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Type Direct: Drive Manual Turntable
Turntable Speeds: 33-1/3, 45 and 78 r/min
Starting Torque :2.2 kg-cm
Build-up Characteristics: 0.7 s. from Standstill to 33-1/3 r/min
Wow And Flutter: 0.025 % W.R.M.S.
Turntable Platter:
- Aluminum diecast
- Diameter : 332 mm (13-5/64 inch)
- Weight: Approx. 2.5 kg (5.51 lb) (Including rubber sheet)
Tonearm Section
Type: Universal Static Balance
Effective Length: 230 mm (9-1/16")
Overhang: 15 mm (19/32")
Tracking Error Angle:
- Within 2° 32' (at the outer groove of 30 cm (12") record)
- Within 0° 32' (at the inner groove of 30 cm (12") record)
Offset Angle: 22°
Arm-height Adjustment Range: 0 - 6 mm
Stylus Pressure Adjustment Range: 0 - 4 g (Direct Reading)
Head Shell Weight: Approx. 7.6 g |
Designing a new turntable to celebrate VPI's 40th anniversary provided VPI an opportunity to update the direct drive motor technology to incorporate advances in motion control and materials technologies.
Harry Weisfeld's 2012 CLASSIC DIRECT direct drive turntable was an outstanding technical achievement, earning Stereophile Magazine's Class A+ rating. This award-winning table was loosely based on the VPI Classic Series table technology and included a thick aluminum plinth and armboard and an inverted platter bearing riding on a PEEK thrust disc. Combined with a cutting-edge BLDC direct drive motor, the CLASSIC DIRECT was created. The Classic Direct provided a stable, solid foundation for the music, allowing the listener to hear deeply into the recorded grooves to the treasures buried with-in!
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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.
| The Prime is designed to offer hi-end sound while taking advantage in improvements in Turntable technology. The shape is designed to have a more aesthetic look, while having the footprint to accommodate the space needed for a 10 inch 3D arm.
- 10-inch 3D Tonearm
- VTA Tower included
- Classic 20-pound platter and bearing
- Four solid Delrin corner assemblies designed for isolation and mechanical grounding
| The C-Sharp packs one heck of a lot of technology into its price tag. First of all, the package price includes the $1000 Ortofon Quintet Black cartridge, praised by audiophiles all over the world for its natural sound. The heavy platter with a ceramic bearing, 10" carbon tonearm, and external speed control unit give you an amazing combination. EAT's special damping technology will keep both external noise and motor noise away from your records. Plus it will look like a true work of art sitting on your audio rack with its striking European styling. Just do some stretching before you set it up because this jewel weighs in at 30 pounds!
Design & Build Quality
When we first looked at the EAT turntables, two things really impressed us -- the great looking design and the superb build quality. They just exude European precision. Like many of our favorite turntables, the C-Sharp is a fully manual turntable. This means to operate it you’ll turn it on, manually lower the tonearm using the damped cueing lever, then at the end of your record, use the cueing lever again to raise the arm. At Audio Advice we prefer manual tables for their simplicity. There’s an argument to be made that the lack of mechanical parts also prevents issues such as resonance from affecting the tables great sound.
The look of the C-Sharp is quite stunning. Unlike many high-end turntables, the C-Sharp is elegant and relatively low-profile. The carbon fiber plinth sits in a high-gloss black base with a thin edge. The platter is much larger than a 12” record and tapers up to the high tech mat. A substantial record clamp is included in the box. The tonearm is also a work of art, constructed from carbon fiber and highly-polished aluminum components. The whole thing looks like something you would expect to find under the hood of a $1m race car!
As soon as you begin to interact with the C-Sharp it quickly becomes clear that build quality it is second to none. This is to be expected for it’s nearly $3,500 price point, but it’s just an incredibly well put together table.
Features & Technology
The low profile base of the C-Sharp is made out of the highest density MDF available. The ultra-low-noise motor is mounted to the base along with 10 cone-shaped damping feet made out of a new high tech energy absorbing material called TPE (Thermoplastic Elastomer). The plinth constructed from a sandwich design of carbon fiber over MDF. The base has three adjustable feet, which allow you to get things perfectly leveled.
The main platter bearing sits on the carbon fiber plinth which is supported by the TPE columns. This makes for a great isolation system. If you gently push down on the plinth, you can even feel the spring of these columns. The combination of these features limits the amount of noise able to get back into the system, maximizing the sound quality.
The turntable bearing is one of the most unique designs we have seen. It is an oversized inverted design with a resonance-free ceramic ball bearing on top. The larger inner platter has a massive brass bearing which sits on top of the ball bearing and also extends above the inner platter to provide a perfect fit for the substantial outer platter. Everything fits together with incredible precision! Any vibration noise that does make its wait though is just transferred out to the TPE columns. Quite a brilliant design.
The main outer platter is very heavy, coming in just an ounce shy of 11 pounds! When you flip it over, see why they made it larger than an LP. The outer perimeter is a weighted ring to give it a flywheel effect. The main platter itself is another sandwich-type design, this time with a very inert aluminum sandwiching some more TPE material. The part of the platter that contacts the record is constructed from recycled records! Topping the platter is a threaded spindle for the included heavy-duty machined record clamp.
To be honest, it’s a little scary during the setup process, trying to center an 11-pound platter on the inner platter. It’s a precision fit, so you’ve got to get it line up just right. Be careful not to mash your fingers as you lower it. The good news is that it fits perfectly and you should really only have to do this the first time you set it up. We recommend you attach the clamp, screw it on firmly, and then gently lower it down while holding it by the clamp.
Even the belt is a bit exotic. It’s constructed from a special antistatic rub, is round like many ultra-high-end turntable belts, and is polished for uniformity.
Like the rest of the turntable, the tonearm also has a ton of great technology buried inside of it. It’s a combination of a unipivot tonearm and traditional pivot design with the middle bearing being a unipivot. When you move it around, you can’t feel any play at all, which is something we look for. It also is virtually friction-free. The arm tube is made of carbon filled with a special silicone grease to damp out any resonances. This arm can fully support just about any type of high-end cartridge you would want to use, which our customers love.
The tonearm has fully adjustable vertical tracking height. You’ll need a stylus pressure gauge to set the tracking force as it is all gravity and there are no markings on the counterweight. Fortunately, a very nice one is included with the table. The anti-skating is a very clever gravity design as well, but you’ll need some pretty good eyesight to get it all set up properly. It has to screw into the side of the tonearm base, then wrap around. Once it's set up, there is no risk of it getting changed, like some gravity designs, but is just a little trickier to start with. Of course, if you purchase your C-Sharp from Audio Advice, we will do all of this for you.
The external power supply is fully isolated and easily allows you to switch between 33 and 45. It has an AC generator built in for totally clean and stable power to the motor.
Finally, the package we are testing comes fitted with an Ortofon Quintet Black. When you consider the C-Sharp without a cartridge is $2,995 and with the $1,000 Quintet Black, it's $3,495, you get a $500 savings buying the package -- an incredible value.
Performance
We had recently set up a nice system to run our new Golden Ear Triton Reference using a PrimaLuna Dialogue integrated amp and the Sutherland Duo phono stage. We decided that this would be a fun rig to use to test out the EAT C-Sharp. First off, that combo sounds just amazing! The Tritons have a powered sub built in and the Prima Luna had no trouble driving them. The system provided an incredibly warm, rich sound -- just as we would expect.
We set up the Sutherland for 100 ohms and set the gain to 60db and started spinning some vinyl. The first thing we noticed was the great deep bass extension. We had on a Norah Jones record with some acoustic bass. Not only was it deep and full, but you could hear all of the harmonics of the instruments. The way her voice floated dead center with such a great sense of effortlessness.
Dynamics were also outstanding, especially on an old Judds album, Why Not Me. This one was really fun to listen to. Changing over to some Miles Davis Kind of Blue was just stunning. Every instrument stood out in a huge soundstage, yet each one was the right size and precisely located, never wavering. We finally cued up one of our favorite LP’s for rhythm and pacing, John Cougar’s “Pink Houses” cut from his Uh-Huh album. The C-Sharp passed this test with flying colors as we had our feet tapping within the first few bars!
Using the C-Sharp is a great experience as well. You drop the weight on the center spindle and give the center portion a spin to lock it in. Push 33 or 45 on the speed control box, wait until the light stops flashing to indicate things are up to speed and then lower the tonearm. The Quintet makes cueing up songs very easy as its square body makes it easy to line up the groove you want to land in.
We just loved using the C-Sharp! |
The MMF-5.3 turntable is a 2-speed belt driven audiophile turntable employing the unique dual-plinth construction originated by Music Hall.
- Counterweight's center of gravity is level with the stylus tip, is decoupled from the arm, and acts as a resonance damper.
- DC synchronous motor for superior speed stability separately isolated on the lower platform.
- Includes properly aligned and pre-mounted Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge with a replaceable nude elliptical diamond stylus.
- Dynamically balanced alloy platter with soft felt mat.
- Dust cover and 45 rpm adaptor included.
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