S9 – ‘flamenco version’

The S9 record player is a direct descendant of our S7 precision analogue disc transcription system – itself part-developed for the United States Government, Library of Congress Audio Preservation Facility – and a sibling of the S10 – yet simpler and further reduced. It is our entry-level record player – an introduction to ‘serious analogue playback’ – for those who simply wish to enjoy the pleasures of analogue reproduction without the nonsense of ‘hi-fi’ and its associated propaganda.

The unit comprises a turntable chassis, bearing and platter, armboard, unipivot tonearm and free-standing motor control unit – complete with remote low-voltage power supply and offering 33,3 and 45,0 r.p.m. switched speeds, coupled to pre-set potentiometers which provide fine calibration adjustment. With the provision of an appropriate cartridge only, you can now re-enter the world of proper analogue reproduction.

The turntable platter is a finely balanced flywheel, precision machined in solid aluminium, and capped with a solid graphite record mat. The turntable bearing uses a hardened stainless steel shaft revolving in precision bored bushes above a hardened thrust pad.

The tonearm design is optimised for playing 12” vinyl discs. Cartridge output is conveyed via two twisted pairs of Teflon-insulated silver-plated copper wire terminated via miniature gold connectors to insulated RCA phono sockets allowing connections to be made in unbalanced or quasi-balanced modes.

Each machine is a sculpture in its own right, designed and entirely hand-built for the 21st century. Not a mass-market product, nor the genesis of corporate desire, but a simple and beautiful object, functional and dependable, a machine with real character and personality.

Made principally from aluminium, graphite and stainless steel alloys, the record player is finished in a satin lustre and supplied, together with all necessary equipment and operating instructions, in a strong foam-lined package designed to withstand acute freight handling.

Provision of an ideal support is of major importance, as is finding and properly installing a well-matched cartridge. Then, and only then, can you sit back and bask in the analogue domain.

Specifications:

Packaged size:	480×480x320 WDH mm.
Packaged mass:	15 kg.
Player requires area:	500×350x125 WDH mm.
Player nett mass:	12 kg.
Platter speeds:	33 & 45 r.p.m.
Supply voltage:	+12 V.d.c.
Power consumption:	~15 mA.
Tonearm effective length:	233.2 mm.
Stylus overhang:	17.8 mm.
Stylus offset angle:	23.6 deg.

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The S10

The S10 represents a logical summation of over 20 years’ experience in turntable design and, by further elaborating upon the previous models we have produced, raises the quality of our art to new levels of engineering professionalism and aesthetic expression.

Conceived from the outset as a professional working tool, the S10 offers a ‘no-holds-barred’ replay capability by using high quality materials, precision engineered for long-term reliability and consistently accurate reproduction. It represents the very best.

Typically supplied with the S7.1 unipivot tonearm, the S10 permits multiple cartridges to be used and quickly interchanged, allowing professional users the ability to make rapid stylus-profile changes in archival applications and, for the audiophile, the option to make near-instant cartridge selection without the need to realign cartridge geometry.

A total ‘record player’, complete with tonearm, the S10 may be configured as a ‘cutting-edge’ audiophile turntable or as a truly professional precision transcription system destined for use in the world’s largest national sound archives.

The S10 takes the business of analogue disc reproduction to new levels of competency and thus now replaces its precursor, the S7 (extensively used over the past 12 years by audiophiles, musicians and archivists) as a new music industry ‘standard’.

Although primarily a serious working tool, the S10 design is geometrically fastidious. Hundreds of hours were spent studying the classical principles of architecture, sculpture, painting and philosophy in order to assert equilibrium in its physical presentation. This is because ‘the aesthetic of the machine’ is an integral part of modern human experience, and listening to music is very much an aesthetic undertaking.

General Specifications

Chassis assembly:

53mmH	to armboard mounting surface
71mmH	maximum
175mmØ	maximum
5,55kg.	nominal mass

Platter assembly:

27mmH	including graphite record mat
300mmØ	maximum
7,95kg.	nominal mass

Weight:	~13,5 kg. (turntable only)
Packaged weight:	~28,5 kg.
Packaged size:	48×48x46cm.

S10 motor unit

Controls:

SW1	stop/go
SW2	fwd/rev
SW3	speed select 1/2/3
PR1	speed adjust 1
PR2	speed adjust 2
PR3	speed adjust 3

Speed range: 31 – 35 rpm; 41 – 49 rpm; 61 – 85 rpm~

Input socket: 2,1mm d.c. jack, centre positive

Power supply: 12V d.c.

Units are supplied with one ‘universal input voltage’ power supply – IEC mains cord connection – providing a nominal 12V d.c. output via. a 2,1mm – centre positive – jack plug. Units may also be battery powered (12V) – preferably using a ‘dryfit’ cell recharged by solar panel (optional extra).

S 7.1 tonearm

The S7.1 unipivot tonearm is constructed of various aluminium alloys and non-magnetic stainless steels. All its surfaces are treated with a special stress-relieving process and are non-anodised (anodic treatments produce a very hard skin which tends to create an equally ‘hard’ sound characteristic). The tonearm beam is a fine gauge drawn aluminium tube, reinforced with a tapered external tube and internally damped.

The pivot bears directly onto the tonearm’s counterweight beam whilst a slotted plate inhibits all non-rotational or vertical movement in conjunction with a a low-friction sleeve. The headshell is fully detachable, offers adjustment to overhang, offset and azimuth, and locks firmly to the tonearm beam using the cartridge mounting screws. A cueing device permits safe cueing of the tonearm over an extensive arc, whilst an adjustable thread/wheel/weight assembly effects anti-skating.

The internal tonearm wiring uses a high-quality ‘silver-over-copper’ stranded cable with a Teflon dielectric. The four cables exit via a precision 5-way quick-release plug to a connector box usually located to the rear of the tonearm. Connector boxes may be supplied for unbalanced or balanced connections.

Being a unipivot, the (floating) upper part of the tonearm may be simply lifted off the pivot and a second tonearm beam (complete with with pre-fitted and aligned cartridge) introduced. In this way, quick changeover of cartridges may be rapidly affected.

A 12” version of the tonearm is available for the tracing of large format archive discs. The 12” tonearm is able to transcribe discs of up to 20” in diameter whilst the 9” version will accommodate discs of up to 14” in diameter.

Specifications

Distance – tonearm pivot to stylus tip:	233.2 (9”) 308.8 (12”)mm.
Distance – tonearm pivot to turntable centre:	215.4 (9”), 295.6 (12”)mm.
Cartridge offset angle:	23.64 (9”) 17.63 (12”)deg.
Overhang:	17.80 (9”) 13.20 (12”)mm.
Inner null radius:	66.00 (9”) 66.00 (12”)mm.
Outer null radius:	120.9 (9”) 120.9 (12”)mm.
Maximum disc size capacity:	356.0 (9”) 508.0 (12”)mm.
Effective mass:	medium (9”) medium (12”)

These specifications are given in good faith and should be considered as representative of typical production units, rather than as absolute values.