Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

The birthday cake supplier to the audio industry has been having a busy time over the last couple of years, but it seems they are needed once more. This time, cards and presents should be sent in the direction of Cambridge, as AVID HiFi has reached the ripe old age of 30. And what better way could there be to celebrate than with a new turntable? Hence the Relveo, which retails for £5500, or £6900 with the partnering Altus V2 tonearm.

The Relveo looks to preserve many key AVID hallmarks, but it is otherwise a new design from the ground up. According to company founder and owner, Conrad Mas, one of the deck’s ‘core design goals’ was to deliver ‘genuine high-end performance without the usual penalties of excessive size, mass, or setup complexity’.

Master plan

This new turntable has also marked a rationalisation and re-ordering of the AVID range, with some designs, including the Diva [HFN Jan ’09] and Volvere [HFN Sep ’20], being replaced. The company’s six current models are now ordered into two distinct ranges, each with a defined ‘Good/Better/Best’ hierarchy.

This newcomer sits in the centre of AVID’s Master Series, with the Ingenium Plug&Play below it, and the Acutus Dark Iron above it. Similarly, the Flagship Series comprises the Acutus Classic, Acutus Reference and Acutus Reference Mono, in ascending order.

The main headline for the Relveo is its method of suspension or, at least, isolation. The majority of AVID’s models have been based around a sprung suspension system, augmented by lateral stabilising bands. For the Relveo, AVID has ditched the springs and instead made use of conical, Sorbothane isolators between the main base and subchassis. This provides the necessary resilient coupling, while an increase in subchassis mass in key places is claimed to improve both stability and resistance to footfall.

The turntable still makes use of AVID’s traditional tungsten carbide and sapphire bearing. The 7kg platter is finished in the same dark grey as the suspension towers and locates positively onto the sub-platter using four screw heads and alignment notches. A screw-down clamp couples the record securely to the felt mat, which is an integral part of the Relveo’s platter.

Above: Removing the 7kg alloy platter reveals a synchronous AC motor with twin belts running around the deck’s sub-platter. The inverted stainless steel bearing, with ceramic thrust pad, is pressed into a cast, webbed alloy subchassis

The motor is a synchronous AC type, powered from a new variant of AVID’s DSP-based power supply [see boxout]. It offers buttons for stop/start and speed selection, with an LED illuminating green for 33rpm and orange for 45rpm. While running at either speed, pressing and holding both buttons until the LEDs flash allows the rotation to be adjusted in fine increments.

To bag a full £250 saving over buying the two items separately, the Relveo turntable can be supplied with an AVID Altus V2 tonearm – normally £1650. Originally introduced in 2023, both the Altus and the step-up £4950 Nexus arms received some 30th birthday updates in 2025. These comprised improvements to bearing tolerances, tonearm damping and mechanical grounding, but possibly most notable was the introduction of AVID’s new ‘dual bias’ compensation.

Groovy thinking

On the original tonearms, a simple but effective solution was fitted that set the applied bias across the record surface. For the Altus and Nexus V2 models, however, AVID has added a second adjuster so that different bias compensation settings can be dialled up for the inner and outer grooves. This is a neat concept and works very well when configured appropriately, although the services of a knowledgeable dealer will be important here.

Above: Both the Altus and Nexus tonearms have benefitted from some 30th birthday updates

The Altus V2 is based around an alloy armtube with a fixed headshell, and tracking force is applied by an uncalibrated counterweight that is resiliently mounted using rubber O-rings. One of AVID’s nifty mirrored alignment gauges is also supplied for cartridge installation, as is an AVID tonearm cable which plugs directly into the arm base.

Fit and finish of both the Relveo and Altus V2 is outstanding and, with the possible exception of the aforementioned bias adjustment, they are a doddle to setup, aided by excellent manuals. AVID’s robust, well thought-out packaging also inspires confidence.

All wrapped up
Auditioned with a Clearaudio MC Essence cartridge [HFN Aug ’17] fitted to the Altus V2 arm, AVID’s Relveo quickly established its credentials as a class-leading turntable. There’s a precision and sheer scale to its presentation that you might expect from designs several times its price, and the way this deck can fill the listening area with sonic magic is incredible at times.

I’ve long prized my Michell Gyro SE turntable [HFN May ’99] for its ability to craft a soundstage width that is pretty much unmatched, but the Relveo has arrived and thrown down the gauntlet. AVID’s deck laughs at the idea of your loudspeakers being the outer limits of the images it creates. It wraps performances around you, meaning you are never anywhere other than at the heart of the action.

Gershwin’s ‘Rhapsody In Blue’, performed by the Sinfonia of London/Kenneth Alwyn [World Record Club ST892], has rarely sounded as enveloping and immersive. That famous clarinet opening simply soared and, as the other ‘jazz orchestra’ instruments joined in, it was as if a series of spotlights had been focused across the width of my listening room.

Bolt from the blue

Also noteworthy was the dynamic range exhibited by the Relveo/Altus V2 pairing. Just as I was luxuriating in the softness of Gershwin’s instrumentation, along came a brass or percussive crescendo to have me sitting bolt upright. A factor here is the system’s incredibly quiet backgrounds, allowing it to capture everything from the softest whisper to the mightiest roar.

This dynamic clarity also paid dividends in keeping performances coherent when the action became busier. ‘Poster Girl’, from husband-and-wife duo Blue Violet [Late Night Calls; Me & My Records MMR006V], starts with a chunky but still delicate bassline, underpinning ambient vocals with sinuous intent. However, as more instruments enter the fray, the track can tend towards muddle, and to shrink in on itself, in the hands of a less accomplished turntable.

The Relveo and Altus V2 were up to the task, ensuring the piece stayed broad and focused as a guitar solo brought everything to a close. AVID’s new turntable kept the overall musical message loud and clear, but without losing sight of the component parts within. On this song and follow-up track ‘Hard Rain’, which features tightly layered vocals, it was easy to appreciate the album’s elegant production.

Above: The rear of the deck reveals a 5-pin DIN connector [right] for the PSU and the clamp [bottom] to support the phono cable [not shown here] exiting the bottom of the arm

Moving into funkier, more upbeat territory, the lovely, twisting bassline on Donald Fagen’s ‘Miss Marlene’, [Sunken Condos; Reprise Records 9362-49478-4], was rich, deep, and distinct. It never faded into the background, remaining a solid foundation for the track’s liquid-sounding keyboard and guitar.

The Relveo’s bass performance is a constant highlight, in fact. Whether it was the snappy tunefulness of the synthesised bass on the Pet Shop Boys’ ‘My October Symphony’ [Behaviour; Parlophone PCSD 113], or Michael Manring’s exquisite fretless bass playing on William Ackerman’s ‘Visiting’ [Past Light; Windham Hill 371 028-1], the Relveo and Altus V2 rendered every note’s start, finish and innate character with ease. And the latter track proved that AVID’s deck and arm are not just ‘all width’, as front-to-back depth was equally lavish.

In the upper frequencies, the deck sounded clean, detailed and open. The presentation does have a slight tendency towards warmth, but treble detail retrieval is never an issue. Subtle percussion effects can be heard no matter how deep they are in the mix, while firmly struck cymbals exhibit a smooth shimmer and convincing metallic texture.

Fortune and glory

Put these attributes together and you get a turntable that looks likely to enthral, even with the most unlikely of sources. Flanders and Swann’s The Drop Of A Hat revue [Parlophone PCS3001] is comedy brilliance from start to finish, and the quality of this 66-year-old analogue tape recording is quite remarkable.

As I chuckled through ‘Song Of Reproduction’ (‘count me among the faithful fans of high-fidelity…’), AVID’s Relveo/Altus V2 effectively transported me to the stalls of London’s Fortune Theatre, in 1959. So much so that I felt a bit under-dressed in jeans and polo shirt...

Hi-Fi News Verdict

AVID’s Relveo turntable and Altus V2 tonearm are a winning combination. Marking a fitting 30th birthday present from a company that has invested an incredible amount of time into researching how to get the best from vinyl, the results are clear to hear. There are strong flavours of the exceptional Acutus turntable in the Relveo’s presentation, all wrapped in a smaller, neater and more user-friendly package.

Sound Quality: 86%