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I.A.V.® U — 3 Uni-Pivot Tonearm
Armed to the Hilt - Part I
The Master Lans put it in his seminal music video, “Any sound can tell a Rocky World’, 1993, produced by Philip King, anrner Reprise Video ® Humminbird Production
Although I lack his eloquence, genius and acute perceptions, I posses sufficient acumen to recognise that there has been a profound absence of music, musicality and musicianship on the commercial conveyor belt toward which we are so unceremoniously directed for our entertainment. You have probably noticed that even the most celebrated resamples are but the slightest of effigies in comparison to their original counterparts. The false masters of music revel in their class idolatry whilst playing to the perennial and often disinterested ‘men of the crowd’, that clap on cue, wear anonymous tuxedo’s like communist identikits, and satisfy their overblown ego’s that they have reached the summit of high culture. The lower echelons have no such pretensions; we play trash, snort trash and ingest trash with greater efficiency. Only a comprehensive history lesson can trace the sad plight of the classes through the ages and the promise that were given since the ‘War to end all wars.’ If people wish to believe that the human condition has improved en masse, they should read and observe the facts more closely, see Susan George’s, ‘A Fate Worse than Debt’, Penguin Books London 1994 I am not quite sure who wrote this sanity clause into the contract of contemporary global citizenship and take comfort that like so many individuals searching for a hint of originality in the jungles of throwaway consumerism I cast my eye, my heart and my ear far and wide for something different, something special.
Yet, these unplanned gems of diverse experience are by definition difficult to apprehend, self-obscure and rare. I was suitably surprised when the good men of Bluenote managed to track me down in the hope of turning me into a colleague and an ally in their musical mission. On first viewing I noted that their analogue instruments looked as ingenious as they were elegant, my judgement was, however, firmly reserved until I had the opportunity to test some samples but where to start with 38 items listed in their comprehensive catalogue?
An example of successful innovation in arm design can be seen in Nottingham Analogue’s engineering techniques. The diameter of the unipivot on the Foot arm is made from 6mm hardened steel. The bearing housing is engineered from a block of machined aluminium placing considerable mass around and on the top of the pivot. To counter the mass of the tube and the bearing housing Tom Fletcher uses a low set bronze counterweight assembly behind the pivot. As you will see, Bluenote have sought different solutions with striking results.
This whole Bluenote event arrived in an unexpected way at a timely moment. Belatedly, I had come to the conclusion that although our new systems approach created pure and beautiful music, I was still left seeking some additional factor, and was sore pressed to discover what this was.
Many hours of contemplation had transpired leading me to the notion that one element that was missing from modern systems was a ‘tonally balanced’ tone arm. This awareness had also led me to pursue my all-time favourite arm of the heyday of my analogue experience, circa 1981. Equally strange was the fact that perhaps one of the only owners of not one but two Technics EPA500 system tone arms actively sought me out at around this time to offer them for sale. Although it took some months to procure them proper, I placed these precious instruments into a sacred vault for fairer times. I opportunely turned to the Bluenote turntable and tone arm combination in the hope of finding some succour and discovered three gems that begged attention, the U - 3 budget tone arm, the flagship Borromeo and the conveyor of musical intelligence, the Bellavista Signature turntable. The latter of which will be dealt with in a review of its own in the near future.
The U - 3 hand built tone arm
The U - 3 comes with a large round counterweight and a brass insert fixed in the lower section. The tone arm is made from rigid polished aluminium and comprises of a one-piece arm tube fixed through the upper section of the bearing housing. The bearing itself is a unipivot type that stems from a solidly built pillar and houses the high quality copper wiring that terminates into the arm leads.
The unipivot point is formed from a sharpened 3mm shaft of hardened steel. The mobility that has been realised from this arrangement is extraordinary. The inverted cup through which the tone arm is fixed rests low on the arm pillar thereby reducing its barycentre for improved tracking.
The head shell is also indicative of the strength and integrity of the arm tube design. It is around one of the largest and most solid I have yet seen. On this point I have become aware of a move in certain forward thinking design centres, toward this type of arrangement so that ‘heat’ is dissipated during stylus modulation. It also appears that the low set counterweight assembly more than compensates for the extra mass accorded to the head shell.
This is a medium mass arm capable of playing both medium and low
compliance cartridges. By keeping the weight at the bottom the centre of gravity is reduced. The U - 3 uses a specially selected data transmission cable composed of stranded copper. From our experience, the use of ‘straight’ copper allows the information to be transferred without an unwarranted sonic signature; in this case it appeared to hold true.
The arm base supplied was certainly a precision-engineered aluminium piece. Two Allen screws secured the arm collar to the base and the fit seemed reassuringly well mated, whilst the base itself was set into the Bluenote Bellavista Signature solid sub chassis turntable via 3 steel bolts through 20 mm acrylic super plinth. The 45mm diameter counterweight with a brass fixture
Thus far solid construction and design was evident at every turn, but what about the sound?
SYSTEM CONTEXT
Turntable: Bluenote Bella Vista SignatureTone-arm: Bluenote U - 3/BorromoeoCartridge: Grado Platinum Reference/Master Reference/Audio Technica OC9Preamplifier: Croft Absolut 1 with Pathor psu Power Amplifier: Croft Twinstar/RedshiftLoudspeakers: Loth X Polaris
As I ventured into several daunting pieces from my eclectic vinyl collection, it struck me that the general presentation was such that a proper test of its capabilities would be derived through challenging acoustic arrangements. Out came the Pentangle collection that was recorded long before the digital era was in force. As soon as the stylus reached ground, Jackie Mc Shee’s voice on ‘Once I Had a Sweetheart’, was as lavish in its subtlety of twists and turns as it was crystal clear. A very slight grating could barely be discerned in the uppermost registers.
Perhaps the cartridge was not set to the right height and weight? Danny Thompson’s tight strung bass was full and pithy. The speed and pace of his plucking was clearly discernible and the body of the instrument was taut but full. Jansch’s subtle note bending and the alacrity of his playing posed no problem for this arm/cartridge combination. The drum kit and brush strokes that play a vital role in the beauty and colour of this composition seemed equally present and tonally accurate, yet each distinct performance made a sparkling contribution to the homogeneity of the whole. Strands of information could be plucked out of the piece and followed until its dominance was diminished. Cymbals and events of sonority had an uncanny air and breadth. The timing was exemplary. Was this initial rendition perfect then? Not a chance. But for the price, one might well regard it as a pinnacle of accomplishment. I wondered if this was a fluke result and started my way through a greater diversity of compositions ranging from Bob Marley to Walter Carlos. Each piece revealed a remarkable and enlivening vitality. The sheer energy of each performance was effectively transmitted to the listener. One unique aspect of this unipivot arm genre is that high frequency events such as triangles, bells, guitar plucks, rim shots, sitar playing and the like, start and stop with deft accuracy, and whilst they are active, the sonority and presence is exceeding pleasant and convincing.
also listened to the whole A-side of the Harris/Lanois collaborative LP, ‘The Wrecking Ball’. The U - 3 continued to resolve minute bass and other details that seemed absent from the more ambitious and expensive arms in my collection. The various patterns and juxtapositions of harmony, melody, beats and vocal imagery were distinct, sonorous and rhythmically punctuated. I can honestly say that I have never heard ‘The Wrecking Ball’ sound so well contoured and integrated. If we put a reviewer’s euphoria aside, one cannot deny that a more whole and musical presentation was recreated by the U - 3 than is normally derived from the plethora of analogue systems currently available. In fact, the arm reminds me of my earlier days of audio exploration where I became the recipient of Martin Bastin’s many experimental tone arms for several years. In these arms, steel carbide unipivots, a miscellany of bearing houses, cables and counterweight assemblies were fashioned and then continually improved. Those were for me the golden days of tone arm domesticity, where every hour bought a new analogue experience where a seemingly infinite variability of VTA/HTA’s on myriad turntable, tone arm and cartridge combinations could be assiduously tested. More than a feast, the learning process became an obsession. In latter years as the disciplines of organised business became apparent, and the digital era took full hold of the persuadable contingent, the pleasures and intricacies of ‘Tonearmism’ were all but eliminated. The beauty of the U - 3 is that although the tweak factor has been minimised, the U - 3 combines many of the advantages of the best classic tone arms of the past in one neat package that is simple to assemble and fine tune.
The Achilles heel of this arm, (if you will pardon the pun), with this particular cartridge is the uppermost frequency range. Here, traces of compression and marginal graininess are evident when shod with such analytical instruments as the Polaris loudspeakers at the end of the chain. In truth, few people would think of using a budget arm with the amplifier and speakers of the Eminent Audio test system, however, if they did so, I think they would receive a welcome surprise. Seldom has an arm of such relative low cost given such a commanding performance, to the extent that it really leaves me wondering where the UK has gone wrong with arm designs.
Vested interests aside, one explanation for the deterioration of the quality of analogue sources in ‘the land of turntables and arms’, may be the high tech approach that has been so assiduously adopted. After all, you show me an acoustic instrument that is constructed from carbon fibre, Magnesium, plastic, or solid silver? There are but a few exceptions such as horns and Aulos recorders. If you manage to pull one out of the proverbial hat, I will wager that the offending material either forms a cavity, receptacle or coating. Arguably, we plebeian masses favour sound where wood, bone, skin and hair resonate freely to create high amplitudes of audible energy. In the end it matters not whether this assertion is right, clearly the U - 3 is simple, robust, elegant, inexpensive, and in a performance class of its own. I recommend it unreservedly at its price point and look forward to integrating this fine instrument into the humble repertoire of the Eminent Audio systems approach.
Villa® BORROMEO Uni-Pivot Tonearm
Armed to the Hilt - Part II
There is a contingent amongst us that have 2 sacred cows. 1: Old hi-fi is better than new2: Expensive hi-fi is rarely indicative of quality.For my part the 1st point has a deal of truth in principle. The second point is a useful rule of thumb. After experiencing the U - 3, my predilection was to steer dangerously close to the latter conclusion until I set the arm up properly. Which brings me to a few important precursors to purchasing the Bluenote Borromeo.
The mass being medium to high is chiefly due to the ingenious bell-shaped bearing housing that cups the pivot bearing. The top of the brass cup has an adjustable screw at its centre. The base of the screw is a conical receptacle in which the sharp unipivot point sits in. Although this arrangement allows the VTA to be adjusted without recourse to the two Allen screws that secure the arm collar in the arm base, the precise positioning of the pivot is crucial to its operation. This arm is not for the shy amateur; the solid brass hydraulic arm lift assembly alone needs to be fitted with dexterity and dedication. I personally detached this device because I found it easier to use without. The counterweight is also made of a sort brass cylinder that can be moved along a shaft at the rear of the bearing housing to adjust the weight. Moving the eccentric counterweight to either the right or the left arc cleverly sets the azimuth.
A very low barycentre is achieved due to the long and bell shaped bearing housing and because of the counter weight screw that extends downward from the bottom centre and determines the anti skate. Tracking then, should be excellent.
The arm tube is polished aluminium, but the tone of the tube when struck with the fingernail is both higher in frequency and far less in amplitude than in the U - 3. It seems that some appropriate damping has been applied to the Borromeo. The general engineering throughout is also of a higher standard than in the U - 3 with more attention to fine detail in the standard of finish. The arm base itself is more massive and better finished than its cheaper counterpart. At around 3 times the cost of the U - 3 one might have high expectations of the orromeo in respect to its sound and its construction.
I should point out that due to its price and design, the arm is more suited to the higher-ranking Belvedere and top of the line Bellagio decks. Therefore, I was concerned that there might be some mismatch with the Bellavista Signature or that the arm may reveal any resident limitations. I proceeded with customary trepidation.
The Pentangle compilation was my first port of call. Here the sheer effortlessness and palpable depth of the voices was gratifyingly superior to the U - 3. A quiet and persistent element was also the sheer stability and naturalness of the difficult mid range components. The bass was obviously more powerful yet a little more tight and precise than before. The layering of sounds was clearer too. It was very hard to confuse the Borromeo with information, what it simply did was to drag out more and more musical elements until the whole procession of the music appeared to be vivid and present. There was also a natural mellowness in voices and I fell compelled to explore this aspect further. The vinyl was flipped to its B-side and ‘Lord Franklin’ would aid my adjudication over its capability. This piece made it clear that the arm did not tend toward brightness, edginess or metallicity. Furthermore, the reproduction of the Hf was utterly convincing and almost flawless. By way of explanation, the dynamics of an instrument would not only be instantly initiated but its decay and its cessation would be akin to the real thing, the tenacity of the arm came in its ability to convincingly reproduce amplitudes both high and low with an integrity I have seldom experienced. The squeezebox in the same piece was mild and yet had its melancholic edge, as it dominated a solitary corner of the performance. The guitar travelled the weary scales with warmth and controlled attack. The indomitable guitar combination of Jansch and Renbourne peeled away the minutes and glued me to the musical canvas. The realism was reinforced by an unusually deep soundstage where the musicians seemed to get packed away in invisible pockets within the walls of my listening room. The echoics themselves gave the reverberation of a long deep shantytown bar corner, peopled by frequenters that had sporadic commerce between the musicians and the open doorway that led to the staircase. Suffice it to say, I was slowly being drawn deeper in by this analogue illusion.
Next came Sally Oldfield. The much-used ‘Waterbearer’ is a standard analytical tool for the naturalness and resolution capability of any system that steps up to the plate. As I explored the track with a longstanding pedant and audiophile, and Steve, an accomplished musician and art designer, we were drawn even deeper into a mesmeric world of wonder and light. Rather like the superb maturation of Tolkein’s questionable ‘Lord of the Rings’, the story became vivid, perfected and comprehensible. The elfin worlds, legends and stories of great and fair times became at once visible and palpable to us. The effect was spellbinding and although this tinselly music was diametrically opposed to Steve’s usual dose of hard soul and Acid Rock, he refused to leave the session without procurement of my 3rd copy!
A few records later we were convinced that the arm was special. The cost did not reflect any less its titanic capabilities although I do not like the notion of ‘Superarms’. Any decent arm should resolve most of the information encoded onto vinyl and recreate a credible illusion without compression, hardness, aberration or frequency bias. The Borromeo excels in all these areas and further experiments indicate that ell-chosen lower compliance cartridges may yield still better results.
“Both these arms are a godsend for people who know what music sounds like.”
Epilogue:
Both these arms are a godsend for people who know what music sounds like. Whilst the mass of the U - 3 is reasonable so that a wide variety of cartridges can be employed the Borromeo is selective toward the mid to low compliance types. Its low barycentre and exemplary naturalness is achieved by the low and relatively massive unipivot bearing housing. In the case of the Borromeo, the unique bell shape design has forced the weight forward of the pivot centre thus contributing to the higher mass. Overall the advantages that have been generated in these designs show that whilst the UK has rested on its lofty laurels for several decades, quietly, and diligently, other Craftsmen have taken up the banner of inspired and quality engineering. Doubtless in the coming days, we battered Brits will have another contender to champion the analogue cause (at this level), but in the interim I will enjoy one of the very few spoils of the global village. The Borromeo and U - 3 are now my reference arms until further notice. Thank you for listening.
The "Made in Italy" Villa® turntable-tonearm-cartridge "Bellavista" package, made by Bluenote®, is a subtle mother to describe beyond the obvious: it's drop-dead gorgeous to look at, its price is $1995, and its performance level is excellent in its "rigid chassis"class. The reasons are two: Bluenote® has invested much of its manufacturing cost into its chosen materials, and the Bellavista is beautiful in the way of a Cremonese violin — where form follows function to produce gorgeous tones from a visually beautiful instrument.
For example, did you know that an acrylic (the polymer formerly known as Plexiglas) plinth costs seven times as much to manufacture as the same Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) plinth? Well it does. And a turntable platter made of Polyvinyl (similar in many regards to the LP record material itself) costs half-again more than an acrylic one, and even more if it has twelve jewelry quality (10 micron) gold-plated brass weights fixed to its underside, for rotational stability. You needn't go much farther than look at a Needle Doctor ad to see how many turntable manufacturers are using MDF plinths, and acrylic (Plexiglas) platters in their products. What sets the Bluenote Bellavista apart is its superior engineering, superior materials, hence superior sonics, and its beauty — for which we are indebted to its designer, Maurizio Aterini.
A guy I knew, the proud owner of a Moto-Guzzi motorcycle, once commented; "Ever notice how American bikes have all their heat fins at right angles to the cylinders, while Italian bikes are all curves, like a woman?" I think Maurizio thinks designing a turntable to be attractive is part of the Italian tradition. The guy is from Florence, after all; the golden city of Dante, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello.
The manufacturer's performance specifications for the Bellavista are as follows: wow and flutter, 0.03%; rumble, -78 dB; speed, 33.3 or 45 rpm + or - 0.1%; all very good. The first thing I did after setting up, following the direction of the distributor, Adam Dragon at Hy End, was to let the piece run continuously for eight hour stretches, three days in a row, to "polish in."
Then I placed the 12" Villa® stroboscope on the table and checked it against 60 Hz light. It was highly stable. I wanted to check it with an LP record and tonearm dragging. I was able to do it with a smaller old strobe I found amongst an old collection of odds 'n ends, marked "Dual, Made In Germany, 60c/s." In use, the strobe bars were very stable. There was a very slow drift, and virtually no bumps, or surges. The platter got up to speed quickly and stayed there. To get the bars to reverse, I had to press my thumb upward on the underside of the turntable with some force. I wasn't sure how it performed with the additional friction of playing an LP record. But when I put a black disc on, next the Dual 4 5/8" strobe on top of that, and next the tonearm and cartridge tracking at 2 grams, there was no change discernable to the naked eye. The current came through my astonishing Monster Automatic Voltage Stabilizer (AVS2000), which supplied a consistent 120 volts (more on that soon).
I'm relatively certain, without fancy measuring devices, the table's rotational speed is pretty damn close to being within the manufacturer's stated specification of 0.01%. LP recordings of which I have a duplicate CD sound very similar as to pitch, and elapsed playing time is as specified on the labels and liner notes. This is the only "hard data" I have. A thirty minute movement (30:00) of a Mahler Symphony would take exactly 29:42 if the machine were 1% fast. It doesn't. The B side of my Mahler's (Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, André Previn conductor, Elly Ameling soloist, EMI SZ-37576) is reported to take 30:30 to play. It timed out at 30:34 (that's four seconds slow out of 1834 seconds) on the Bellavista, when I measured it with my best timepiece. That could be due to human error, or the imprecision of lead-in grooves. Molehill or mountain?
I don't know if you know, but we audiophiles may be in the middle of a scandal, or a tempest in a teapot, or a molehill made into a mountain, regarding speed of turntables. If you've been reading lately–Michael Fremer's survey of six moderately priced turntables these last two issues, to be precise–you would have found at least one article (Feb. ‘03) where Fremer discusses how some turntables (SOTA Comet II, and Rega P3) that he measured with some rigor each showed a speed variation of 1% plus. That means a slight increase in speed from 33.3 rpm to 33.63 rpm, and that correlates with a subtle change in timbre — if not a large enough gain to produce a gross change in pitch. Fremer reported his test record's 1000 Hz tone actually measured 1011 Hz when played on these turntables."Things sound snappy and lively, but a bit crisp: heavy on transients, light on harmonics. Images are forward on the stage, with a bit of etch added to cymbals and female vocals." On some tracks the music can become"slightly aggressive," he observed.
Fremer quotes others who speculate the designers may have deliberately voiced their turntables with this subtle speed increase. His exact words were, "I'm not happy about the 1% speed error; if it's deliberate, it's a cynical move — like lifting the top end of a loudspeaker to make it jump out from the crowd." He stops short of saying anything actionable beyond he's not sure "if this represents mere sample-to-sample variation or if it's a plot to give these 'tables a snappy delivery, as have charged." (My emphasis.) This seems to me to be like a "non-denial, denial" in political geek-speak. He takes the higher moral ground by repeating the allegation, and the lower moral ground by withholding the name of the "alligator." Then again, I am doing the same. But, I don't take the higher moral ground, and I don't know the identity of the"alleger."
I am willing to give the SOTA and Rega designers a little more slack, a more charitable interpretation. Suppose, for example, the designers measured all the friction points in the system, including stylus drag on the record, and counting on lazy louts like us to fail to perform routine maintenance, like lubrication. And suppose they assumed that all those factors might contribute to an error of about -1%. If they wanted to pre-empt such error, well, they just might build in a little preventive maintenance, and run 1% fast. That might be playing fast and lose with the specifications, but in today's world it might be justified on the "need to know" basis. "What the public doesn't know won't hurt them." At least they might be seen as doing a bad thing for a good reason.
Or, suppose, for another example, using all the research methods at hand they chose certain resonant-manageable materials for the plinth, platter, and pulley of their turntable (to make a price point) but found the table sounded a bit dull and soggy as a consequence. Wouldn't it be within their job description to try to overcome soggy sound by other means within their pharmacopoeia? I think tweaking the speed might be no more "evil" than Niccolo Paganini's tuning his violin up a tone for greater brilliance, which he reportedly did. Again, they might be doing a "questionable"act for a reason that serves the music. They'd be within the spirit, if not the letter of the law. I'd be willing to forgive either of the above cases. Though, in retrospect, it would have eliminated vagary of motive if SOTA and Rega would have explained such in the owner's manual.
For a final example; suppose they had ordered pulleys from a (possibly off-shore) supplier and found one batch that (inexplicably) sounded better, because the machinists had made the pulleys (unbeknownst to anyone) fast by virtue of a 1% error, but no one along the line had bothered to check the speed accuracy, as Fremer himself admits he had sometimes failed to do in the past while preparing reviews. Such failure might be seen as a failure due to slippage within the system (the mistaken assumption that everyone else is doing his job accurately), rather than of some sort of cynical manipulation, or"plot" (to use Fremer's word), to lure the would-be purchaser. I'd prefer to think of it as a normal futzup, because if not a futzup, then we might as well throw all manufacturers' published specs out the window. Possibly I'm naive, but I don't think manufacturers would purposively fudge their test data, when, as Fremer's rigor demonstrates, they could be so easily discovered.
How does this relate to the Bellavista? To cast a little light on the dark corners here, I am obliged to mention one of the 'tables in Fremer's survey uses a 24-pole AC Synchronous motor (the SOTA Comet II), while two Pro-Ject ‘tables use a"wall-wart-powered AC motor suspended by an elastomer band" (RM-4 and Perspective models), Notingham Analogue Horizon 'table has a motor that must be manually assisted in order to get the table into motion, and two unspecified motors are found in the Rega P3 and Pro-Ject RM-9.
The Bellavista uses a 24-pole AC Synchronous motor. The beauty of this motor, (what used to be called the hysteresis motor), is the RPM setting is dependent on the cycles of the AC current fed to it. That is to say, as long as the current alternates at 60 Hz the motor speed is constant. Even if there is a significant drop in line voltage, a good AC Synchronous motor turns at its designed constant speed (say, 600 rpm). Twenty-four poles spread the current peaks out to double the frequency per unit time delivered by the often used 12-pole AC Synchronous motor. Compared to the 12-pole motor, the 24-four pole motor develops less torque, hence less noise as well. So the 24-pole AC synchronous motor stays on speed even when voltage drops, smooths out the delivery of the torque, and is noticeably less noisy than its 12-pole counterpart.
According to Maurizio Aterini, the design engineer of the Bluenote line, his motor is manufactured by:
?Fiber Italy
?ART.M5260 ModifiedPower: 0.83 watt
?Torque: 1.6 Ncm
?Switch on/off Life: no limit
?Life: 3 years continuous work guaranteed
?Stop: Immediate
?Spindle:3x8mm 0.05mm rectified
?Large Bearing: Makrolon (same family of Teflon®) + Bronze
?Small Bearing: Bronze (automatic lubricating at the bottom of the spindle well to guarantee high precision and long life)
?Working Temperature: -10° Celsius +80° Celsius
?Dimension: 50x30 mm
?Weight: 180 Grams
I don't know too many engineers who are so confident of their decisions they would let such information out of the office. What I take it Maurizio is saying is: "Here are my motor's specs. See for yourself." The relative quiet running of this particular motor allows it to be mounted on the same plinth as the turntable platter itself, because not only is the polished acrylic plinth more beautiful than painted MDF, it has better vibrational characteristics as well. Again, according to Maurizio, it is much more neutral sounding because acrylic is harder and can dissipate vibrations, while MDF has a higher Q (it stores and later releases energy) and adds a characteristic sound smearing in the same application.
This comparison reveals to me that Black Acrylic has various physical attributes (harder, stiffer, doesn't bend or sag) that make it a better material if what you want is low Q (energy storage), hence more neutral sound, at the source of your LP front end. Without sounding like a hometown fan, I've never been to Florence, I'd say whenever the choice has been between a price point and performance, Maurizio has been uncompromising. This seems to be the case throughout the design, and up the line into the more expensive of his turntables. With each choice, Maurizio has gone for the better sounding: 24 pole motor; plexiglass plinth; (denser, stronger, more neutral polyvinyl) platter; (automatically self-lubricating) bearings that are longer than ususal (to eliminate wobble that gives wow and flutter); (quieter than aluminum, better coefficient of friction Delryn) pulley; (better coefficient of friction, ceramic injected for better traction) belt; etc. etc. Then he offers to us an outsized stroboscope (at least twice as easy to notice variations in speed), as if to say, "Check it out. See how good we can do."
How good does the Bellavista turntable get? Surprisingly good. Remarkably good. He has said to me in an email: "Our 24 pole AC Synchronous motor produces 600 rpm with more accuracy than the Rega or Clearaudio that have 12 pole 300 rpm motors, basically because of the closer position of the poles." Ya gotta love this guy's moxie. "I do not think our stuff is 'special.' I simply think that we designed well what other manufacturers did not. All our designs ... have been trying to follow the best sonic performance through balanced research and manufacturing."
This is more or less true of his uni-pivot Borghese tone arm as well: wherever possible he designed in the best performing sonic materials (controlled vibrations) that were within his options. I'm talkin' 'bout vibrations. Maurizio selects the material he will use for a specific part (anti-corrosive aluminum, brass, bronze, stainless steel, titanium), and then machines it with very strict lathe tolerances. The Borghese tonearm tube wall, for example, is made of 0.8 mm thick 6060 aluminum alloy drawn stock, "the hardest tube available using aluminum alloy," he says. After it has been extruded and polished, it is anodized to make it harder and more resistant to scratches. It looks like it is merely brushed aluminum, but it has the strength/weight ratio that Maurizio wants, and the vibrational characteristics befitting a tonearm.
With regard to arm geometry, Maurizio follows the Rega standard, where possible. The arm tube has an overall length of 270 mm, and from the center of the pivot 232 mm to the front of the cartridge shell. Each of his tonearms has an undamped inverted internal pivot, with a 0.2 mm rounded and polished stainless steel tip. The pivot towers are made of decoupled bronze jacketed onto brass, and anti-corrosive aluminum, with selected parts being gold plated. The internal wiring is done in OFC OCC hyper litz copper and is completely shielded with a fine stainless sock inside the arm tube. The external cables, also shielded, have been made to specification by Tasker® and feature very well designed, sprung RCA plugs. Each part represents a great deal of engineering thought.
Setting up this tonearm is a bit of a fussy exercise, but Maurizio assures me that an instructional DVD for setup will be forthcoming beginning in March. (Oversized stroboscope, DVD instruction manual for set up; a class act.)
The Boboli cartridge, named for a sweet after dinner pastry, is a high-output moving-coil that looks like some others of the "nude stylus" variety. It has an output of 3mV, and weighs 7 grams, which means it will play in any pre-amp or receiver that already has a phono section without having to use a separate phono stage, and it will track in most any arm. In this era, we all are sophisticated enough to know that it would be a bit much to expect a small company making relatively large tonearms and turntables to also make its own miniature cartridges (Grado, for example, doesn't make turntables.). But a design-engineer with the sophistication of Maurizio Aterini could specify to a large cartridge manufacturer just those vibrational qualities that would make a given cartridge a perfect match for his tone arm. I assume that's what has happened here, because Maurizio's combination seems to have a synergy, a complementary relationship that makes the pair's performance greater than the sum of its parts. The Boboli in the Borghese is quite a surprise.
The Bellavista special package may not capture the last percentage points of data that are in the LP's grooves, but it gets to the heart the of the vinyl experience. It offers the listener suave handling of music that early mid-fi CD players (with their etched sound) so obviously lacked. Maurizio's top of the line Bellagio table has a better isolated motor, a better designed spring-loaded "sub-chassis" to better control airborne (music) and mechanical (footfalls) feedback, a twice-as-massive platter, sixteen as opposed to twelve rotational stabilizers, a machined titanium tone arm tube, and a high-performance low-output Moving Coil cartridge that together cost four times as much as the Bellavista special package. Maurizio's top of the line rig (Bellagio table, Borromeo tonearm, and Baldinotti cartridge) definitely delivers lower noise, greater stability, better vibration management, and, he claims, noticeably better sound; more "powerful, detailed, focused, and open." But, it uses the same motor, the same bearing, the same pulley, the same drive belt, the same acrylic in the plinth, the same turntable platter (only two of them), etc. Considering the price point, the Bellavista special package is something like a very talented little brother.
Since in order to listen to a turntable's performance we must depend on a tonearm and cartridge, it might serve well this review to try to tease these differing "sounds" apart.
Let's start with tonearms. How does a tonearm sound? Well, the overall performance of a tonearm is limited by the quality of its bearings for tracking, the vibrational characteristics of its materials for managing vibration, its mass (hi-lo-medium) and how well it matches various cartridges' compliance, and its geometry to minimize tracking error. They are certainly each important. But, in my experience, none of these is as important as its shape: a tonearm (be it ess-shaped or angled) topologically most resembles a piccolo. This means its natural resonance is high, and audible in the treble range. Undamped tone arms are often perceived as "overly bright," sometimes too "metallic" in tone, when working with well known cartridges.
Cartridge/tonearm combinations can produce an almost infinite number of colorations, and to varying degrees. The Borghese/Boboli combination does not alter instrumental timbre leading to confusion (of, say, an oboe with a violin, or a trumpet with a clarinet, a pretty gross error), nor even add a shade of coloration to a well known performer's instrument (Yo Yo Ma's cello, say). It is also precise with regard to channel separation and sound staging. It can play the loudest passages without mistracking. It reproduces the moment of attack with clarity and freedom from ringing. It captures the drumstick tap on the drumhead, loud or soft, with almost uncanny ability. It seems to stop generating signal when the groove stops sending it. A metaphor from automobile design seems appropriate here: it has good "braking horsepower." It may lack the refinement of its big brother (the Baldinotti cartridge in the Borromeo tonearm), but it does a very nice job.
Isolating the sound of a turntable is hardest, because it interacts with the tonearm and cartridge. You would have to have heard the tone arm and cartridge on other tables, or know their reputation, or both, to infer what the turntable itself is doing. I have spent long winter afternoons with audio pals listening for differences in a half-dozen turntable platter pads, taking notes on each, comparing notes only at the end. I have spent hours talking to, or swapping email with, turntable designers, audio shop owners, and other lunatics trying to gather information on the characteristic sounds of turntables.
I have found only a few guideposts to point the way. First, is the turntable puck or rim-drive, belt-drive, or direct drive? Rim-drive usually has a hard rubber drive wheel that links the motor to the platter and it feels like riding over a gravel-based road. Belt-drive usually has a soft plastic belt that links the motor to the platter and it feels like riding on smooth MacAdam asphalt when compared to all but the best rim-drive. Direct-drive (the rotor of the motor is on the same shaft as the turntable) units are subject to all sorts of expensive problems to design around, and even their best executed examples (Technics) have problems: regulating the current, and isolating the entire assembly against mechanical insult. At best, they sound as good as the best belt-drives. But the problems can be very expensive to work out.
Belt drive turntables are more demanding about materials. Rigid or spring-loaded, the chassis of the turntable becomes acoustically excited when music is played. The plinth that supports the bearing well, and therefore the turntable itself, can have a sonic thumbprint. Rule of thumb: less costly materials usually have resonances that find their way back to the table, hence the stylus. If the plinth supports only the turntable and the tonearm, that's not too bad. If it also supports an un-isolated motor, that's usually a problem (but not for Maurizio).
One model reviewed by Mike Fremer in recent (Jan. ‘03) article, the Pro-Ject RM-4, had a plinth of Medium Density Fiberboard, and a turntable platter of High Density Fiberboard. Not surprisingly Fremer commented, "...the RM-4 was limited in its ability to carve out instruments in three-dimensional space, its dynamic capabilities were somewhat stunted, and it did only a so-so job of resolving low-level details. Transients were somewhat softened, and bass, while impressively extended, was robbed of articulation and rhythmic drive." With what is known of the Q characteristics of MDF and even HDF, and shown in Maurizio's tables, those are exactly the sonic characteristics we'd expect. They are why Maurizio keeps away from those materials, even though HDF is easily machined. The sonic characteristics of the RM-4 that Fremer reports, are the result of vibrational energy absorbed by the chassis, for a short time, and then released and picked up by the cartridge along with the groove information. The two time-staggered signals blended into one is called smearing, and it results in a lack of clarity. It is what good turntable engineers design out.
Getting rid of all the parts that potentially store energy becomes something like a jigsaw puzzle. With what does one replace MDF? Without overdamping the bass? And what about spring-loaded plinths? A good designer can work out the resonant frequency of the springs, the frequency of the materials and mix and match until he can "tune" the bass frequencies. He can select the platter material and pad to "tune" the mid-range. And he can tweak the tonearm to "tune" the highs. A good designer can develop a systems approach to the vinyl front end. And that's what Maurizio has done, though he doesn't say so in as many words. And that is why the Bellavista package enjoys synergy.
As a counter-example, the three ‘tables reviewed by Fremer in his Jan ‘03 article are three different types, using three different sets of materials. The first is the Pro-Ject RM-4, already discussed. The second is the Pro-Ject Perspective, and the third is the Pro-Ject RM-9. The RM-4 and RM-9 use an MDF plinth, the Perspective uses a clear Plexiglass plinth. The motors are different. Yet, "All three of these ‘tables ... include Pro-Ject's premium 9" arm..." For the purposes of his article, using the same arm and cartridge allows him to compare the sound of the turntables alone. Fremer has isolated one variable: the turntable. That's good methodology. But that doesn't make for matching the tonearms to the characteristics of the turntables.
Looking at each of Maurizio's tonearms, it seems he gives more thought to materials and finish as he goes for improved performance up his price ladder, though the design is the basically the same (9" uni-pivot). Villa turntables are similar but each step up is incrementally more refined, better isolated, more massive, with lower noise. And each ‘table seems to be designed with its appropriately matching tonearm in mind. How does it sound?For pity's sake.
To really get my head into it, I dragged my old reliable (heavy) VPI HW-19 turntable down out of its shelf, and I replaced it with the Bellavista. After listening to it in my big system with which I've spent thousands of hours, the verdict was in. The improvement in sound was such a revelation I sent away to VPI for a new set of Plexiglass parts (plinth, tonearm board, and motor cover), and a new Plexiglass turntable platter, with a new inverted thrust bearing. I'm also replacing the machined aluminum pulley with a Delryn pulley. I when I've been put to shame.
My old turntable was revealed as more than a wee bit imprecise, what with an MDF ‘table plinth and tonearm board. The bass seemed more than just a tad bloated. I had thought that the bloom on the base of so many LP players was a function of low cartridge braking horsepower. I was wrong. And the midrange that I had found a bit forward seemed "in your face" when compared to the relaxed presentation of the Bellavista package.
How would I characterize the package? Compared to my old table, it is as Maurizio says, more "powerful, detailed, focused and open." It is powerful in putting down a rich bottom strata of sound, the bass viols, organ pedal tones, and the slam with which to listen to my old Jimi Hendrix sides. It has great dynamic range power. It has bowl-you-over bass drum power. But the bass is not a false bloom that results from overhanging transients. The special package presents a richer mixture of sounds with a good amount of "warmth," as opposed to a "cool, analytical" sound. I think "rich," like a ruby Port, is the operational word here.
It has details aplenty, not the false details of a rising mid-treble, or a ringing tonearm, but true details finally, free from smearing brought on by high Q turntable parts. Each line in a three part invention on the harpsichord is clear and distinct from the others. Each instrument in a monster orchestral climax is clear. There are details, and there are details. Mies van der Roh once famously said, "The devil is in the details." There are real details and apparent details. Hearing the lips, teeth, tongue of a singer close as possible to the microphone is what I'd call a false detail that detracts from the performance. Singling out one voice in a choir of a hundred, singling out that voice because it is articulating what the musical moment is all about, is a true detail.
Which leads us to focus. The Bellavista has the kind of focus that allows the listener to concentrate on whether a slide guitarist is using a metal slide or the neck of an old bottle that just happens to fit his pinky comfortably. It allows the listener to hear the St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra of Russia and wonder if the bass viols are using strings wrapped in bronze or stainless steel. It is rumored their strings have greater projection, greater volume, and a higher treble output. It allows the listener to think of which microphones were used in various Linda Ronstadt records, to capture the throb in her voice when she sings how some dude broke her heart. A lot of what I'm getting at has to do with the first instant of a new note. This package has the focus that allows us to hear that cleanly.
I've heard it said that rigid chassis have a narrower and tighter sound field. That many spring-loaded chassis turntables display a wider, deeper sound stage. Well maybe the exception proves the rule in this case, but I found the sound stage of the Bellavista package just about as wide and deep as my old spring-loaded VPI. Because there was a nearly total elimination of smearing, and the new clarity made spatial cues easier to "catch on" to, I think the quality of the openness was improved on. The Bellavista doesn't present more openness, it presents clearer openness – which might mean the same thing in the end.
It presents "opener openness."
I'm starting to sound like George Carlin, here. I think I'll quit while I'm ahead.
Some caveats. As it stands, the Bellavista is sensitive to footfalls in some rooms. This may be a problem. When I moved it from my office's countertop, a structure that is secured to the wall and where it sounded nearly optimal, and placed it atop a free-standing old equipment rack downstairs, I found it became much more sensitive to acoustic feedback and foot falls. In a frantic hurry to remedy this, I contacted a few guys and was advised to get two large (24' x 18") maple cutting boards, and to put a one inch slab of open cell foam in between them. I did. What can I call it? A primitive resonance-control sub-chassis? This device eliminated nearly all the resonances that were making their way back up to the stylus during crescendi. Things cleaned up even more. And the effect of footfalls on my very springy floor was reduced. All this for about sixty-five dollars. I also found that when I switched from my improved Black Cube to my Grado phono section, a tendency toward brightness was reduced. With these two adjustments I got the results I describe above.
The Bellavista special package (‘table, arm, & cartridge) is a sonic winner. And it is killer beautiful to watch in operation. Those little gold doobies come whirling by, like cars in an amusement park ride, reflected off the highly polished plinth. They are way cool! The gold-plated parts dress the ensemble up enough to be eye-catching. The 10 micron gold plating that ornaments the piece is not only beautiful, it retards unwanted high frequencies. Naah. It doesn't. But you can tell your buddies, and the ladies, it does. Who can say "No!"?
Once they hear this rig, you can say anything, and they'll believe it. It's hard to believe it has been much improved upon. But I know Maurizio has. "Bella vista" means "beautiful view" or "panorama." Not only is the Bellavista itself beautiful, it opens up a beautiful panorama of the world's great music.
Ciao, Bambini.
Description: Two-speed, belt-driven turntable with 24 pole AC synchronous motor, Delryn pulley, polyvinyl record platter, ceramic bit injected polyvinyl belt, polished black acrylic plinth, three height-adjustable Aluminum conical feet, and an Aluminum record weight.
