With Thorens' New Reference turntable, the manufacturer, in collaboration with German active vibration isolators manufacturer Seismion, has produced what they boast is the first turntable "designed and optimised from scratch together with a fully active vibration isolation system".

BAD VIBES

Turntables are, in essence, specialised analogue vibration measuring instruments; being very sensitive to tiny record groove modulation means they're invariably susceptible to other forms of physical vibrations.

This means that close attention has to be paid to keep the device free of interference from ground-borne and airborne mechanical vibrations. The result of Thorens' hard work is a vibration isolation design that it claims has never been seen and experienced in turntables before.

The active system designed for the New Reference is based around high-sensitivity piezoelectric acceleration sensors and an all-linear electronic control circuit, an engineering marriage based on Seismion's Reactio active vibration isolator, according to the brochure.

In addition to vibration isolators mechanically based on an elastic mount, an active control system is set up as a classic feedback control. This sophisticated mechatronic system is based on Sky-Hook-Damping and isolates disturbances below 1 Hz. Moreover, we are told that it reduces them to less than 1% (-40 dB) at frequencies of 10 Hz and above.

Additionally, Thorens has made the centre of gravity close to the plan of isolation to reduce the knock-on effect of horizontal vibrations on tilting motions. Finally, the New Reference's chassis comprises layers of high-damped materials to further reduce resonance. The isolation system also stabilises the whole sub-chassis on which the platter is placed.

We're told that even tiny vibrations in the range of nanometer down to pico meter are efficiently isolated due to the contact-less actuators. The company goes on to add:

The system also follows music with high dynamics between quiet and loud sequences extremely quickly since the active control forces stabilise the system and lead to an instantaneous settling time of the isolation system. An adaptive levelling system, which keeps the turntable precisely levelled within 20 micrometres, completes the active isolation system.

BELT UP

The New Reference is a belt-drive design chosen, says Thorens, for the drive motor's isolation from the platter and, more boastfully, that it has apparently overcome the rotation speed errors inherent with belt-drive designs.

Moreover, Thorens has employed two "ultra-high-precision quartz oscillators" and claims that the speed will remain within a range of 33.3332 to 33.3334 rotations per minute over 20 years.

WELL ARMED

As you would expect of such a beast, the Thorens New Reference turntable comes with the newly developed 12-inch TP160 cutting bearing tonearm with continuous silver cabling and the Thiele TA01, which is lauded to combine the precise and rigid guidance of a pivoted tonearm with the advantages of a tangential tonearm.

We're told that this design guides the cartridge with a maximum tracking error angle of 0.036 degrees across the record. Additionally, the tonearm tube is double-walled and filled with a 2-component gel for optimal damping.

Thorens New Reference turntable will be unveiled at the High End Munich 2023 show next week as part of the German brand's 140th anniversary.

Visit Thorens for more information