Munich 2013

The compact, Swiss-made Thales TTT turntable exudes a subtle, soothing beauty and refinement. The Simplicity tangential pivoted tonearm complements the 'table's "refined to the essentials" design and together they create a vinyl playback system that seems destined to produce great sound, though I really didn't get a chance to listen

The battery powered 'table's 100 parts are all manufactured in Thales's own workshop and assembled by a team of experts including a trained watch-maker. The workings of the dual tube arm are best described in a full review.

When Mr. Huber lifted off the platter to expose the innards I almost gasped at its visual and mechanical elegance. The short-belt drive system features a non-flexible belt driving a sub platter that's 15x the diameter of the pulley via a brushless D.C. motor located in close proximity.

Though the system is hard-coupled, which has the potential to be noise-producing, the motor is suspended within a carefully calculated dual spring element that completely isolates and prevents vibrations from reaching the chassis, while preventing axial motor movement.

The battery-drive system can power the turntable for up to 16 hours and fully charges in a few hours. Other key design elements include a platter featuring a lead-vinyl inlay and a main bearing shaft of hard chrome plated carbon tool steel, the surface of which has been hand polished, that runs in two sintered bronze bushings that have been soaked and cooked with a special grade of oil.

The Thales TTT turntable and Simplicity arm may lack the visual flash of some of the large spinning behemoths, but I have to say of all the turntables I saw at the Munich show, it was the one that impressed me the most. I am determined to get one to review!