Döhmann Helix One MK2 - TURNTABLE

Designing and building a turn-table isn’t all that difficult.

- MICHAEL FREMER

All that matters is in plain sight: Start with a base of wood, MDF, or acrylic; add some isolation “feet” for it to rest upon, and a spindle bearing such as any competent machine shop can fabricate, topped by a platter of acrylic or aluminum or suchlike. The motor can be an off-the-shelf AC synchronous type, fed directly by the electricity from a wall socket. Machining a correctly sized pulley and driving the platter with a belt requires minimal math skills to achieve the correct speeds. Build the motor into the base, or put it in an outboard pod—either way, you’re in business. Now, just bolt an arm to the base at the correct distance, set up a cartridge, and enjoy!

Of course, designing a good-sounding, high-performance turntable is considerably more difficult. Ditto-squared for a tonearm. Anyone who’s been lucky enough to audition dozens if not hundreds of turntables and arms, as I have, knows that despite the simplicity of the concept, they all sound different from each other for reasons not grounded in magic—though sometimes, as with loudspeakers, a just-right combination of ideas and compromises can produce magic.