You think the $150k Clearaudio table, or the Caliburn Continuum that S'phile love so much, would mark the upper end of turntable crazy prices but you would be wrong. AV Design Haus of Germany have a table with a built in microscope that HigherFi.com now lists at $650,000. It's April.....but we're far beyond Fool's Day...maybe. Good luck to anyone who can afford it but you have to ask why....
1 comment:
OK, I learned a little about 'why' from the one posting made by the man behind this table over on AVS:
"Dear friends of high end audio,
please let me explain something about this Phonomaschine and the price. I’m designing, developing and manufacturing this Phonomaschine (TT) all by myself!!!
I started more than 7 years ago with researching and studying the market. Since 3 years I’m manufacturing and testing this TT.
I have taken the best parts, treat them and put together all the best components, what high tech industry offers today. (Sorry, but my English is not very good.)
I’m not a Company, like all the others. I have no employees, just two friends, who work with me. They both work at a big electronic-company and they designed a totally new electronic-control-unit
with special microcontrollers.
This company designed and developed special microchip-technology to run this machine.
For example: the stepper-motor for the tangential unit does 800 steps/one turn.
The especially for me new developed microprocessors-chips now treat this motor with 256 micro steps.
So we are able now to move the tangential unit very smooth, with the smallest movement of 0,000024 mm !!!
The laser controlled tracking angel tolerance is less than 0,02 degrees.
The Platter has magnetic bearings and it has 20,5 kg of weight and underneath is a magnetic coded ring
with 24.000 impulses. This help us to get a speed tolerance of less than 0,01 % And, yes it works very smooth with the two frequency controlled motors and the drive belts.
That may be enough highlights for now.
Something to the costs: I spent about 180.000 $ for all that material and electronic developing.
And it took me more than 3.000 hrs of work until today.
More than 500 hrs we will need to complete this high tech machine.
If you now count all this together, you will understand, why this TT will cost that much.
And this is also important to know: It is just a study, an experiment, and only this one exist,
and perhaps it will be manufactured, only by order, and only one per year.
But maybe, I will keep this Phonomachine VPM2010-1 only for myself. Because this project is the only one and the greatest target of my life.
If you now call me a crazy fool, I agree with you.But please be patient with me and my English, until this machine is completed.
Thank you for reading
With my best regards
Rainer "
Post a Comment