AVID Hifi Acutus Reference

Our mid-range Acutus powers the Classic model to new heights of musicality, painting a virtual soundstage of realism that will leave you listening for hours.

Reference provides not just a subjective difference over the Classic, but an instantly obvious lowering of the noise floor with extensions of both bass and treble and a significant dynamic improvement.

"It offers by far the most enjoyable analog experience"
- Jeff Dorgay

Key Features

• Reference 25Kg Power Supply
• Unique Sapphire Bearing
• Dual Stage Clamping System
• Vibration Tuned Subchassis
• Frequency Adjustable Suspension

beyond listening

Capturing your ears with increased highs and powerful lows, with plummeting noise levels producing the renowned inky black backgrounds associated with our turntables, this is a masterpiece of engineering that will redefine your emotional connection with music.

Records will stimulate you, becoming an experience similar to a live venue, experiences that can be relived time after time, long into the nights. An experience that goes beyond listening.

“Sleep is such a luxury, which I cant afford”
― Robin Sikarwar

Reference Power

The Reference power supply is a visually striking piece of engineering, elevating the mechanical perfection of the Acutus. Like a luxury sports car, the drive motor is powerful yet smooth and refined, revealing performances with such clarity that it transports you to the recording environment and lays bare everything that transpired.

"How clean it made vinyl sound"
- Paul Messenger

What's inside

Power Supply

Our turntable power supply is a critical component, working in conjunction with the motor it has a dramatically positive affect on sound quality. Taking the basic Classic PSU, we replace the 80VA mains transformer to a huge 1000VA version. This coupled to more than 160,000uF of electrical storage capacity the sonic improvements it has on the final sound leaves many in disbelief.

Motor

Our hand assembled high torque AC synchronous motor spins the platter up to speed within seconds. Ten times more powerful than conventional turntable motors, this provides the ultimate control and stability. With twin round section drive belts the suspension is free to move without inducing speed variations common with flat belt designs.

Clamp

Our unique dual operation clamp is a critical element to the ultimate sonic performance you hear.

First operation grounds the record to the main bearing, allowing vibration caused by the stylus to pass into the subchassis. This reduces the noise floor of the record and vastly improves the sound you hear.

Second operation reflex clamps the vinyl flat to the platter surface, eliminating warps and air pockets underneath. The platter mat itself is a unique resin that reflects most vibration, keeping it in the record so it passes more quickly through the bearing into the subchassis.

Platter

The 10Kg Chrome plated aluminium platter is the focal point of the Acutus. Secured with eight fixings, the 10mm aluminium disc which has had the resin mat cast and machined offers the perfect record interface. The mat reflects the most vibration except for very high frequencies, which after entering the platter body are rapidly constrained damped by the nickel and chrome layers.

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 adjustable suspension system allows each supporting spring to be tuned to the same frequency regardless of the load. This means that either a single or twin tonearm weight of up to 3Kg can be accommodated and the suspension perfectly balanced. With an isolation frequency of 2.5Hz the pickup cartridge will not skip, locked into position with all external vibration eliminated.