Turntables, Arms & Cartridges

Measured directly through its relatively basic hardened steel bearing, rumble is a little higher than measured with EAT's C-Sharp [HFN Feb '15] at –67.3dB (DIN-B wtd, re. 1kHz/5cm/sec). However this figure improves substantially to –71.3dB (through groove), and further still to –72.1dB with the lightweight screw-down clamp, thanks to the isolation afforded by the felt mat and the polymer-damped alloy platter. Also, the lightweight plastic sub-platter and 1.85kg main platter assist in the swift ~4sec start-up time and while the (Pro-Ject) M-500 'synchromotor' runs slightly fast at +0.3% its speed stability is truly excellent. So, peak wow is a very low 0.02% [see sharp central peak, Graph 1] while flutter effects are limited to sidebands clustered around ±12Hz, ±28Hz and ±50Hz, the latter contributing to a peak-wtd 0.04%.

The partnering B-Note 9in tonearm is clearly derived from EAT's earlier fat-tubed carbon fibre models, including the 10in C-Note that featured what EAT describes as a 'traditional Cardan bearing', or pin and block unipivot. The B-Note offers similarly good stability and low friction (<10mg) in both planes but with a simpler bias mechanism and slightly lower 12-13g effective mass, enhancing its compatibility with popular pick-up partners like the Ortofon 2M Blue. The B-Note's tapered carbon-fibre tube and bonded alloy headshell have a main bending mode around 110Hz [see Graph 2, below] with another mode at 235Hz and harmonics/twisting resonances at 280Hz, 300Hz, 345Hz, 375Hz and 410Hz, all quelled by the tube's internal damping (carbon tubes can exhibit high-Q resonances if undamped). The sharp mode at 1.2kHz seems to be linked to the alloy headshell and fingerlift, but is short-lived. PM