MARCH 2017
AVID HIFI
INGENIUM TURNTABLE
REVIEW / AVID HIFI / INGENIUM TURNTABLE
AVID HIFI
INGENIUM TURNTABLE Distributor: NAG Distribution $2,499 RRP
“The Ingenium is quite simply the little turntable that could”
Oscar Wilde the playwright, essayist, and
uses this technology to trickle down to its less
beam that extends outwards in two directions,
incomparable raconteur, was once asked how
expensive masterpieces.
so two arms can be mounted. Whether the
he’d spent the day.
Remove the Ingenium’s platter and its
He replied: “I’ve spent all morning taking out
skeletal structure reveals a sub chassis in
a comma and all afternoon putting it back
the shape of a cross: the longer part of the
in again.’’
cross carries the bearing and the tone arm
AVID HiFi’s Ingenium turntable in-situ in my listening room, reminds me of Wilde’s fanatically casual, attention to detail. No matter what angle I view it from, one thing is clear: the elegant simplicity of this audiophilegrade turntable hides an engineering fastidiousness that’s almost fanatical in its precise execution, but seemingly effortless construction at a cursory glance. Buyers who approach the Ingenium superficially, and bypass it without an audition for more traditionally styled vinyl spinners will be defrauding themselves. Those that drill a little deeper will be rewarded by a sound that has abundant authority, scads of detail and a character that’s audibly neutral. The Ingenium is quite simply the little turntable that could. And did, put in a stellar performance in my listening room, given its price. Which is no accident of design. Those familiar with AVID’s manufacturing methodology will tell you this UK firm starts its designs with the top of the range models, and
mount, terminated underneath with a single supporting isolation foot. The remaining two
buyer opts for a single arm or a pair of 9 or 12-inch versions, is an individual decision. The thing is Avid can supply the Ingenium in a number of configurations and provide arm mounts for SME, Linn, Rega, Jelco and Project tone arms.
isolation feet are under the cross’ shorter
The Ingenium’s motor is free standing so it
section to stabilise the Ingenium.
can be positioned behind the bearing. As
AVID’s engineering team decided on a bearing design that is offset towards the front of the main chassis spar. This ensures the spar has greater mass and strength, but there’s another sonic benefit: the bearing is relatively
for getting the right amount of belt tension between the motor pulley and the Ingenium’s sub-platter, Rick Powell the man who had setup the arm and cartridge and delivered the Ingenium, had great advice.
isolated from the chassis so it transmits less
Rick has a legendary reputation in Melbourne
noise to this elegantly conceived chassis in
audio circles for his audio knowledge and
working mode.
expertise. He’s a man who builds his own
Because the arm board is essentially part of the chassis, AVID sells the Ingenium with a choice of two arms. You can have the Rega RB303 or a 9-inch carbon fibre model built by Pro-ject. You can also order another version of the Ingenium that has a longer arm spar to accommodate 12-inch tone arms. Since Avid has a close working relationship with SME, presumably the arm on offer will be naturally, a 12-inch model from SME. Yet a third variation on this theme allows buyers to order an Ingenium with an arm
turntables and tone arms. He’s also one of a diminishing select band of veteran audiophiles who I’d allow anywhere near my Linn LP12 when its needs a service or suspension tweak. Rick’s advice about the belt was simple and clear: position the motor so the belt just touches the outer lip of the pulley without stretching and then slip the belt over the pulley. The pulley has been machined with two belt positions to provide speed changes. Nothing could be easier. But there is a caveat: get the belt tension wrong and you’ll hear it. Get it right and the Ingenium’s speed locks into a constant speed cycle that’s also audible.
The Ingenium’s platter is made from MDF
simplicity hides sophisticated engineering
topped by a layer or cork to provide a measure
solutions, as does the Ingenium.
of dampening. AVID supplies a hefty machined aluminium record clamp with each Ingenium.
The Rega is a fairly new model and the result of design using the most current 3D CAD and
Rick had installed and tuned our Rega RB303
CAM technology. Rega will tell you the RB303
tone arm and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge on
comes with more than 30 years of tone arm
our review Ingenium. Once the motor and
design, and that’s a fact you can bank.
belt were in situ, it was simply a matter of powering on the Ingenium and enjoying the music. The thing is, such elegant engineering makes the Ingenium a ‘set ‘n forget’ turntable that should never go out of adjustment.
The RB303 replaces the truly giant-killing RB300 model and improves on this enduring model’s technology via a new, one-piece arm tube and a bearing housing that’s more rigid. Rega has also fine-tuned the arm’s mass to
Unlike a Linn LP12 that requires periodic
make it more immune to resonances than the
suspension tweaks, there’s nothing a buyer
RB300, and the new bearing assembly has
has to do to maintain the Ingenium, save
less friction as well.
for an occasional dusting. This stress free approach commands a lot of respect from the demographic likely to be Ingenium buyers.
The Ortofon 2M Blue supplied with our review Ingenium will cost buyers about $329 but it turned out to be an ideal sonic match with the
Priced at $2499 including tone arm, the
RB303. The 2M Blue has an output voltage of
Ingenium sits in the hotly contested mid-tier of
5.5 mV, a frequency response of 20-20,000
a three-part audiophile quality market category
Hz and a tracking force range of about 1.6 to
that comprises entry level, mid-priced and
32 grams.
aspirational turntable models. Buyers will more than likely comprise two broad groups: those buying an audiophile turntable for the first time and have a budget of about $3000, and upgraders with the same amount of money to spend looking for a better turntable than their Rega 3 or Pro-ject Debut Carbon for example. Their money buys the Ingenium and a tone arm sans cartridge. Smart buyers will opt for the Rega RB303, a tone arm whose elegant
“such elegant engineering makes the Ingenium a ‘set ‘n forget’ turntable”
Into the Music The review system comprised the
Shimmering, crystalline highs
But hearing Desolation Row
Enjoyable enough to have
Elektra Audio PNYX preamplifier
and tantalising midrange vocals
emerge from a dead silent back
us dipping into the album’s
fitted with the new phono board,
flanked by tight informative bass
ground, with Dylan’s vocals
opening track called, ‘If You
the Elektra Audio Reference HD
ensured no one spoke a word for
carried right through the duration
See A Chance’. This was to be
power amplifier and Dynaudio
the duration of the track.
of the track by a menacing bass
the highlight of the evening and
repeating its chords over and
our group listening session.
over again, the Ingenium drew
An engaging track featuring a
the attention to the music and
wholly immersive synthesizer and
not the source or the system.
emotionally laden lyrics.
Contour 1.3 and Wilson Sophia Series 1 speakers.
Clearly the Ingenium was working as a highly neutral platform that
Arthur Rappos, Elektra’s designer
was allowing the sonic qualities
had installed his new and long-
of the tone arm and cartridge
awaited phono board in my
to be heard and appreciated.
A performance parameter that
By the time my guests had left it
PYNX. Asked why he’d chosen
An educated guess reveals the
points to this model’s ability to
was close to 1 am on a Saturday
the name, Rappos explained
RB300 is a synergistic match for
do everything very well without
morning. With the promise of a
that PYNX is a hill in Athens and
this turntable and the Ortofon
excelling in one particular area.
sleep in I couldn’t resist the urge
from the 5th century the meeting
2M Blue much more than a
It reminds one of good athletes
to end this listening session with
place for the city’s democratic
starter cartridge.
who win by playing within
‘Made Of The Sun’, the 6th track
themselves. A sure way to
of the latest Patty Griffin album
eliminate errors in their game.
called, Servant Of Love.
the long track called ‘Desolation
To probe a little deeper into the
A song to her mother, ‘Made Of
Rappos will tell you he designs
Row’, auditioned with the light
Ingenium’s lack of colouration, the
The Sun’ is all about the human
high-end models priced to suit
dimmed and a round of mellow
track ‘Spanish Dancer’ from the
heart and its capacity for finding
the mainstream market. There’s
Port, the general consensus was
Steve Winwood album, Arc Of
joy in real and abiding friendships:
no argument when Elektra
that we were listening to music
A Diver was placed on the platter
owners tell you he’s exceeded
rather than a hi-fi system.
and the Rega tone arm lowered.
No one was arguing that the
And again the room went quiet
look for you, you were the favorite
Both pre and power amp are
Ingenium front end scaled the
and no one spoke for the duration
one/ Your yesterdays poured into
highly transparent, sublimely
heights of sonic veracity the way
of this six-minute masterpiece of
my tomorrows/ And the songs
detailed, have a surfeit of micro
dearer turntables do so easily. For
a track. An organic presentation
you sang/ Were made of the sun.”
and macro detail and both are
example, whilst nicely rhythmic,
comprising Winwood’s high-
addictively musical. The new
the Ingenium lacks the Linn’s
pitched vocals, supported by
phono stage also conjures up a
foot tapping drive and pace. Nor
unconventionally tuned lead
high-end performance with all of
does it have the air and scale
and rhythm guitars was enjoyed
the above qualities along with a
of a fully loaded Gyrodec, or its
throughout the whole track. And
sense of directness that has to
soundstage scale.
all these were carried by a beat
popular assembley that forbear of modern democracy. The word PYNX means ‘’tightly packed’’.
his brief.
be heard. The classic hit ‘Walk Away Renee’ from the Rickie Lee Jones’ Girl On Her Volcano album, emerged from the Ingenium/Rega/Ortofon combo with a macro dynamic insistence that never failed to surprise visitors to my listening room.
Moving on to the seminal Dylan album, Highway 61 Revisited and
that was truly mesmerising.
“When the world was only you and me and your warm arms/ I’d
Griffin’s distinctive vocal style, her emotion charged delivery and the masterful playing of lead and rhthym guitars, flooded into my moonlit room and it was time to turn off the system.
The Sum of the Whole The next day I thought about the Ingenium’s
Those smart enough to keep any
would leapfrog the Ingenium and remain firmly
pared back, minimalist construction and how
preconceptions of what a turntable is
perched at the extreme top rung of the mid-
this belies the scale of sound it has delivered
supposed to look like should be prepared to
priced models along with the Rega RP6 and
on a daily basis.
be delighted with the precision the Ingenium
the Gyrodec.
Friends wondered and indeed posed the
can playback their precious vinyl.
Looked at this way, the Ingenium delivers
question hanging in my listening room. How,
So where does this mighty mite of a turntable
what you’d expect from a $2499 turntable.
they asked, could a performance with such
that’s priced at just $2499 including either
But please note, not all similarly priced
muscular authority and replete with air, grace
a Rega RB303 tone arm or a carbon fibre
turntables offer the same level of neutrality as
and abundant detail be emerging from a
9-inch model made by Project, sit in the vinyl
the Ingenium.
turntable that compared to mainstream models
spinners’ pecking order?
at its price, seemed structurally anorexic?
And here’s where we sum up what this
If we slot all turntables into three bands of
turntable is all about. The Ingenium doesn’t
Dissenters there were. But these heretics
sonic goodness and light called budget, mid-
really have colourations that you could
were few in number and all had dismissed
priced and aspirational, an audition makes
characterise as its abiding sonic signature.
the joys of vinyl for the cold faith of digital
it clear that the Ingenium is poised just far
decades ago. Too long to understand what
enough to make it into the mid part of the
their ears have been missing all these cold,
mid-priced turntable category.
analogue-less years.
By comparison the Rega P3 priced at about
While its true many potential Ingenium buyers
$1450 with factory cartridge and 303 tone
will be underwhelmed at first by its uncluttered
arm, sits a rung below with the upper level of
build. And its not hard to imagine some
budget spinners.
bypassing this well-kept secret of a turntable for rival models that appear, to offer more real estate for their dollars.
Using the same categories, an entry level Linn with the most basic arm and cartridge
It’s essentially a neutral platform that allows you to hear its accompanying tone arm and cartridge strut their stuff. You really can’t ask for more at this price. Enthusiastically recommended.
WORDS: Peter Familari
SPECIFICATIONS
DRIVE
MOTOR
// Belt Drive
// 115/230v 12mNm ac synchronous
SPEEDS
VOLTAGE INPUT
// 33.3 and 45.0 RPM
// 115-240vac 50/60Hz 10 watts max. (regional)
PLATTER MASS
DIMENSIONS
// 2.0 Kg (inc. optional clamp 2.5 Kg)
// 370 x 305 x 130mm
BEARING
NET WEIGHT
// Inverted stainless steel
// 5.9 Kg (inc. arm)
THRUST POINT
SHIPPING WEIGHT
/ / Tungsten carbide/Sapphire
// 8.0 Kg
SUSPENSION
PACKAGING
/ / Elastomer
// 54 x 36 x 22cm (WxDxH)
TONEARM / / As selected