Who needs a platter bearing anyway?

[CageyH]

http://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2016/10/13/13270482/mag-lev-audio-floating-turntable-vinyl-magnets

[Ammonite Audio]

Good luck to whoever is trying to raise funds to produce this thing. Consider a bouncy magnetic spring under the platter, strong magnetic field influencing the pickup and I can guarantee that this thing might turn a record, but it will sound utterly dire and most probably with awful speed stability, since any platter movement will result in gyroscopic effects and horrendous wow. Where magnetic turntable platter bearings are used successfully, it is either to relieve pressure on a conventional bearing, or applied in a small, constrained manner that just lifts the platter up enough to break contact with the thrust pad, eg it does not create a spring system just where you don't want it.

Over to you Mark (YNWaN)!

[tlscapital]

Is this the next gigolo toy ? Arghh... Help ! Finally they've commercialized a turntable for show-offs yuppies (I know they are considered an extinct species but whatever you want to call them; "playboy" bankers, traders, aristocrats "à la Stark"...) that can also play at 45rpm !? Whoat ? But-but-but, if you know how one plays singles, especially the whole night long for musical pleasure and sharing with friends for example, I'm sure you can imagine anyone with some pragmatic sense playing them singles on that wobbly, unstable not "fixed" platter will want throw it out the window ASAP.

[Ammonite Audio]

Is this the next gigolo toy ? Arghh... Help ! Finally they've commercialized a turntable for show-offs yuppies (I know they are considered an extinct species but whatever you want to call them; "playboy" bankers, traders, aristocrats "à la Stark"...) that can also play at 45rpm !? Whoat ? But-but-but, if you know how one plays singles, especially the whole night long for musical pleasure and sharing with friends for example, I'm sure you can imagine anyone with some pragmatic sense playing them singles on that wobbly, unstable not "fixed" platter will want throw it out the window ASAP.

I thought that had already been done! Plenty of bling examples at Bankers' Bonus price tags from a variety of makers from Clearaudio to TechDas etc. Nothing wrong with that, IMO, as long as they are actually good record players. I'm sure that this one is good, considering the excellence of the makers' more modest products, but it does show off a bit and I'm not sure that it fits in anyone's house. At least it will turn at the right speed.

https://audiograb.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/high-end-acoustical-systems-02847.jpg?w=860&h=572

[walpurgis]

Consider a bouncy magnetic spring under the platter

The original (long stem) Decca International pickup arm floated on a magnetic 'cushion'. There were opposing magnets in the stem. It seemed to work OK and gave nice sounding results, even though the arm was vertically decoupled from the turntable.

[tlscapital]

I thought that had already been done! Plenty of bling examples at Bankers' Bonus price tags from a variety of makers from Clearaudio to TechDas etc. Nothing wrong with that, IMO, as long as they are actually good record players. I'm sure that this one is good, considering the excellence of the makers' more modest products, but it does show off a bit and I'm not sure that it fits in anyone's house. At least it will turn at the right speed.

https://audiograb.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/high-end-acoustical-systems-02847.jpg?w=860&h=572

It can be bling but IMHO that MAG TT is more of a show-off as shown in the clip with the guy's "cool" attitude in his "clinical" clean house where everything is "normal" for him as he is "so cool" but where every watchers should go "Whaaa !".

Where this "monster truck" (I think it's a matching reference) is more to do with the ego of the megalomaniac who build it or the one who owns it I believe. Not so much the "BLING ! Look at me" attitude but more "BOOM ! Here I am". Maybe chromed or gold and copper covered would make it a "BLINGED BOOM monster truck" TT... LOL

[helma]

OMG that promotional video :D It seems like a parody of itself. And what's that about a crappy DOL pressing in his collection?! He looks like he should be able to afford real records that are not just ripping off music that's old enough to be past copyright in certain countries. And what's wrong with his listening spot?!! But then again we are on the verge of a new era of innovation that will reinnovate the way we live, which obviously is in large glass houses with levitating turntable platters that bring us joy and happiness as we speak in our heavily EQd voices that make us all sound so husky and mascular. Bring on the new age, I'm ready!

[Beobloke]

Love that Mag-Lev deck - very cool! It does go against my ethos though as, when it comes to turntables, I'm not keen on over-complicated designs. I much prefer something very basic and simple.

*cough* :whistle:

[walpurgis]

The 'maglev' thing may actually not be a bad idea, having thought about it. The mass of the platter is likely to be enough for the platter/turntable combination to have a very low, subsonic resonance and therefore not intrude into the audio bandwidth. If the turntable is suitably isolated from outside low frequency vibration, like traffic rumble for instance, this could work rather well.

[danilo]

THAT Video.. which is a 'Kickstarter' brochure babble Item has been making the rounds the last couple of Days.
Epitome of a Troll effort.
Certainly effective at bringing the fish to the pond surface though :-)