| Content | Alva TT V2 is for people who want to listen to records at exceptional quality – without the need to choose or fit extra components. TT V2 comes with a bespoke designed cartridge pre-installed. It connects to pretty much any audio system too, thanks to a switchable integrated phono-stage. It even works wirelessly with high quality Bluetooth speaker systems.
The Alva TT V2 looks very similar to the original Alva TT, which in a nutshell is sleek and simple. The appearance reminds us of the look of the CX series products which have a rounded, floating appearance. The footprint that sits on your shelf is smaller than the plinth, which gives it that floating look just like CX. The bottom part of the plinth is a dark matte gray finish with a solid aluminum top plate. Three small silver buttons are on the left side for power and speed control with an elegantly embossed Cambridge logo on the right.
The Alva TT V2 is a manual turntable, which means you need to lower the tonearm using the cueing lever at the beginning and end of the record. The tonearm has tracking force and anti-skate adjustments. However, there is no way to adjust the tonearm height.
Learn More About Manual vs. Automatic Turntables
Cambridge Audio intentionally designed the Alva TT V2 to have an appearance that gives you the confidence that it’s easy to set up and put right to use. We love the minimalist appearance with its rounded corners and clean lines.
Build quality is very good, as we see with all of their gear. This is one stout turntable. The plinth without the platter weighs almost 16 pounds, and when you add the 5-pound platter, you are just shy of 21 pounds total. Cambridge Audio includes a nice set of audio interconnect cables and a ground wire with the turntable, which we felt would not really need to be upgraded compared to some products that come with throwaway cables. And in what has become their trademark back panel design, the labels are printed both right side up and upside down to make them easy to read when leaning over the top.
Features & Technology
The Alva TT V2 sits on four feet that have some damping characteristics and feel slightly squishy to the touch. As we said earlier, the plinth is quite beefy with its solid aluminum top plate and anti-resonant base.
The platter is made from Polyoxymethylene (POM), a high-tech engineering thermoplastic used in precision parts that require high stiffness and excellent dimensional stability. There is a metal insert in the center with a slight indentation for the record label. Like many turntables with a high-tech plastic-based platter, it is designed to be used without a mat. For those of you who like to roll your own sound by changing mats, you need to bear in mind the arm is not height-adjustable, so it's best to stick with no mat. | Now it’s time for the heavy lifting. The motor alone weighs in at over 5lbs. This massive AC motor sits to the side of the table, providing complete isolation, and has a pulley for the belt that is machined to .0005% tolerance to achieve perfect speed. If you find the motor heavy, wait until you pick up the platter. This 20lb. beast is made out of aluminum and damping materials. It’s 39” circumference is machined to a +/- .001” tolerance. Coupled to the hardened steel bearing, this system spins at a perfectly constant speed. We believe this characteristic is essential when trying to achieve the “live” feeling from music. If the speed is off, the music does not sound realistic. VPI’s method of mass is one of the best ways to accomplish this since the heavy platter will maintain consistency once it gets up to speed. The first time you flip the switch on the motor, you’ll hear it squelch as it torques up, but don’t let this worry you. While it sounds a bit odd, it’s normal.
The Prime’s 10” 3D tonearm is quite a feat. Ideally, a tonearm would be one single piece of material, yet until 3D printing, this has been almost impossible to manufacture. VPI was able to use anti-resonant materials, and the end result is an elegant one-piece tonearm.
The tonearm is a unipivot type, meaning it’s free to move around in all directions and only has one bearing. Many in the audio industry believe this is the most friction-free bearing around, allowing your phono cartridge to do its job. The unipivot bearing even has two side outriggers to fine tune its level position. VPI includes a 6” lightweight rod you rest in a groove on the top of the headshell section, allowing you to easily determine whether its level.
Another impressive tonearm feature is its fully adjustable VTA (vertical tracking angle), which allows you to move the tonearm in order to align the top of the phono cartridge parallel to the record surface in order to achieve the best possible sound. With most tonearms, this is done by loosening screws in the side or base to raise or lower the arm, which makes it difficult to fine-tune the height. With the VPI arm, however, you simply loosen up two large screws, then use a large round knob to move the height up or down in small increments. Just as coffee fanatics experiment with achieving the perfect grind, VTA allows audio fanatics to experiment with achieving the perfect sound. There is even the option to make minor adjustments based on the thickness of your vinyl records, and the arm has a scale so you can record the exact setting for each record.
Finally, to couple the record better to the damped platter, VTA includes a stainless steel and delrin record clamp, which simply drops down over the center spindle to hold down the record.
At Audio Advice, we’re very particular about cables included with turntables. Since the signal coming out of your phono cartridge is extremely low in output, it’s necessary to use a higher-end set of cables so nothing is lost in the transfer of the signal from your turntable to the phono preamp. The Prime does not come with cables, which we actually prefer, since it allows you to choose from any of the aftermarket cables on the market today. Your choices are unlimited and whatever model you select will fit firmly onto the high-end RCA jacks found on the back of your Prime table.
One final word of advice: you must ensure your Prime is set up by a professional. They can mount and align the cartridge perfectly, and should also preset the VTA to the right height for an average record. From there, all you need to do is put it back together and set the recommended tracking force.
Performance
To check out the Prime, we used it with the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC cartridge. Like VPI, Soundsmith has been around for over 30 years and is actually made in the USA right down the road from VPI in Peekskill, NY. This is a $1,749 low output moving iron cartridge. The Zephyr was very easy to get setup properly with it’s square body. It also has very good channel separation.
One of our favorite test LPs is Cat Stevens Tea for the Tillerman and the Prime perfectly captures his somewhat gravelly voice. The first cut, “Where Do the Children Play,” has a variety of sounds and rhythm changes that are a noteworthy test for a high-end turntable. In the first 5 seconds, you can tell the Prime is special. we’ve never heard bass notes reach down so low while maintaining such a realistic tonal quality. This same track has some very close mic’d guitar lines throughout the song. There are actually two guitars playing which on some rigs is hard to distinguish. Not so on the Prime! They each stand out alone even when things really build up towards the end of the track.
The 3D arm really lets your phono cartridge do its job, too. Once everything was set up we were not able to detect a shred of cartridge mistracking. In terms of dynamics, the percussion sounds explode to life with the Prime. After critically listening to a few more tracks, we ended up turning off the lights and putting on an old favorite, the first Chicago Album, CTA. We were instantly immersed in the music. The 3D representation afforded by the Prime is almost spooky.
As we played more records, we found the presentation of the music on almost every recording was extending wider left to right than our speakers. We believe part of this is the outstanding audio quality of the Zephyr MIMC, but if the table and tonearm are not going a great job, you would never get that type of soundstage. The Zephyr is certainly a great match for this outstanding turntable. The combination produced deep rich bass, with a high-end extension that was never harsh -- always smooth and liquid.
- 10-inch 3D Tonearm
- VTA Tower included
- Classic 20-pound platter and bearing
- Four solid Delrin corner assemblies designed for isolation and mechanical grounding
|
Building on the ground breaking Juke Box E, Juke Box S2 is taking the first audiophile all-in-one system to the next level. By changing to a more sophisticated acrylic platter and an upgraded, Pro-Ject proprietary cartridge gave the Juke Box the extra bit of audiophilia it deserves. Juke Box S2 effectively saves space by implementing a pre-amplifier and power amplifier in its chassis. With the rated 50 Watts per channel it you will be able to use your stereo speakers and enjoy realistic sound stages and great depth.
- Instant playback with super-easy setup
- Bluetooth and 1 line input
- Acrylic platter
- High contrast display on top
- Line record output
- Gold plated sockets
- Pre-adjusted tracking force & anti-skating force
- Pick it 25A cartridge, pre-mounted
- 8.6" aluminium tonearm with sapphire bearings
- Belt drive with silicone belt
- Low vibration synchronous motor & DC power supply
- Special feet for effective decoupling
- IR remote control included
|
In 1991 Pro-Ject started a revolution in HiFi with the introduction of the Pro-Ject 1 turntable. A new high-end, low budget turntable at a time when CD was king. Against all odds, we were creating interest in analog audio at a time when others were turning their backs, and the success was only down to three critical philosophies: Simple yet technically correct design, High-quality valuable materials, and Fully handcrafted, expert engineers, made in the EU.
The design is carefully tuned to offer the most critical features for the best price and everything is put together with Pro-Ject‘s decade long experience in making the best performing turntables without blowing the budget: MDF is 2-3 times more expensive than standard particle boards, not to mention a plastic chassis, but sounds and feels way better.
The X1‘s luxury 8 layers of painting and the hand-polished finish are 3-4 times more expensive than simple foils.
Inside, it houses a sophisticated DC/AC generator board which, combined with the convenient speed control board, delivers clean and stable power to the quiet-running motor. This adds additional cost but performs many times better than a simple, direct powered AC motor. For even further improved performance, the motor is decoupled from the main plinth using a new motor suspension system.
In the X1, the motor drives a new, heavy, non-resonant Acryl platter via a sub-platter drive system and a premium grade main bearing for liquid smooth rotation. This is the perfect platform on which to place your precious vinyl records, guaranteeing absolute reliability in its performance and sonic character. The X1 is also better than its predecessors thanks to the super-stiff, perfectly tempered Carbon/Alu sandwich construction tonearm. This new 8.6” tonearm design is incredibly light and stiff, with improved resistance to external interference. Finished as a one-piece, with no resonance-inducing headshell, the X1 can also be set for azimuth and VTA adjustment, offering the flexibility that so many people are asking for, especially in this and even lower price ranges.
The tonearm is then supplied with a TPE-damped counterweight, further reducing cartridge-tonearm resonances.
Lastly, height-adjustable feet in their Alu/ TPE sandwich construction are a very exclusive but necessary feature to level up the turntable and effectively isolate it from the surface it is place on.
The X1 has all the high-end features of modern turntable designs to maximize the music and listening experience. All these features can in fact be done at a reasonable cost. Due to our extensive experience and meticulous manufacturing processes, we put resources, time and effort into giving music lovers the best sound for their money, rather than cutting corners to save on costs. It is a statement and a counterpoint against other upcoming turntable designs, which go the way of offering more features but less performance.
- Speed control with electronic speed switch for ultimate speed stability
- Carefully isolated motor for less vibration and noise
- Sub-platter with extremely low 0.001mm bearing tolerances
- Stainless steel platter-bearing with soft brass bushing and teflon mirrors for lowest rumble and noise, and a stable, accurate speed transmission
- Resonance free, 1.5 kg heavy acryl platter
- 8,6” carbon/alu sandwich tonearm with best internal damping and TPE damped counterweight
- Kardan ultra-low friction 4 pin point precision tonearm bearing
- Sumiko Rainier cartridge newly developed with Sumiko for highly dynamic and full sound
- Massive and heavy, precision CNC‘d MDF chassis
- Luxury 8 layers of painting and hand-polished finish or real-wood, satin-waxed veneer
- Super shielded, semi-symmetrical, low-capacitance phono cables - purpose designed by Pro-Ject
- Height adjustable, aluminum feet for massively reduced risk
of acoustical feedback
- Handmade in Europe
| Thanks to extensive research and development, we have now elevated our classic RPM design to an even higher level. The RPM 10 Carbon uses a new extra-heavy chassis which features a special CNC-machined MDF base with resin-coated steel pellets to form an extra-heavy and precise sandwich construction. A special, complex heat treatment and carbon surface coating ensures superior low resonance levels. The mass-loaded chassis is effectively decoupled from its surface using magnetic feet. Combined with a new special polished aluminum platter with internal TPE damping and a vinyl layer on top, the inverted ceramic main bearing delivers an absolutely stable turntable speed with extra-low rumble due to the magnetic suspension of the platter. The heavy outboard motor unit is equipped with precise motor control and features a built-in switch between 33 & 45 rpm. Last but not least, the no-compromise 10" EVO tonearm with conical carbon-fiber arm tube and inverted bearing design ensures perfect tracking, even with demanding cartridges. Highly flexible, top-grade copper internal wiring is used. The RPM 10 Carbon is delivered with Ground it Carbon equipment base and top-grade 5P phono cable "Connect It CC" with RCA plugs (XLR as an option). An acrylic dust cover, "Cover it 1", is also available.
Specifications
Speed: 33, 45 rpm (electronic speed change)
Drive: Belt drive
Platter: 10.4 kg aluminum (300mm diameter)
Main Bearing: inverted stainless steel with ceramic ball/plate
Wow & Flutter: 33 +/- 0.11% 45: +/- 0.10%
Speed Drift: 33: +/- 0.01% 45: +/- 0.01%
Signal to Noise: -75dB
Tonearm: 10" Carbon EVO
Effective Arm Length: 254 mm
Effective Arm Mass: 8.5 g
Overhang: 16mm
Tracking Force: 10 - 35mN
Supplied Counterweights: 5 - 7.5g / 7 - 10g / 9 - 11g / 10 - 14g
External Power Supply: 15 volts DC / 1.6A
Power Connection: 110/120 or 230/240 Volt - 50 or 60 Hz
Power Consumption: 15 watts max |
The B-Sharp sheds all of the non-essential cosmetic adornments of the C-Major without compromising performance or mechanical integrity, providing vinyl enthusiasts with a superb playback option at a more affordable price.
- Features the new B-Note tonearm, made from a carbon fiber alloy that is light yet rigid with a black anodized aluminum headshell. The B-Note tonearm provides all of the key features for cartridge alignment and adjustability: VTA (Vertical Tracking Angle), SRA (Stylus Rake Angle), VTF (Vertical Tracking Force), azimuth and a slotted headshell for overhang / offset angle.
- The anti-skate mechanism has been engineered for more intuitive calibration, making setup of the B-Sharp notably easier than competitive products.
- A proprietary low noise motor, floating chassis, aluminum platter and a high-density MDF low profile base are included as standard features of the B-Sharp. Like the C-Major, the B-Sharp uses a high-tech TPE (thermoplastic elastomers) suspension system that works in concert with adjustable feet that provide levelling ability for the table.
- Comes equipped with a factory installed Ortofon 2M Blue Cartridge, hinged dustcover, low mass aluminum record clamp, and a felt platter mat-all included.
|
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.