INGENIUM PLUG&PLAY
The AVID Ingenium Plug&Play turntable is an affordable record player incorporating the same design approach found in AVIDHIFI's more expensive turntables. Complete with tonearm and cartridge it will be up and running ready for you to play your records in minutes.
Inverted Stainless steel bearing pillar with Tungsten Carbide/Sapphire thrust point with integrated AVID HIFI Locking Clamp
Powerful Drive from Larger Higher Torque 12 mNm AC Motor
Non-Resonant Solid Aluminum Chassis with Massive Bespoke Sorbothane Compound Isolation Feet
Self Damping Precision HDF Platter with Cork-Based Compound Mat
Upgradeable Platter and Tonearm
Compact design fits most equipment shelves 14.6" x 12.0" x 5.1" (WDH)
Weight: 13lbs
AVIDHIFI's Sophisticated Inverted Bearing and Screw Down Clamp
AVIDHIFI's approach to turntable design focuses on redirecting energy - rather than dampening it with excess mass - and controlling the rotation of the platter with high torque highly regulated motors.
The Avid Ingenium turntable has an inverted stainless steel bearing with a tungsten Carbide / Sapphire thrust point - the same concept used in all of AVIDHIFI's turntables.
The advantage of having the bearing point in the plane of a perfectly balanced platter is to reduce the possibility of vertical platter wobble. In the usual well-type bearing with its contact point well below the plane of the platter, wobble will be amplified just like being in a Crow's nest on top of a mast in a choppy ocean.
The clamping system gives a noticeably audible sound quality improvement by virtually bonding the disc to the platter and redirecting the unwanted vibrations of the record surface into the large bearing and subchassis away from the cartridge. The information encoded in the micro dimensioned grooves can not be faithfully detected by the cartridge if the whole record itself is vibrating horizontally or vertically. Draining away these unwanted vibrations allows the stylus to accurately trace the grooves and lowers the noise floor so you hear more of the musical performance.
Spending money on an expensive cartridge is wasted if the stylus is attempting to trace a moving target. To trace the information encoded in the grooves accurately the grooves themselves can't be moving around.
In all AVIDHIFI turntables the spindle is threaded, the clamp screws down mechanically couples the vinyl record to the platter so there is a pathway for the transfer of vibration energy. This is a more effective method than simple heavy record pucks that rest on the record surface changing the resonance frequencies without redirecting the energy.
The standard Avid Ingenium turntable platter is carefully machined and sealed MDF with a cork mat and can be upgraded to a damped metal platter as used in the Diva II.
Driving the Platter
AVIDHIFI choose belt drive over idler wheel or direct drive not just for maintaining a constant, unvarying accurate speed, but also to isolate the record from the
vibrations and noise of the motor. There is simply greater freedom and more options with belt drive in matching the size and quality of the main bearing, platter
mass, and power of the motor. Because in direct drive the spindle supports the platter and is also the drive shaft of the motor, the challenge is to prevent
the spindle from transferring motor noise to the platter and thus the record. Not easy - a noise generator in fact.
The 12mNm motor used in the AVID Ingenium Turntable is more powerful than those typically used in turntables at this price level. It counteracts the considerable force exerted on the side wall of a record groove by the stylus against the rotating record - especially during heavily modulated grooves - far more effectively than the common small motor relying on the 'flywheel effect' of the platter concept.
Flywheels work by using their 'moment of inertia' to resist changes in rotational speed. The rotational energy stored is proportional to the square of the rotational speed and the mass. In typical engineering applications the flywheel rpm is in the order of thousands (Volvo has explored a 60,000 rpm flywheel in experimental energy saving automobile technologies). Even with a very high mass platter, the amount of energy that can be stored when the rotational speed is only 33/45 rpm is limited. When does a spinning top slow down enough to where it stops being upright and falls over? The controlling force of a high torque motor is many many times more powerful than the flywheel effect.
Rigid Foundation and Environmental Isolation - The Chassis and Supporting Feet
The solid aluminum main chassis provides a very solid and rigid foundation for the system preserving the bass response.
There is no possibility for relative movement between the platter bearing and tonearm bearing in any axis with this amount of material.
With it's compact footprint the Ingenium can be accommodated by all standard size hi-fi stands and there is no excess mass.
The specially formulated sorbothane type material feet used to support the chassis are considerably larger than those used on other tables of this price and offer a high degree
of isolation vibrations from the surface onto which the table is placed. A dedicated turntable isolation platform will further enhance this effect.
kemela commentary
The AVID Ingenium Plug&Play turntable is very well made and sounds excellent even with the tonearm and cartridge it comes with. This award winning record player is a bargain with upgrade potential.
Ranking the importance of the table, tonearm, and cartridge
While the turntable, tonearm and cartridge elements of a record player are all important, the turntable is fundamental in providing rotation, support, isolation and vibration control. Attempting to hand write in a car going over rough pavement is not easy if the suspension/ride quality is poor and using an expensive gold nib fountain pen versus cheap ballpoint pen makes no difference. The Avid Ingenium PNP spins records very well due to the solid aluminum base, powerful motor, bearing, clamping system and large isolating feet. This platform gets more out of the supplied tonearm and cartridge than you might think and there is upgrade potential with the platter and tonearm.
Considering the low background noise floor, ability to reach deep into the recording, evenly illuminated soundstage, and respectable dynamics on offer, the price is highly competitive, and factoring in durability and quality of the product makes it even more so.
U.S Retail Price: $1,795 (Optional flat dust cover available $139)
