E.A.T. - European Audio Team Fortissimo Turntable
The Fortissimo delivers deep, defined bass, razor-focused imaging and an effortlessly coherent musical flow, bringing authority to orchestras and clarity to dense rock alike. hi-fi+ admired its poised, unforced presentation, while HiFi News found exceptional slam, separation and soundstage scale. Its lavish engineering and highly adjustable F-Note arm make this a formidable reference-level vinyl front end.
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Deliciously Crispy
Sound Quality
95/100
Build Quality
94/100
Features Usability
86/100
Value for Money
95/100
Pros
Deep, controlled bass combines slam, attack and naturally graduated decay.
Precise, expansive imaging separates dense mixes while retaining a cohesive, musically easy presentation.
F-Note arm offers extensive, laser-assisted adjustment and is regarded as an excellent match for the deck.
High-mass, damped platter and magnetic bearing support contribute to excellent speed stability and reduced rumble.
Cons
Its 68kg mass, large footprint and 22kg platter demand robust furniture and make installation a two-person task.
The F-Note arm’s unusually extensive adjustment can be intimidating for less experienced users.
Its forgiving, smooth character may be too relaxed for listeners seeking an overtly aggressive presentation.
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What Reviewers Are Saying
SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE 95/100
Reviewers describe a highly poised, musically engaging presentation that combines substantial bass authority and precise imaging with an easy, unforced character. The Fortissimo/F-Note package is praised for its stable timing, coherent staging and ability to disentangle dense recordings without becoming aggressive.
Overall Sound
96/100
HiFi News heard extension, slam, convincing attack and naturally graduated decay, along with smooth vocals and unusually clear separation of massed instruments. Hi-fi+ similarly praised its focus, staging precision and enjoyable, unfussy musicality, saying it avoids the hard treble and constrained rhythm sometimes associated with high-mass decks.
Speed Stability
95/100
Hi-fi+ calls speed stability excellent and links it to strong, clearly defined bass and the deck's poise. HiFi News also found no apparent issue with speed stability, while the specified electronic speed change and very low quoted wow-and-flutter support those listening impressions.
Tonearm Performance
94/100
The F-Note offers unusually comprehensive adjustment, including overhang, anti-skate, azimuth, VTF and VTA, with a laser-guided setup system and on-the-fly adjustment. Reviewers regard it as an excellent match for the deck, though HiFi News notes that its extensive adjustment potential can make it demanding for less confident users.
Noise Isolation
92/100
The platter's magnetic support is designed to reduce load on the inverted bearing, and hi-fi+ reports an order-of-magnitude reduction in rumble. The two-part, Sorbothane-damped platter also addresses resonance, although the reviews provide less direct listening detail about resistance to external vibration and footfall.
Assessments of Build Quality, Usability, and Overall Propositions.
Build Quality
94/100
The Fortissimo is a notably substantial design, built around a 22kg, 400mm two-part platter with brass inserts, a brass hub and Sorbothane damping. Its 68kg overall mass, inverted bearing and carefully considered platter support point to serious engineering, but it needs a suitably robust rack and two people for platter installation.
Features Usability
86/100
Electronic 33 and 45rpm selection, practical speed control and the F-Note's comprehensive adjustment facilities make this a flexible high-end package. The laser alignment aids are genuinely useful, but the arm's sophistication and the deck's exceptional mass mean this is a hands-on product rather than a simple plug-and-play turntable.
Value for Money
95/100
At roughly £13,499 for the Fortissimo/F-Note combination, rising with options and cartridge, this is unquestionably a major purchase. However, hi-fi+ considers it a reference-grade flagship without typical flagship pricing, arguing that a £20,000 E.A.T. package can outperform many systems costing twice as much.
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Specifications
- Model
- E.A.T. Fortissimo
- Electronic speed change
- 33.33 / 45.11 RPM
- Speed variance
- ± 0.09%
- Wow and flutter
- ± 0.008%
- Signal-to-noise ratio
- -73 dB
- Power consumption
- 2W
- Outboard power supply
- 18 mm
- Power consumption
- 16V/1.000mA AC, suitable for your country's mains supply
- Dimensions W × H × D
- 700 × 250 × 440 mm
- Weight
- 68 kg
Manufacturer's Description — E.A.T. - European Audio Team
Massive turntable with Subchassis
- Separate Sub Chassis and a mass loaded turntable
- Platter has 12 brass inserts and one top brass insert under vinyl top plate for increased speed stability and weight of the platter.
- Chrome bearing block
- Bearing spindle with new coating for lowest friction possible
- Optional new F-Note tonearm
- Fortissimo Base optionally available: isolates the turntable perfectly from any resonances from the ground
- Also available as Fortissimo S, in a smaller turntable configuration
The Platter
The platter has been upgraded with 12 brass inserts and one top brass insert under vinyl top plate add additional weight and further stabilize the platter for even better speed stability. It consists of two parts. The first part uses a soft alloy, the second part, a harder one. This reduces energy flow. The first part also incorporates the neodymium magnets. The platter weighs more than 22 kg. The diameter of the platter is 400 mm (not the usual 300 mm). This means that with the same weight you gain more moving mass on the platter. The platter also incorporates sorbothane damping to make it resonance free.
The Bearing
The bearing is not standard but inverted with an oversized polished shaft. The new platter with its huge mass creates more energy, which has to be absorbed better. Therefore we designed a new bearing block with a chrome alloy able to withstand more energy and damp the entire system more effectively. In addition the bearing spindle has a new "Movic" coating with the lowest friction coefficient possible (6 times less than previous spindle versions). This is the same coating that is used by NASA for bearings in satellites.
A ceramic ball is used on the top because it is very hard and inert. This, in combination with a Teflon plate as a bearing mirror, is also a good damping device. Teflon's accurate satin surface produces perfectly smooth movement without any rumble. The platter has a magnetic suspension using neodymium magnets. By increasing the distance from the bearing to the cartridge, the small neodymium magnets eliminate magnetic infl uence on the cartridge. Due to the magnets we can still move a large mass allowing the bearing to see virtually no pressure. This avoids rumble. (A mass loaded platter usually causes high levels of rumble.) The pressure of the bearing is adjustable. There are different philosophies about the bearing pressure. With the Forte turntable you can adjust it according your preferences and taste..
The Motor
(applies only to Fortissimo motor, not Fortissimo S motor!)
The motor is a stand-alone, decoupled AC unit. It uses a sophisticated electronic circuit to create 100% clean AC. It is very heavy motor with lot of mass to reduce all the existing vibrations. Motor energy is absorbed by using a sandwich system of metal and MDF. We decided to use a "dual motor design" to eliminate noise in the motor. By using two relatively weak, but silent running motors, we achieve perfect torque.
The Belt
Long belts usually have some amount of wobble. To avoid this we use a special silicon string. This movement is also absorbed by the bearing block and by the huge mass of the platter itself.
The F-Note Tonearm
(optionally available)
The F-Note Tonearm is a new E.A.T tonearm design that mixes a high mass tonearm with a low-friction bearing. Due to the high mass these tonearm usually have to use a bearing that is a little bit "slower". The F-Note goes a different way and innovates on a new level. The tonearm is very easy to set up and also a perfect match for the new Jo No. 8 cartridge.
The Fortissimo Base
(optionally available)
The optionally available Fortissimo Base has been purpose designed for the new Fortissimo turntable. It acts as a perfect subchassis, isolating the turntable in the best possible manner. This design improves on the magnetic feet found in previous turntables, and makes it more silent and less prone to outside interference. The feet have been redesigned and the base uses 6 new magnetic feet, to accomodate the size and weight of the Fortissimo turntable.
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Authorized dealers for E.A.T. - European Audio Team Fortissimo Turntable
- Analogue Seduction — online and in-store — Whittlesey, England, United Kingdom (website)
- Art & Voice — online (website)
- Atelier 13 Audio — in-store — Forest Hills, Tennessee, United States (website)
- Audio Advice — online and in-store — Raleigh, North Carolina, United States (website)
- Audio Advisor — online and in-store — Michigan, United States (website)
- Audio Breakthroughs — in-store — Manhasset, New York, United States (website)
- Audio Creativ — in-store — Riedenburg, Bayern, Germany (website)
- Audio Lust — online and in-store — Mönchengladbach Ost, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany (website)
- Audio Natali — in-store — Montecatini Terme, Toscana, Italy (website)
- Audio Solutions — online and in-store — Indianapolis, Indiana, United States (website)
and 54 more verified dealers