Michell GyroDec Turntable w/ TecnoArm 2

Michell Audio

THE WORLD'S MOST ICONIC TURNTABLES

Michell creates reference class vinyl playback systems for people who love music.

Owning a Michell turntable allows you to experience your music as the artist intended.

We aim to give our customers high-quality, reliable products that never detract from the music.

Using premium materials and modern manufacturing techniques to create your new turntable, you can rest assured that your vinyl collection is in safe hands.

Michell Design Philosophy

The task of a turntable is simple.

The design of a turntable is not!

At audio frequencies, the arm should be kept locked above the groove, without any extraneous motion relative to the cartridge. And the groove should be dragged at a constant angular speed underneath the stylus.

This means that over the whole frequency band of 10Hz up to 20kHz and beyond, the whole loop made by record, platter, bearing, (sub)chassis, arm plate, tonearm, and cartridge body should behave in an utterly rigid and non-resonant fashion.

Any flexing of the same dimensions as the microscopic undulations in the groove detracts from sonic fidelity.

At lower-than-audio frequencies, the arm should be made able to freely follow the groove’s warps and excentricities, so as not to damage LP or cartridge, and this without inducing any spurious signals into the cartridge’s generator.

Only when these demands are fulfilled can the stylus trace the actual information embedded in the record’s groove walls.

A simple task, you said? A simple task it is not!

Michell GyroDec with TecnoArm 2

This product is built to order, please allow up to 90 days for production and delivery.

INTRODUCTION

The GyroDec turntable first introduced in the early 1980’s had a design far beyond any other turntable at the time. Utilising a hanging pendulum style sub chassis and isolated drive motor, it literally turned turntable design on its head!

The modern GyroDec may look very similar to the original 1980’s design, the reality however is that it is a far more sophisticated beast. Everything from the motor and power supply to the platter and main bearing have been redesigned and improved over time to ensure the performance and reliability of the turntable remains class leading.

FEATURES

Low contact area feet: The solid aluminium feet of the turntable are shaped so the area in contact with the supporting surface is very small, this is done to minimise the transfer of vibrations from the supporting furniture into the turntable.

High density acrylic base: This provides a rigid non resonant surface to fix the suspension system to.

Three point spring suspension system: Three suspension towers are fixed to the acrylic base to hold the suspension springs in place and provide height adjustment for the sub chassis.

Weighted pendulum style sub chassis: Hanging on the three suspension springs, this provides a rigid dense platform to mount the main bearing, platter and tonearm assembly, ensuring there is no movement between them, while also acting as a ‘resonance / vibration sink’ drawing away unwanted vibrations from the sensitive elements of the turntable.

Inverted oil circulating main bearing: Contrary to traditional designs, our main bearing has the point of rotation at the top of the assembly, not at the bottom. This orientation allows us to fully lubricate the inside of the entire bearing while the platter is turning. We achieve this by way of a modified Archimedean screw that we machine into the inside bore of the bearing. The oil is drawn from a reservoir at the base of the main bearing up to the thrust ball at the top, fully lubricating as it goes, it then returns to the reservoir via a waste hole drilled into the bearing spindle. Lubricating the precision parts of the main bearing in this way means that any potential for noise or vibration created by the rotation of the platter is avoided.

Impedance-matched platter with solid brass weights: The platter material was chosen for its vibration dampening characteristics and because sonically it is a very similar material to vinyl, so it has a very neutral sound characteristic. The brass weights are added to give the platter extra mass and subsequently more momentum when spinning. This greatly improves speed stability and helps keep wow and flutter to a minimum.

Free standing motor unit: The motor unit used to drive the turntable is completely separate to the turntable, meaning it doesn’t touch the turntable in anyway. The only connection between the motor and the turntable is the drive belt that drives the platter. This stops any noise or vibrations created when the motor is running, getting through to the sensitive parts of the turntable.

Hinged lid: The turntable comes with a hinged clear acrylic lid to protect the turntable from dust and damage. The hinges are made in two parts that allow the lid to be easily removed if required.