Avid Acutus Reference turntable
When Julian Lau of Shun Woo Audio calls me about the new Avid Acutus Reference turntable, I drop everything to try it out. I'd already heard that the British turntable maker had taken LP sound to new levels of realism and I wanted to compare its flagship player to what I'd been listening to before.
Designed and made in Britain, the Avid Acutus Reference is stunning. Setting up isn't as difficult as I expected. I thought fine-tuning the Ortofon cartridge and tonearm would take a couple of hours, but I'm done in 30 minutes. It's then I notice the unique spring suspension that all Avid turntables use to isolate the record and arm in all directions from vibration and provide a basis for a silent background and rich textures. The vertical springs are horizontally aligned with lateral damping rings, preventing a rocking motion, guaranteeing the drive belt is under constant tension and assuring speed stability.
There's also a huge power supply housed in a separate chassis that drives the 10kg platter.
With my favourite LPs on the turntable, what strikes me immediately is the transparency of the sound and the impact of extended dynamics that reach deep into the bass and up to the heavens. I'm in the audition room all evening, changing speakers a few times and switching cables. Not once does the Acutus let me down. If anything, the turntable brings out the weaknesses in other components.
But all this technology, quality and elegant styling comes at a price - HK$150,000 (and that's without the arm or cartridge, which could take it over the HK$200,000 mark).
If you love vinyl, you owe it to yourself to try this turntable. My only gripe is that I have to get up every 20 minutes to flip the LP. The Avid Acutus Reference will bring out the best in your LP collection, guaranteed. Now, about that second mortgage ...
