HARTVIG Signature tunrtable
This is the turntable that Tidal has chosen as the analog source to introduce Jorn's masterpiece speaker creation - Agoria in this year's Munich show. Before the Munich show, Ulrik Madsen of Argento told me over the phone that I probably have not ever listened to a turntable that is capable of delivering bass quality at such "uncharted" area. I was puzzled until I listened to it via the Agoria live at the Tidal showroom.
The devils are all in the details. The simplicity of the design conceals an arsenal of technical merits. Mr. Hartvig has put forth endless hours in the making of a modern analog masterpiece. The product has been in development for over 3 years.
The devils are all in the details. The simplicity of the design conceals an arsenal of technical merits. Mr. Hartvig has put forth endless hours in the making of a modern analog masterpiece. The product has been in development for over 3 years.
0
Comments
We spinned some LPs which Master Chik regards as reference percussion, violin and piano music, they all pass with flying colors even under such draft setup prior to any fine adjustment and feeting of the gears....
Soundstage is just the contrary to its footprint, it is huge across 3-dimensions with lots of details. Obviously the Trinity Phono 002 also plays a key role, it has two inputs and with a capability of adjusting the output gain in 2 stages in order to have a perfect match with the cartridge used.
Considering that we are yet using the flagship tonearm, cartridge, phono and cables....Hartvig can provide a very good platform for the components sitting on it to perform well without contaminated by the noise introduced from mechanical resonance, AC power noise, etc.
Marvel
Before I go on to describe the combined improvements of these changes, I wish to contrast on the design of this turntable vs the many mega turntables that I have seen and listened. The structure and build of the turntable is significant but in many occasions, an 'overkilled' toll in terms of contributing to the overall performance of the turntable. Adding lots of heavy metal, lowering the Center of gravity, etc may help stablising the motion of the turntable but have they all addressed the issue of the combined resonance frequency of the turntable with the record sitting on top? Do they know resonance at various frequency will introduce noise and noise will defeat not just on the clarity, transparency but also would degrade the energy of the transmission, thus affecting the transient and dynamics. An 'overdamped' turntable will have stability, seemingly fast transient but definitely may not yield flying colors on smooth and rapid dynamic navigation.
Hartvig adopts a very simplistic design matching coincidentally well with the name of the tonearm we have used on it: Simplicity. Mr Soren Hartvig has put his utmost effort in lowering the resonance factor of not just the base but also the motor stand, armboard stand. The small footprint is really disguising its true character on the ability to play mega scale absolutely not shying away from the 'big boys' league.
Rather than describing what Hartvig sounds like, similar to Tidal, it just disappears from the chain. I shared this with PT yesterday who was also listening to the system and he agreed. Music produced has endless ripples on the details with notes bursting out contiguously one after another like the eruption of many 'spring eyes'in a hot spring making my eyes and mind very busy picking up and re-constructing the tonal picture in a virtual space....it is not the kind of 'die hard' bass that creates the impact, it is the deep and smooth diving into the bass plain which the room can afford to contain that heartens me the most. The background is exceedingly dark and revealing compared to the other first class turntable sitting behind. Ironically, I can hear more symphonic noise from the aged tube in the power amp when we listened to this turntable setup.
All in all, Hartvig certainly is in the top league from the musicality and quality point of view but ironically not from the sheer weight and size point of view. Look no further if one is looking for a robust and advanced solution to play vinyl and prepare to shock his audiophile friends with such a neat and humble looking turntable. This is a new breed which is a game changer that a top league turntable must occupy half a room and cost a full room (HKD10K/sq ft for an average apartment in HK).
Whilst the look and feel of the Hartvig turntable may appear to be humble, the music is packed with flares and dynamites. It is absolutely not in the camp of 'muscular wrestling' where all the excitments are 'squeezed' out with seemingly an asserted force at the back. It just simply bursts out like the eruption of volcanoes in a rhythm only determined by the inner core of the earth, ie the music itself.
This turntable is designed for those who looks for simplicity, slick design and shocking performance....
Everyone listens differently and one should never put a price factor to dictate pre-conclusion. In my humble experiences, I have never ever listens to any Clearaudio Statement that sounds right to my ears despite hefty price tag.
If Thales strength is tracking and hence smoothless, don't break the inherent strength by mounting a goldfinger. Pick another arm to play symphonies. Similarly, don't criticize until one learns about the preferences of the owner.
The Hartvig turntable in Master Chik system is throwing out big soundstage paced with details. Eyes closed, one would believe we ar hearing a mega system with a heavyweight footprint...I think this. Is technological craftsmanship making this possible.
In terms of performance, the most apparent strongpoint of the turntable is the bass which is controlled but not tight sound. Given the constraint on dimensions in master Chik's showroom, the Hartvig turntable still produced a vivid and wide soundstage. Compared with Shindo turntable which I am using, the Hartvig turntable is more nature and lively.
The Hartvig turntable is a "hidden gem" and it deserves more "voices". I just hope more people could experience it and appreciate its beauty.