Turntables and Tonearms

The Woodpecker is an entirely new turntable design in which timeless elegance meets excellence in sound. Dr. Feickert Analogue refined its already well-proven bearing design adding a new high-inertia platter driven by a new high-torque motor. The motor is then further enhanced by a newly developed motor electronics package. Why the emphasis on new? Because this ground-up development has resulted in an extremely balanced and inherently musical turntable with an appealing compact chassis – the new base-line of excellence in turntable design.

The Woodpecker turntable is available by itself or as part of a complete package that includes a 12" Jelco tonearm .

Reviews

"The Woodpecker Package has proven itself to be a very capable platform for vinyl playback. Its High Inertia Platter, updated drive system, redesigned bearing, quick-release sliding-tonearm mounting system, and Acoustical Systems Arché headshell combine to give the turntable solid and steady playback capabilities. The gorgeous VANA-specified finish adds beauty to solid baseline performance. If you are in the market for a turntable in this price range, you owe it to yourself to include the Woodpecker in that search. Given the Woodpecker’s ability to work well with cartridges far more expensive and capable than what would normally be installed, it could possibly serve its owner far into the future." by Andre Jennings

• Dimensions: 19" x 15" x 5.5"

• Armboard: 205–300 mm pivot-spindle (9–12 inch effective length)

• Weight: 40lbs• Warranty: 2 years, with 5 years on the bearing

The Mark Döhmann Helix 1 turntable delivers an unparalleled analog playback performance thanks to its world-famous Micro Signal Architecture© (MSA) engineering, reaching new heights in both noise reduction and micro-signal preservation benchmarks. This radical new approach to signal preservation is the brainchild of Mark Döhmann, the designer and engineer behind the legendary Continuum Caliburn and one of the most recognized designers in the industry.

Mark is respected among his peers for his out-of-the-box thinking and his deep understanding of turntable architecture. He knows exactly which elements influence human psychoacoustics and prides himself on using the most advanced technologies available to remove unwanted vibration and electrical noise.

Döhmann joined forces with an incredible team of scientists, engineers and other designers for the Helix 1, addressing every aspect of noise and vibration suppression by utilizing the latest visualization techniques, engineering concepts, and patented technologies, eclipsing the Continuum Caliburn at a fraction of the cost.

The Helix 1 turntable rewards listeners with the closest facsimile to master tape levels realized to date, offering the ultimate in noise suppression and isolation, allowing the pickup arm to deliver the micro-signals buried in the grooves of well-authored vinyl, with as little modification and distortion as is physically and electronically possible making it the gold standard of turntables.

Döhmann Helix 1 by Audio Union table incorporates several engineering advances to deliver the lowest resonance profile for any pickup arm and LP combination.

FEATURES INCLUDE:

MSA - Micro Signal Architecture©

NSM - Negative Stiffness Mechanism Vibration Isolation

0.5 Hz (Fz) Vertical

1.5 Hz (Fz) Horizontal MCT - Mechanical Crossover Technology

TMP - Tri-Modal Platter system

EDR - Edge Damping Ring

TDS - Tone arm Damping System

RTS - Resonance Tuned Suspension

DLC - Diamond Like Coating Amorphous Material Bearing Friction Modifier

HTAD - High Torque Adjustable Drive

Speed Selections 33, 45 RPM (78 RPM by request)

Velocity Adjustment Lock – Speed is constantly calibrated over 130,000 times per second to deliver precise 33.33 or 45.15 rpm (factory default).

The Helix 1 system is a turntable with an internal suspension system that uses Negative Stiffness Mechanism (NSM) isolation technology and an integrated motor, using a twin belt drive for speed accuracy. All controls for normal 33 or 45 rpm operation are located on the turntable top panel. A separate “control box” motion control servo drive is located in separate 3RU standard rack size housing which can easily be placed out of sight.

The Helix 1 is factory-calibrated for precise speeds and the drive system monitors that speed constantly over 130,000 times per revolution to deliver direct drive accuracy without speed drift. Speed adjustment is accessed through a simple USB interface on the control box or remotely via secure Wi-Fi.

The Helix 1 turntable is capable of mounting two pickup arms simultaneously and features full integration with an internal motor, driving the platter through dual belts. The turntable comes with a separate power supply and servo control box connected by two custom cables. The turntable can be mounted on a variety of surfaces because it has an intrinsic suspension system fully integrated with the chassis. This allows for use in old buildings and residential environments where instability, feedback issues and footfall interference are typically found.

… not only a slogan! Taking the time to develop everything new from scratch Feickert finally ended up with compact and elegant new turntable with all of the qualities Dr. Feickert is famous for - perfect neutrality, elegance in appearance and build quality, to name only a few.

Testing and refining each step of the way resulted in this new design that will be a benchmark not only in its price-range of products.

The Brinkman Balance

While it is the oldest of Brinkman‘s turntables, it remains, the top of its line because it is that good. The Brinkmnn balance is a turntable I am extremely familiar with as I own one with of course a Ront tube  power supply. The right power supply makes all the difference in the world as without it the Brickman sounds like a very very good belt drive turntable.

But, with at the Brinkmann balance flows  like the Afton River:"Flow gently Sweet Afton among thy  Green Braes “ -Old English folk song         

Brinkmann Taurus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Reknowned  for their belt drive turntables, Brinkman ,has in recent years ,developed a series of direct  drive transcription decks which equal or surpass the performance  of any similarly priced Belt drive  turntables -whether  by Brinkman or any other Brand! The revolutionary Taurus /Ront combination exemplifies this advanced analog technology.

The Taurus  sounds like an outstanding belt drive turntable in terms of its openness And transparency while maintaining the absolute speed accuracy of the best Direct drive  turntable without any of the sense of the sound being forced which was typical of  this type of drive mechanism in the past.

I love Car analogies as, apparently does, Alan Moulton of the Absolute Sound when he wrote:

“the Taurus as a big naturally aspirated V12 as opposed to an older turbo car with all that sudden (if delayed) accelerative force. Use that big V12 to power Jeff Buckley’s vocals on Morning Theft (Sony Music) and you are left with no other reaction than “Wow!” in the face of something so velvety and present. The Taurus marries big fun with big refinement as well as anything I’ve heard.

by Allan Moulton , THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ,Apr 23rd, 2021.

Yep that’s it. So what does it sound like ?                                                                                                                                                                                             “Evenhanded brilliance. Just a breath of fresh air to listen to a ’table with seemingly no restrictions on differentiating dynamics and space. The Taurus feels both open and powerful, precise yet free. And that’s from way down at the bottom to way up there on top (frequencies, that is).” by Allan Moulton ,THE ABSOLUTE SOUNDApr 23rd, 2021

But wait. All of these remarks relate to the turntable without its Ront  tube power supply. You might say huh? What does the Ront tube power supply have to do with a direct drive turntable .

BRINKMANN’S EXPLANAT: appeared of instruments belonging to the same performance and space, rather than as cutouts on an artificial stage. In my experience with the Taurus, you need the RöNt II to get the “flow” of a great belt-drive ’table. My enthusiasm for the way the Taurus combines fun and involvement with refinement is based on the inclusion of this damn tube box thing. It’s also visually too cool for school. I’ll say a bit more about it in the technical description to follow, but the RöNt II took the Taurus over that little invisible barrier between appreciation and love.Without the Rontii The Taurus is the most open and transparent direct drive turntable you’ve ever heard. With the

Ront II it equals and surpasses most of the great belt drive to turn tables for transparency openness and flow. “ ION

 “At first blush, it seems a crazy idea to use vacuum tubes for a low-voltage turntable power supply. So why do we do it? We found that the vacuum in the rectifier tubes not only isolates their plates from the cathodes, but also the power line from the drive circuitry. Because of this, the RöNt works like a high-class power-line filter for our turntables. The purification of the mains noticeably improves the a TauruS.  BRINKMANN WEBSITE

MOUNTING a Brinkman 12 inch tone arm on this table makes it a $25,000 combination which out performs three tables at twice its price.  

The Brinkmann Taurus is a tour de force of engineering and performance. When coupled with the Ront  power supply. A performs in the same league as turn tables which cell 42 and three times as much. And we can safely say that in his price range nothing comes close. Just ask Alan Moulton The Absolute Sound who, on April 23, 2021 wrote:

"It’s not just that the Taurus performed technical gymnastics beyond other (admittedly less expensive) turntables I’ve had at home; it’s that it let me love the experience. The Taurus gave me much needed moments where I could just put my head back and feel something.

I’ve had some experience with other big, fancy, expensive turntables. Can I right now definitively tell you that any of them is better than the Taurus? No, I cannot. Can I say that the Taurus is the best turntable you can buy at any price? Come on. You know the answer to that. Of course I can’t. But the best direct-drive Brinkmann manages to combine love and appreciation in a way that few can, and it’s a clear step above the best $10k–$20k ’tables I’ve experienced, fully justifying its status as a reference. It’s one of the only products I’ve heard about which I have no reservations. I actually miss it.

I’ll leave the last words to Lupe, the goat in the animated movie Ferdinand: “Is this love? I love love.”