Meant to say internal. Dam autocorrect 🙄
Acoustic Signature turntables
I do not see a lot written about these turntables by end users. Can anyone share experiences or opinions on reliability, use, and design considerations?
Some of my observations or questions (keep in mind these are naive as I have never heard these models and I may be wrong about assumptions made).
1. Why the multiple motors? This is the one I struggle in understanding. Is the AVC (motor vibration reduction) that they provide somehow enhanced when working across more than one motor? How is this different than other motor vibration reduction methods such as the Rega method? Whether additional noise or reduced drive capability, who knows (?). How long to get up to speed?
2. Standard bearing vs inverted vs magnetic. I suppose there will never be consensus but noticed AS steadfastly implements standard bearings that focus on the materials used.
3. Platter dampening. Their method seems to work well. However, I noticed comments about earlier models being overly damped. The dampening increases up the product line.
4. Very heavy platters compared to some competition. Even the lower models have very heavy platters so they seem to think this is important.
5. Subplatter vs no subplatter. AS seems to have moved to subplatter design for models that can take multiple arms. Did they always think this method was superior?
6. Tonearms. Not much out there about the tonearms. Seems once again standard design but focus on materials…carbon fiber and bearings.
7. Back to motors. AS uses AC motors. Kuzma insists on DC. I guess I can try to read up on the differences and why manufacturers prefer different types. Any thoughts here? I am probably not be smart enough to understand the finer points about turntable motors (lol).
8. Warranty. AS seems to offer the longest warranty. As with other warranties, what good is it if no design specs and performance tolerances are published? Seems few turntable manufacturers publish relevant specs these days. On one hand, I understand why in dealing with picky audiophiles and on the other hand, unfortunate.
Would appreciate additional thoughts. Thanks!
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- 28 posts total
@rsf507 , I demoed two tables (Kuzma Stabi R and Acoustic Signature Tornado). Quite hard to say anything relevant about the demos as I was completely unfamiliar with both systems. I did not hear any “red flags”. Surface build quality on both tables fantastic with Acoustic Signature surface build quality being massively impressive. @all, I am not worried about Acoustic Signature. If I had a problem with the AS, I would have my wife talk to Herr und Frau Froenhoefer as she is a native of Germany. However, they may find her Cologne accent more peculiar than mine. ;-) I found this video with Mr. Kuzma quite interesting…particularly the part where he talks about motors, torque, and platter run down time.
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@plinko I'm sure you can't go wrong with either a AS or Kuzma tabke, both are 1st class. To me I'd prefer the DC motor also the AS is a bit "blinky" IMO but everyone has different preferences. Keep us posted on what you end up with and enjoy. |
Hello, I have setup several AS tt. In fact I just setup a Typhoon (triple motor) tt with a Reed 3p tonearm and a $4k Vanden Hal cart. It sounds amazing! I did tune it to the owner and their music. The cables need to break in fully on the Reed 3p tonearm but out of the box it sounds incredible. You will not be disappointed going with Acoustic Signature. This person went with the Reed because his cart is set around 1.4 gm. The Reed worked very well with the light TF. I used the Ortifon setup record to setup the anti-skate. It works great. I also, put a sticker and markings on the anti-skate knob and the weight so he can play with a few different options to see what they like the best. In the end. This is really great tt. I have setup using the AS Neo arms too. They are terrific as well. If you go with their carts setup is so easy. You line up the sides and front of the cart to the shell holder. Use the included setup tool and you are done. Easy as can be. I prefer Lofgren over Berwald so I used a Dr. Feikert to set it up. I hope this helped. |
- 28 posts total