Avid Actus Dark Iron Turntable

IRON GRIP

Committed to maintaining the renowned sound quality synonymous with the Acutus series, the Dark Iron edition remains steadfast in delivering an unparalleled auditory journey. With meticulous attention to detail, this rendition stands as a testament to the relentless pursuit of perfection, marrying cutting-edge technology with the artistry of sound reproduction. The Acutus Dark Iron embodies the ethos of innovation and sophistication, setting a new benchmark for audio equipment.

MOTOR INTEGRATION

Beyond its striking appearance, the Acutus Dark Iron embodies advancements in performance through its integrated motor system. This elegant enhancement ensures superior belt alignment, elevating the listening experience to new heights of precision and consistency. The meticulously engineered motor seamlessly integrates into the turntable’s framework, delivering not only improved alignment but also enhancing the overall operational smoothness, setting a new standard in audio excellence.

CLAMP

Our meticulously engineered single-action clamp is precision-crafted from solid aluminium, featuring a stainless-steel grounding point. Its innovative design automatically flattens your records onto the platter surface, effectively channelling unwanted vibrations through the spindle to the subchassis below. By significantly reducing the record’s inherent noise floor, this clamp enhances your listening experience, unveiling more nuanced details and authentic sound from your beloved vinyl collection. For an enhanced sonic performance, our optional dual-operation clamp is available, offering heightened control over various record thicknesses. This advanced clamp effectively eliminates warps and air pockets, ensuring a seamless connection between the record and the platter. Paired seamlessly with our unique resin mat, this combination delivers an unparalleled listening experience, enriching the depth and fidelity of your music.

PLATTER

The centrepiece of the Acutus turntable is its 10kg aluminium platter, which serves as the focal point of its design. The platter incorporates a 10mm aluminium disc at the top to effectively dampen any undesirable ringing noises. The accompanying record mat, crafted from a high-quality TMShrunk felt composite, provides exceptional support for the disc, ensuring optimal playback performance. For an enhanced audio experience, users have the option to upgrade to our precision-machined resin mat. This superior mat offers an impeccable interface with the record, particularly when used alongside our grounding clamp. By containing the majority of vibrations within the record itself, this mat facilitates rapid transfer of vibrations through the grounding clamp, prioritizing this transmission over heat conversion for an improved sonic output.

BEARING

The Acutus turntable features the lengthiest bearing spindle within our entire range. This spindle is meticulously press-fitted into the subchassis, securing it firmly in place. The innovative inverted design situates the contact point at the pinnacle so the bearing naturally has a low center of gravity. At the upper end of the precisely ground and tapered spindle, a tungsten carbide ball comes into contact with a specially designed sapphire jewel. This ingenious pairing establishes a fixed bearing point, completely devoid of any lateral movement. As a result, the typical rumble noise often encountered in other turntables is virtually eliminated. Furthermore, the self-lubricating sleeve employed in this design ensures that there’s no direct metal-to-metal interaction during operation. This distinctive feature renders our bearing exceptionally silent and also grants it a maintenance-free quality for its entire lifespan.

SUBCHASSIS 

It is critical for sound quality that the tonearm and bearing are rigidly coupled, any relative movement between them and information is lost forever. Our unique one-piece multi-fold aluminium casting provides maximum strength where required but allows for movement in non-critical areas, accepting the fact that nothing is totally rigid. To eliminate the vibration from the record passed through the bearing, the casting is coated with a damping media of specific thickness so that both high and low frequencies dissipate with linearity and time frame, giving a neutral sound.

SUSPENSION 

Our adaptable suspension system ensures uniform tuning of each supporting spring to achieve an identical frequency, irrespective of the load. This capability enables seamless accommodation of a single or twin tonearm weight of up to 3Kg while maintaining perfect suspension balance. Operating at an isolation frequency of 2.5Hz, the pickup cartridge remains securely in place without skipping, as all external vibrations are effectively eliminated.

MOTOR

Our high-torque AC synchronous motor swiftly accelerates the platter to its operating speed in a matter of seconds. It boasts tenfold more power compared to standard turntable motors, ensuring unparalleled control and stability. Utilising twin round section drive belts, our design allows the suspension to move freely without causing the speed fluctuations often associated with flat belt configurations. Integrated into the primary chassis, the motor’s alignment remains consistent when the base is levelled, thereby preserving precise belt tracking.

POWER SUPPLY 

The Classic electronic power supply employs DSP technology to independently generate its frequency, enabling precise fine-tuning of the final speed. Equipped with a substantial 80VA mains transformer, our power supply functions as a fully integrated amplifier, delivering a consistent output tailored for the twin coils of the high-torque motor, in much the same way you power the coils of a loudspeaker.