil power.” Is the Stabi R worth four times the price of the Stabi S? According to KM, “Yes. No other turntable has created its level of stability, presence, resolution, and sheer physicality—not in my system.” (Vol.42 No.7)

MERRILL-WILLIAMS R.E.A.L. 101.3: $8995

In a design that, according to AD, “effectively splits the difference between the solid-plinth and suspended-subchassis approaches,” codesigners George Merrill and Robert Williams have created a belt-drive turntable with a distinctive plinth: By sandwiching a thick layer of rubber between upper and lower layers of hard phenolic, then using gaps in the phenolic to ensure that the platter bearing, tonearm board, and isolation feet make contact only with the rubber substrate, the R.E.A.L. 101.3’s plinth cleverly resists both loss of musical detail and contamination from unwanted vibrations, be they airborne, structure-borne, or generated by the record-playing system itself. Also featured: a physically damped AC motor; an outsize platter machined from polyoxymethylene; an outboard power supply with fine-tuning for speed and a built-in strobe for monitoring the speed on the platter it’s tucked under; easily interchanged tonearm boards, made from layers of acrylic and Delrin, that can accommodate arms of virtually any length (the boards for longer arms cost more); and two record clamps—one a traditional spindle clamp machined from brass, the other a bronze rim clamp. Used with his EMT 997 tonearm and after a few days of running in the motor and main bearing, the Merrill-Williams ‘table impressed AD as “never [sounding] less than colorful, impactful, present, and at least reasonably big”; he declared it “a pleasant surprise and an easy recommendation.” In the minus column were the rim clamp and the name, which Art thought was a bit goofy for such a seriously good product. (Vol.41 No.8 WWW)

PALMER AUDIO 2.5: $11,495 IN BALTIC BIRCH WITHOUT TONEARM ★

As in the designs of the late Tom Fletcher, of Nottingham Analogue, the British-built Palmer Audio 2.5 mates a massive (21 lb) aluminum-alloy platter with an AC motor so tiny and so low in torque that merely pushing the on/off button on its outboard power supply won’t set the platter spinning: The user must start it by hand. A hefty platter bearing and a similarly hefty, cantilevered, rotatable arm mount complete the picture. Installation, though not too daunting, is not helped by disappointing documentation. Used with the Audio Origami PU7 tonearm (with which it’s often paired), the Palmer Audio 2.5 impressed MF with its “attractive, velvety midband,” “black backgrounds,” and “serenity and smooth musical flow.” Especially where the PU7 is the intended partner, prospective owners are urged by MF to consider cartridges that, in other settings, might be considered on the lean side of neutral. Note that a special version of the 2.5, the 2.5-12, is available especially for use with 12” tonearms. HR tried the Palmer Audio Origami combo in 2017 and was won over, observing of the Palmer 2.5 that a “constant sense of a silent, invisible force was [its] core virtue,” and ultimately buying the review samples. Later that year he enjoyed pairing the Palmer turntable and Audio Origami arm with the comparatively “analytical” AMG Teatro cartridge (see elsewhere in Recommended Components). (Vol.37 No.11, Vol.40 Nos.7 & 10)

PEAR AUDIO BLUE KID THOMAS: $5995 ★

From Pear Audio Analogue’s Blue line of products comes the Slovenian-made Kid Thomas turntable, with its chunky wooden plinth, massive platter, and very low-torque DC motor: characteristics that betray no small influence from the products of the late Tom Fletcher, founder of Nottingham Analogue. (Those qualities also put the Kid Thomas in the same file folder as the Palmer 2.5, although Pear Audio has the distinction of having received Fletcher’s direct input and guidance.) Variations on the theme include: the Kid Thomas’s double-layer plinth; thick, elastic damping rings on the platter’s outer edge; and the user’s ability (for an additional $1995) to upgrade from the standard wall wart to an external power supply made by Martin Bastin, a specialist in same. Fitted with Pear Audio’s Cornet 2 tonearm, the Kid Thomas exhibited “a rich, expansive midrange and a smooth, neutral tonal balance,” according to MF. “[E]ven if a bit overprominent, that midrange was something special, with black backgrounds and tape-like musical flow and drive.” (Vol.38 No.1 WWW)

PTP AUDIO SOLID12: €2950 PLUS SHIPPING $$$ ★

Made in the Netherlands by Peter Reinders, the Solid12 has a heavy Corian plinth and uses reconditioned components from original heavy-platter, idler-wheel Lenco turntables: motors (along with their suspension cradles and wiring blocks), platters, platter bearings, platter mats, idler wheels, and idler-support mechanisms. Combined with a Schick tonearm and Ortofon SPU cartridge, the Solid12 delivered punch, drive, force, color, richness, and pure emotional and visceral involvement. “The essential musical rightness and the sheer availability and affordability of PTP Audio’s Solid12 can’t be overstated. If you want to know what the idler-wheel fuss is all about, this may be the easiest and most affordable way to find out,” AD concluded. In 2015, PTP introduced their proprietary Solid Bearing, a €300 retrofittable option that also impressed AD, who feels strongly that the Solid12 is a perennially recommendable product. (Vintage-savvy audiophiles can consider this Class A.) (Vol.36 No.6, Vol.38, No.12, WWW)

REED MUSE 3C: $20,000

The question of belt vs friction drive is addressed by the distinctively styled Reed Muse 3C, which can be ordered in either mode—or, for an upcharge, in a version in which the user can switch between the two, albeit not on the fly. In friction-drive mode, two DC motors, each topped with pliant rollers, make contact with and drive an aluminum-alloy hub on which sits the 9-lb Delrin platter; in belt-drive mode, the two rollers are replaced with pulleys, and the user installs a belt and flips a toggle switch concealed under the platter. Also included are two generously sized armboards (12” tonearms are accommodated with ease), a digitally controlled system for leveling the turntable, and a stroboscopic speed-monitoring system built into the 3C’s large, cylindrical, aluminum-alloy platter housing. Used with a Reed 3P tonearm and a Grado Lineage Epoch cartridge, the friction-drive Muse 3C impressed MF as “a most agreeable- and enjoyable-sounding record player” with “great drive and authoritative speed stability.” In belt-drive mode, the 3C had a more appealing way with textures and spatial relationships, but its softer, less taut bass “soon had me returning to the friction rollers.” (Vol.40 No.11)

REGA P10: $5695

Save for their ca-$45,000 Naiad, the newly revised Planar 10 represents the pinnacle of Rega’s high-tech and extremely well-thought-out minimalism. Its skeletal plinth is machined from a super-rigid laminate in which a lightweight polyurethane foam core is a key element, supported by three elastomer footers. The diamond-cut ceramic platter rests on a machined-aluminum subplatter, with upper and lower ceramic braces between the platter bearing and the tonearm mount, the latter home to a Rega RB3000 arm. A 24V, low-vibration synchronous motor is individually tuned to its outboard drive electronics; this propels the platter via two drive belts that are precision-molded from a very high-tech polymer. MF found the sound of the new P10 to be “fast, tight, well-defined, tuneful, and exciting on the bottom,” adding that “anyone who thinks a lightweight ‘table can’t produce deep, tuneful, and well-sculpted bass should listen to the P10.” (Vol.43 No.3)

SME 20/12A (INCLUDES 312S TONEARM): $25,690

SME 20/12 (NO TONEARM): $22,500 ★

“Among the best-built turntables in the world,” the SME 20/12 is a tank-like machine weighing more than 75 lb. It has an oversized 14.3-lb platter, and a 17.6-lb aluminum-alloy subchassis secured by ten O-rings from each of four suspension towers and will take 12” arms. Its three-phase, eight-pole motor uses an electronic controller to achieve precise speeds of 33.3, 45, and 78rpm. Though it lacked the bottom-end weight and macrodynamic range of even more expensive turntables, and had a slightly dry, analytical sound, the SME offered a very low noise floor and stable image specificity, said MF. (Vol.32 No.5 WWW)

SME MODEL 15 WITH 309 TONEARM: $12,900

Like their previous “budget” turntable, the Model 10, SME’s Model 15 cuts corners—literally, as it’s built on a circular plinth. The key difference is that the Model 15 is also built with a circular subchassis, making it the most affordable SME turntable to use the brand’s trademark suspension system. The model 15’s 10lb platter has the same diamond-turned record-support surface as costlier SMEs, and the microprocessor-based outboard controller for its Hall-effect motor is fine-tunable for speed—and provides 78rpm, for shellacophiles. Our review sample of the Model 15 was bundled with SME’s 309 SPD tonearm—the $9299 package is called the SME Model 15A—and it impressed MF as “a canny distillation of the company’s core values of manufacturing and sound.” Noting the brand’s reputation for “somewhat overdamped and thick” sound, MF observed that, while the combo “wasn’t the last word in bottom-end extension and grip, its bass performance was nimbler, and its top end airier” than with costlier SME turntables. He concluded: “I rate this combo a complete success.” (Vol.39 No.1)

SME SYNERGY: $22,995 WITH SERIES IV TONEARM

In December of 2019, SME announced that they would no longer offer tonearms as standalone items and would instead sell them only when bundled with SME turntables; in retrospect, that sheds light on the May 2018 introduction of the Synergy, SME’s first-ever integrated record player. The Synergy combines a newly designed and relatively high-mass belt-drive turntable—one whose vibration-isolation scheme eschews the O-ring suspension used in previous SME models—with a magnesium-tube tonearm, an Ortofon Windfeld Ti MC cartridge, and a built-in Nagra phono preamplifier. The Synergy offers 33.3, 45, and 78rpm, all microfine-adjustable via the ‘table’s outboard power supply. Setting up the Synergy is relatively easy, as one might expect from an expensive turnkey player, but the “the Synergy is not exactly ‘plug’n’play,’” according to MF, who also praised the “soundstage three-dimensionality” and “complete freedom from mechanical artifacts” of this “very competent and fine SME player.” (Vol.42 No.11)

TECHDAS AIR FORCE V: $19,500 W/O TONEARM WITH PHANTOM III TONEARM: $24,500

Though not a “budget” turntable in the accepted sense, that descriptor applies when considering the Air Force V in the context of its stablemates: According to MF, this most recent TechDAS turntable offers “all the important features, impressive build quality, and clever engineering for which TechDAS is known.” Said features include an airbearing platter and vacuum record clamping alongside an inboard AC motor, a robust machined-aluminum chassis, and fittings for mounting up to four tonearms. (Additional armboards are extra-cost options). Used with the latest B-44 MkIII version of the Graham Engineering Phantom tonearm, the SAT CF1-09, and the Thales Statement arm, the Air Force V provided Mikey with internote silences that were “stupidly quiet,” plus “sharp and cleanly drawn” transients and “snappy and satisfying rhythm’n’pacing,” although the V missed the generous expression of room sound associated with the more expensive TechDAS models. (Vol.42 No.9 WWW)

TECHNICS SL-1000R: $17,999

In 2018, Technics did something that had seemed unthinkable even five years earlier: They tooled up to make a brand-new, hand-built-in-Japan version of their flagship direct-drive turntable. MF praised the SL-1000R, noting that its “accuracy and stability of speed helped produce precise but not overly sharp transients that helped contribute to a complete absence of listening fatigue.” He also described the player’s sound as “serenity-inducing… and refreshingly non-mechanical,” although he noted that the SL-1000R “did not produce the ‘blackest’ backgrounds behind the music,” and that the bottom end was “not as explosive, muscular, or grippy” as with other players. (Vol.41 No.11)

TECHNICS SP10R WITH OMA IRON PLINTH: $22,000

Perhaps spurred by the success accorded Technics’ recent SP-10R turntable (see elsewhere in “Recommended Components”), Oswalds Mill Audio has designed for that and earlier Technics motor units their SP10 Plinth System, which combines a base unit made of hypoeutectic iron—said to combine high mass with exceptional rigidity and vibration-damping properties—with a removable armboard of torrefied ash, the latter adaptable to tonearms ranging from 9” to 12” and longer. The OMA plinth is large (26.125.” wide by 4.125” high by 20.125” deep) and very heavy (110 lb without turntable), and is available in clear or black powder finishes. MF described an “austere” sound that was “rhythmically taut and, overall, ‘together’ from top to bottom,” with music pouring forth from “the ‘blackest’ backdrops,” leading him to praise this pricey plinth as “one super energy sink.” (Vol.42 No.2)

VPI AVENGER REFERENCE: $20,000 INCLUDING FATBOY TONEARM

The heavy (85 lb) Avenger Reference is built on a plinth made from layers of acrylic and aluminum, shaped with three outriggers fitted with massive steel corner posts, themselves supported by aluminum cones resting on Delrin/ball-bearing isolation bases. A cantilevered aluminum armboard clamps to the tops of those corner posts—the Avenger Reference can simultaneously accommodate up to three tonearms—and the platter is rim-driven by an idler wheel that is itself belt-driven by two AC synchronous motors. The idler drives a lower platter that’s precision-machined from aluminum; that platter propels, by means of magnetic drive, a similar upper platter—a thin gap is maintained between the two. The Avenger Reference is fitted with VPI’s Fatboy tonearm, a 12” unipivot with a 3Dprinted polymer armtube. (Additional Fatboys are available for $6000 for the complete tonearm, $4000 for a spare armtube only.) Despite isolation feet that “provided little actual isolation,” Mikey found that the Avenger Reference “fulfilled the promise of rim drive’s benefits minus the noise and rumble.” He noted the ‘table’s “excellent speed stability and consistency,” and praised the combo for producing “’black’ backgrounds.” (Vol.41 No.12)

VPI HRX: $15,000 WITH TONEARM ★

Harry Weisfeld’s efforts to produce the ultimate TNT turntable include a plinth of acrylic-aluminum-acrylic laminate, an inverted bearing assembly, the addition of a perimeter clamping ring, and replacement of the outboard motor and flywheel with a single unit. Simpler, smaller, more luxuriously appointed, and better built than the TNT, the HR-X also eliminates the TNT’s pervasive warmth and softened dynamic transients to offer a much more neutral overall presentation. BD: “The HR-X struck me as a stable, inert, and nearly neutral platform that simply supports a cartridge and lets it do its job.” Price includes VPI’s JMW-12.7 tonearm (see “Tonearms”). (Vol.29 No.5 WWW)

VPI HW-40 ANNIVERSARY EDITION WITH JMW-12 TONEARM: $15,000 $$$

A lot has happened since VPI introduced its $30,000 Classic Direct direct-drive turntable, the high price of which was determined in part by its high-tech ThinGap motor, which reportedly cost the manufacturer $4000 apiece. Based on that turntable’s success, VPI has found themselves able to cut costs by ordering a lot of those motors—to which they now apply their own in house-designed drive electronics as well as a completely reworked bearing, subplatter, and platter. The result, according to MF, is a turntable that’s “better in every way… than the Classic Direct.” And while he didn’t consider the HW-40’s gimbal-bearing JMW-12 Fatboy tonearm the equal of his reference SAT arm, MF said that, given the package’s $15,000 price, the “very good arm is almost a freebie.” (Going forward, the HW-40 will be available without an arm and with an interchangeable armboard.) MF noted the HW-40’s “rocksolid musical drive,” “exceptional transparency and retrieval of low-level detail,” and “deep, powerful bass” and concluded that, “in terms of design, execution, and value, it’s the best VPI turntable yet.” (Vol.43 No.1)

B

ANALOGUEWORKS TT-ZERO: $1695 (WITH BLANK ARMBOARD)

If the importance of a product can be gauged by the number of people who reproduce it, then the original Spacedeck turntable, designed by Tom Fletcher and manufactured by Nottingham Analogue, must be the most important turntable of the past 30-odd years. The most recent company to design and manufacture its take on the Spacedeck formula—in which a heavy platter is driven by a motor of such low torque that the user must physically nudge the platter to start it spinning—is AnalogueWorks, a British company whose entry-level Zero turntable, supplied with a Jelco SA-750 tonearm (price is $2095 with tonearm), impressed HR. The Zero is built on a birch-ply plinth and has a low-torque AC motor topped with a stepped pulley with separate grooves for 33.3 and 45rpm, and an aluminum platter whose bronze bearing appears especially well engineered. Used with a variety of cartridges, the Zero and SA-750 delighted Herb with their “uniquely unhurried, understated brand of forward momentum” and grainless trebles. The combo’s greatest shortcoming: “an ever-so-slightly vacant midrange that… forced me to peer into its depths in search of more tangible bits of wood, metal, and flesh.” HR’s verdict: “Class B sound at a low Class C price.” (Vol.40 No.7 WWW)

AVM ROATION R 2.3: $4990 WITH TONEARM

Hi-fi enthusiasts who already own one or more components from the German company AVM might do well to consider the Rotation R 2.3, a similarly styled belt-drive record player manufactured by Pro-Ject. In addition to its aesthetic consistency with AVM’s electronics—most apparent in its sleek aluminum “cover frame” and the blue-LED illumination of its recessed acrylic platter—the Rotation offers an inboard DC motor, permanently lubricated bronze platter bearing, and a gimbaled tonearm with an “impressively massive” bearing yoke and a sliding–single-bolt headshell for good cartridge adjustability. MF observed “excellent speed consistency” and a “well enough controlled” bottom end, and although he heard a slight softening of transients, Mikey noted that “the R 2.3 produced a pleasingly uncolored sound” overall. (Vol.42 No.12)

DR. FEICKERT BLACKBIRD: $6995

The standard Feickert Blackbird is a belt-driven turntable in which a Delrin platter is propelled by two (!) high-torque AC motors, with provisions for mounting two tonearms. Its plinth is an aluminum-MDF-aluminum sandwich done up in a black Nextel finish. As reviewed by—fitted with Jelco’s knife-bearing TK-850L tonearm and optional DIN-to-RCA cable, and upgraded with eight inertia-enhancing brass platter weights and a glossy wood finish ($9345 total)—the Blackbird ingratiated itself in no time: “I admired the Dr. Feickert Analogue Blackbird the minute I set it up. After a couple of weeks, I was ready to propose marriage.” As Herb describes it, “bass through the Feickert-Jelco combo was tighter and more vigorous” than with his AMG G9 player (see elsewhere in “Recommended Components”), and compared to even his Linn LP12, the Blackbird impressed him by re-creating musical momentum in a way that was “noticeably more visceral.” (Vol.41 No.12 WWW)

HANIWA PLAYER W/HTAM01 ARM: $15,000

The Player, which is made for Haniwa by the German manufacturer Transrotor, is a compact but massive belt-drive design with a heavy aluminum platter topped with a butyl rubber Oyaide mat. Its companion tonearm is billed by Haniwa as their HTAM01 model, but MF recognized it as the ViV Laboratory Rigid Float tonearm, which he wrote about in the August 2014 Stereophile. The Haniwa/ViV tonearm is an odd duck, designed so that a cartridge mounted therein exhibits underhang instead of overhang, and with zero offset angle. MF praised the player’s ease of setup and high quality of construction and finish, but noted that, contrary to the claims made for it by Haniwa, it is not optimized for use with low-internal-impedance cartridges and their companion current amplification phono preamps, and he dismissed to HTAM01 for design solutions that are “misguided and demonstrably ineffective.” (Vol.42 No.10)

HIFICTION THALES SLIM TURNTABLE: $6750

From the Swiss watchmaker-turned-audio craftsman Micha Huber comes the Thales TTT Slim II belt-drive turntable, which mates a DC motor—powered by a battery that charges itself when you’re not looking—and a 7.7lb aluminum platter with an attractively compact yet surprisingly heavy plinth. Combined with the Thales Simplicity II pivoting, tangential-tracking tonearm ($9450, or bundled with the TTT Slim II for $14,180), the Thales turntable lacked the last word in idler-drive–style impact, but it satisfied with its superb momentum and flow and its very good tactile qualities—not to mention is ease of setup and notably high build quality. (Vol.42 No.8)

LINN SONDEK LP12: $2630 TURNTABLE ONLY ★

Since 1972, Linn has devised and offered for their beltdrive, suspended-subchassis flagship all manner of upgrades; commendably, all have been retrofittable. Some standouts: The Lingo power-supply mod of 1990 minimizes the LP12’s propensity toward a slightly fat midbass and subjectively “adds an octave of low-bass extension,” according to JA. The Keel one-piece subchassis, tonearm board, and Linn-specific tonearm-mounting collar of 2006 makes “an unambiguous improvement in the LP12’s performance,” according to AD. And the Linn Radikal mod—a DC motor with an outboard switch-mode power supply—impressed Mr. D with “more force, more momentum, and a little more sheer grip on the notes.” At present, the least expensive LP12 package is the Majik LP12 ($4320): standard subchassis, wood-composite armboard, single-speed power supply, Pro-Ject 9cc tonearm, and a Linn Adikt moving-magnet cartridge. Experience leads us to expect high Class B performance—superbly low measured rumble, excellent speed stability, and very good musical involvement—from an entry-level LP12, while previous incarnations of the full-monty LP12 have delivered true Class A sound. (Vol.7 No.2, Vol.13 No.3, Vol.14 No.1, Vol.16 No.12, Vol.17 No.5, Vol.19 No.2, Vol.26 No.11, Vol.28 No.2, Vol.30 No.10, Vol.34 No.6, Vol.39 No.6 WWW)

MOFI ELECTRONICS ULTRADECK: $1999 WITH TONEARM

Decades after the first Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab record comes the first MoFi record player—the UltraDeck turntable with Ultra tonearm, both made in the US and created with design input from Spiral Groove’s Allen Perkins. The UltraDeck’s sturdy plinth comprises three aluminum plates bonded to the top of an MDF core, and its belt-driven platter—machined from Delrin and weighing 6.8lb—rides on an inverted bearing. Four height-adjustable feet, designed in collaboration with Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS), support the plinth. The Ultra tonearm has a 10” aluminum armtube, Cardas wiring, and a gimbaled bearing. According to HR, the UltraDeck, when used with MoFi’s top-of-the-line moving-magnet cartridge, the MasterTracker (a $2198 package; the MasterTracker is sold separately for $699), didn’t provide the “deep ‘black’ backgrounds or enormous sound spaces” of the considerably more expensive AMG Giro G9 player, “but it did present me with an infectious, easy-flowing, liquid vitality.” According to Herb, the MoFi combo “had stronger energy, achieved bigger dynamic swings, and was more detailed than comparatively priced ‘tables from VPI and Rega.” (Vol.41 No.2 WWW)

SOULINES KUBRICK DCX: $4500 WITHOUT TONEARM

The Soulines Kubrick DCX, from Serbia, lacks a plinth in the usual sense, being supported by a skeletal aluminum chassis with height-adjustable feet at the ends of three propeller-bladelike pods. Two more pods contain a low-torque DC motor and a tonearm support with interchangeable armboards, three of which are supplied: for Linn/Jelco-style mounts, SME-style mounts, and Rega arms. At the center of the chassis is a brass-and-steel inverted bearing that supports an acrylic platter so beautifully machined that AD could not tell, at a glance, whether it was spinning or still. AD used his review sample of the Kubrick DCX with his own Rega RB300 tonearm and Denon DL-103 cartridge—setup was “a breeze,” he said—and slaughtered several hundred words expressing his shock that a turntable that lacks a high-torque motor, a heavy platter, and a patina of nicotine and mold could have such a good sense of scale, “great” momentum and flow, and “better than average” bass weight and impact. His conclusion: “this is one of the very best non-vintage turntables I’ve heard outside of the enormously expensive Döhmann Helix 1.” (Vol.40 No.7 WWW)

VPI PLAYER: $1500 $$$ ★

Equal parts entry-level audiophile component and perfectionist-quality lifestyle product, the VPI Player (originally called the Nomad) bundles a wood-plattered, belt-drive turntable and 10” gimbaled tonearm with an Ortofon 2M Red cartridge and an onboard phono preamplifier designed specifically around the former—plus an onboard headphone amp. BJR was impressed with the Nomad’s apparent durability and the plug-and-play ease with which it went from carton to system, with no painstaking adjustments required. Even more impressive was the player’s performance: BJR praised the Nomad’s “rich, voluptuous, uncolored midrange,” and heard “superb” transient articulation and “an impressive amount of inner detail for so inexpensive an analog rig.” One comparison test prompted BJR to declare “that VPI’s phono stage held its own against a $500 phono stage designed by one of the industry’s top electronics designers is pretty impressive, given that the VPI’s stage is included as part of a turntable package costing only $995.” A word of caution regarding the headphone amp: “It had much more gain than most pairs of headphones need. I found it all too easy to overdrive my ‘phones.” (Vol.38 No.2 WWW)

VPI PRIME SCOUT: $2500

When the history of domestic audio is written, the late 2010s will be remembered as a time of reinvigoration for VPI, a recent example of which is Prime Scout, a belt-drive turntable with a solid plinth, an aluminum platter, and an outboard AC motor, bundled with the company’s JMW 9 unipivot tonearm. A Delrin clamp for the platter and a thread-and-weight antiskating mechanism for the arm—the latter a bit of a departure for VPI—are also included, as are an easy-to-use cartridge-alignment jig and an electronic downforce gauge. AD thought the platter clamp added an unwelcome touch of fussiness to the sound, but was otherwise impressed with the Prime Scout, praising its talents for preserving sonic colors, communicating musical drive, and “throwing a remarkably big, spacious, convincingly detailed soundstage” when playing records so inscribed. Art’s measurements, such as they were, revealed that the Prime Scout ran a little fast and exhibited more wow than his 1950s idler-wheel Garrard, although wow was not excessive in absolute terms. As AD said at the end, “As they say in New Jersey, what’s not to like?” (Vol.40 No.10 WWW)

C

REGA PLANAR 3: $1145 WITH RB330 ARM AND PRE-INSTALLED ELYS 2 MM CARTRIDGE

Forty years after introducing the original Planar 3, Rega dusted off that model name and applied it to a comprehensively redesigned package that includes a new tonearm (the Rega RB330), a new 24V motor, and a newly reengineered if outwardly similar plinth that incorporates the “metalized phenolic” tonearm-to-platter-bearing top brace that characterizes Rega’s higher-end turntable models. In examining the new Planar 3, HR noted that his review sample did indeed run a bit fast, and he wondered whether some measure of the “’pacey,’ boogie-down Rega sound” has to do with a combination of that and a microscopic “doubling” effect from the player’s lively plinth. That said, Herb wrote, “For me, the best record-playing system is the one that most vigorously directs my attention toward the humans behind the music…. Rega’s new Planar 3 is exceptional at doing just that.” Price includes Elys 2 moving-magnet cartridge. (Vol.34 No.12, Vol.35 No.11, Vol.40 No.2 WWW)

VPI SCOUT JR.: $1600 WITH TONEARM AND CARTRIDGE

“The Scout Jr. record player offers, at a reasonable price, the ability to play now.” Thus spoke HR of the US-made belt-drive Scout Jr., a relatively basic turntable that comes bundled with a gimbal-bearing tonearm of stainless steel and an Ortofon 2M Red moving-magnet cartridge. Junior’s 1.25”-thick MDF plinth is reinforced with steel, and its 1”-thick platter is machined from aluminum. An outboard motor topped with a plastic pulley snugs into a recess on the plinth’s left side. From the start—and it was an easy start, since the Scout Jr. is shipped with its cartridge installed and aligned—HR was impressed that the VPI squeezed from the budget Ortofon 2M Red far better sound than he’d heard from that cartridge before. As the days went by, he came to appreciate the VPI’s “American organic-ness,” and the manner in which its “slight darkness and seductively quiet spaciousness” set it apart from other players in this price range. Quoth HR: “It made LP playback seem less mechanical and more sophisticated.” NB: The Scout Jr. is easily upgradable—for a price, the buyer can select from a choice of better tonearms, bigger platters, more effective isolation feet, and myriad phono cartridges—and replaces the VPI Traveler, which was not. (Vol.39 No.2 WWW)

D

REGA PLANAR 1: $475 $$$

The plug’n’play RP1 (for Rega Planar One) replaces Rega’s popular P1. Nearly identical to the earlier model in size and shape, the RP1 uses an Ortofon OM5e moving magnet cartridge but trades the P1’s MDF platter for one of phenolic resin and adds Rega’s new, solidly built RB101 tonearm. Additionally, the P1’s drab gray finish is exchanged for the RP1’s choice of White, Cool Gray, or Titanium. Compared to the P1, the RP1 delivered more drive, better focus, and was more confident, purposeful, and authoritative. “Rega’s RP1 looks good, is easy to set up, and plays records like it means it,” said SM. AD shared SM’s enthusiasm: “It’s not just that I can’t imagine $445 buying more happiness; I can’t imagine so modest an investment in money and effort buying more music.” The RP1 Performance Pack Upgrade was easy to install and resulted in a bigger soundstage, deeper silences, and greater resolution of low-level detail, said SM. “A no-brainer,”