Bloom, ye undulations of age! Musical appreciation on LP with the NOVUM turntable


Date: 2014-10-11

 

11th October 2014 saw a demonstration session featuring Acoustic Signature's NOVUM analogue turntable. Hosted by Richcoln Company Limited, the event took place at Richcoln's Home Entertainment Centre at 2:30 p.m. as scheduled, amidst social chaos outside.

The gathering was conducted by Richcoln's audio consultant Franz Chan - a figure of high reputation with thirty odd years of experience in analogue playback systems. Mr. Chan introduced to the attending audiophiles the hero of the event - the NOVUM turntable.

Resembling a spaceship and bearing a lower price tag than Acoustic Signature's flagship Ascona, the NOVUM is close to the Ascona in terms of sonic performance.

The NOVUM incorporates three AC synchronous motors spaced equidistant from each other around a sub-platter, driven via a single belt for minimal friction and balanced rotation. A separate power supply system with DSP provides a pure 24 VAC sine wave to drive the turntable and complete isolation from the mains. The NOVUM platter is made of a soft alloy to optimize its periodic resonance. The application of "Silencer-Platter-3" design helps further absorb air-borne vibrations. 24 brass inserts called "Silencers" are installed in the platter, spaced evenly around the spindle in a radiation pattern, to provide balanced distribution of mass. The bearing housing is self-lubricated. The shaft is made of hardened steel with a tungsten carbide ball tip, which runs on a bearing made of Tidorfolon, a mixture of vanadium, ferrite Teflon and titanium for frictionless and wear-free rotation.

The TA-1000, the first pick-up arm by Acoustic Signature, made its debut in Hong Kong this time. It features an arm wand made of dual carbon fibre tubes for absorption of vibrations derived from the pick-up cartridge, and pre-loaded precision ball bearings for both vertical and lateral planes. The TA-1000 provides accurate VTA and azimuth adjustments for optimum tracking and perfect channel balance.

The "Sussurro" cartridge by Soundsmith of U.S.A. formed a vital part of the analogue system on demonstration. Peter Ledermann, founder and chief audio engineer of Soundsmith, is daring enough to apply a long forgotten design contrary to moving coils - the moving iron, which presents considerably less moving mass than moving coils and moving magnets, enabling the stylus to remain in intimate contact with record grooves. This is vital to accurate retrieval of information engraved on the record.

Mr. Franz Chan gave an introduction of bFly-audio shock absorption products, of which we have recently acquired exclusive distributorship. These were used throughout the demo session. Utilizing proprietary "Mult-Layer Adjustment" technology (MLA), bFly-audio products are made of natural rubber, cork and Sorbothane ®, with brass as an isolator. This effectively absorbs and reduces structural and air-borne vibrations that are damaging to sound reproduction thereby maximizing the full potential of our audio systems.

The event concluded in a lucky draw. Four lucky attendees were presented each with a souvenir.

We would like to express our thanks to friends of Richcoln for their participation in the gathering and look forward to hosting music lovers with more demo sessions and featuring the latest equipment. Good buy!