Appropriately named The Turntable, it has been created by US design house Fern & Roby. The company also makes a matching cast iron integrated amplifier and wood speakers.
The cast iron plinth weighs 70 pounds (32kg) and the bronze platter comes in at 35 pounds (16kg). The platter has been dynamically balanced to 1000rpm, which Fern & Roby says plays a big part in the bearing design.
The Turntable uses a single point bearing and centre-of-mass design, which aims to be low-contact and low-friction. This is claimed to be the best method to take advantage of the dynamically-balanced platter, in order to deliver the best possible performance.
Power comes from a synchronous AC motor with a digital speed control, which includes real-time measurements of the platter speed. Once the platter is up to the desired speed, power from the motor is reduced to “overcome bearing friction and stylus drag”. This also reduces noise and vibration.
Measurements of the speed are so precise, that if at any time it’s more than 0.23 percent above or below the target speed, an LED indicator changes from green to orange. The motor control then compensates to correct the speed back to the desired rpm.
Fern & Roby supplies The Turntable with a Rega 303 tone arm, but says a variety of tone arms can be supplied upon request.
The Turntable is available in the US, where it can be picked up for $6500 (before tax).
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Source: Fern & Roby via The Vinyl Factory
