Analog Corner

Though clearly built more for performance than for looks, the Thales TTT-Compact ($13,200), designed and built in Switzerland by Micha Huber (footnote 1), ranks among a handful of today's most elegant new turntables. Like the Spiral Groove SG 1.1 or the AMG Viella 12, the TTC-C, true to its name, is compact and self-contained, with its belt and built-in motor hidden under the platter.

That Huber was once a watchmaker is evident in every aspect of the densely packed TTT-Compact, which measures approximately 18" wide by 3.5" high by 12" deep. From the packaging and instructions to its muted, satiny finish, the TTC-Compact exudes sophistication of design and execution.

These days, Huber's concept of a self-contained, single-unit, high-end turntable is not unique, but not so long ago it was out of favor. Whereas separate motor and arm pods were once de rigueur, VPI, Spiral Groove, Kuzma, Dr. Feickert Analogue, and others have moved turntable design in a retro direction—and not without some justification. Having all the physical structures onboard means that the placement of the motor and the resulting belt tension are precise and uniform.

The TTT-Compact's drive system comprises a belt of relatively small diameter driving a grooved subplatter that's very close to the triple-phase DC motor. The battery-powered motor is brushless, and its windings contain no iron. A dual-element leaf-spring system ensures that the motor is both well isolated from the chassis and well restrained from making any axial movement. Plus, it looks really cool. The idea was to combine the torque and consistency of idler-wheel drive with the quiet of well-isolated belt drive. Thales claims that its closed-loop speed-control system, which compares a precisely controlled reference voltage to feedback from the motor, is more accurate than a more traditional quartz-controlled phase-locked-loop system. The motor's battery drive doesn't vibrate, which made it feasible to incorporate it into the plinth.

Nano-technology incorporating "LifePro accumulators" is said to help produce a low-memory-retention system that allows you to keep the battery fully charged at all times. A fully charged battery is claimed to give you 16 hours of play, though once charged, the charge retention is almost infinite, so long as you remember to turn the TTT-C off—the slight voltage used in standby mode will eventually drain the battery.

The battery is kept charged by a large wall wart. You'll need to monitor the TTT-C's charge status, so don't hide the wart—its LED glows green or yellow and blinks at various speeds in 14 different combinations, to alert you to the status of the charging system.

The main bearing shaft is of carbon steel plated in hard chrome and polished by hand, and runs in a pair of maintenance-free, sintered bronze bushings soaked and "cooked" in a special oil. The shaft terminates in a carbide metal element riding on a hardened-steel ball. The entire bearing system is encased in a body of ductile cast iron said to have excellent damping characteristics.

The platter's 14lb mass is concentrated around its periphery; this increases the flywheel effect. The platter, which Thales claims is tuned to a single unspecified frequency, is damped by an inlay of high-density lead-vinyl that also serves as the record mat. Thales supplies a damped spindle clamp.

The plinth sits on three carefully positioned, threaded spikes that terminate in balls of an unspecified material, surrounded by a rubber element to prevent play or instability. A moderately massive circular tonearm-mounting platform with integrated RCA-jack module locks securely to the main chassis via six hex-head bolts.

Setting up the Thales TTT-Compact took only a few minutes, but this suspension-less design demands a high-quality platform. I used one from HRS that was fitted with the proper HRS isolating feet for the TTT-C's mass. Releasing the bearing locking mechanism is easy, and leaving the locking bolts in place means you won't misplace them should you later need to pack or ship the turntable. With the bearing released, you place the belt around the subplatter and motor pulley, then install the platter.

Because the fragile tonearm wires are already soldered to the RCA jack block, great care must be taken when it comes to this part of the installation, though hopefully your dealer will do this. That done, the tonearm platform easily bolts into place. Then it's time to level the plinth, using the three threaded feet.

The platter's speed is easily adjusted: Insert a screwdriver (supplied) of the perfect diameter and length through one of two small holes in the front of the plinth and turn a setscrews—something only a Swiss watchmaker could come up with.

Simplicity Tangential Tracking Pivoted tonearm
I reviewed the original Thales AV tonearm ($12,500) in the October 2010 issue, in conjunction with a review of Micha Huber's Pythagoras turntable. Although physically a pivoted arm, the Thales AV produced tangential tracking and zero tracking error, minus all the drawbacks of typical straight-line–tracking arms, such as the different effective masses in horizontal and vertical planes.

The Thales AV is a complex, somewhat fragile device with a second, double-jointed arm, resembling a grasshopper's back leg, that's angled back from the headshell. The lower of the two joints extends well below plinth level, which means that the arm won't work with many turntables. The system includes two sets of the complex cardanic bearing (think of a universal joint), and overall, though it worked as promised, its complexity and cost limited its appeal.

As I wrote in my review, "The arm's geometrical basis is the Thales Circle. As Huber describes it, the design 'reduces the perfectly tangential tracking to pivot points, while the pick-up cartridge is taken and aligned on the Thales Circle.' You can examine the geometry more closely in an animation at www.tonarm.ch/index.php?page=thales. . . .

"Basing a tonearm on the Thales Circle is said by Huber to produce four things: zero tracking error (which is difficult to prove in any way other than the mathematical); minimal friction using traditional pivoted bearings; a short tonearm with little resonance; and symmetrical inertia at the tracking point in all axes."

True to its name, the new Simplicity tonearm ($9200) looks much simpler than the Thales AV (it isn't). It's also cheaper and more turntable-friendly, having only one cardanic bearing comprising six jewels and four subminiature ball bearings. The double-gimbaled bearing is plated in hard chrome.

Huber claims that, despite the Simplicity's complexity, friction and clearances are within "our state-of-the-art tolerances." Not sure what he means by "our," but the new arm doesn't produce true tangential tracking. Instead, using "optimized Burne-Jones geometry," the Simplicity's maximum tracking error is claimed to be a close-to-nonexistent 0.008° (see diagram above).

While to the casual observer the Simplicity's design appears to be relatively straightforward, to implement successfully it must take into account both geometry and dynamic mass distribution as the arm travels across the record surface. To this end the Simplicity has a pair of thin, articulated, independently resonance-tuned aluminum tubes, both of which are attached to a common headshell carrier and can pivot around via low-friction ball bearings. The two tubes are both joined to the main cardanic bearing. The Simplicity's effective length is 9", its effective mass 19gm.

Two jeweled bearings in the cardanic bearing's outer ring allow both tubes to move up and down in the usual manner, while the inner ring has, for each tube, a bearing pair that allows an independent "horizontal see-saw" movement that results in the two tubes moving past one another, this movement due to the cartridge traversing the record surface.

The movement of the tubes past each other requires that they terminate in a fixed but independently movable counterweight. Thales supplies three auxiliary counterweights that attach to the innermost of the two counterweights via two pins, so that the weights can be slid fore and aft to set the vertical tracking force (VTF). That done, the sliding weight is locked in place with a pair of tiny grub screws in the fixed counterweight. The three auxiliary weights allow the use of cartridges with masses of 7 to 23gm.

Because the two counterweights move relative to one another, slight variations in VTF might occur between the outer and inner grooves of an LP side. The Simplicity compensates with a rotatable weight insert that screws into a recess on the back of the auxiliary counterweight. You measure the VTFs at the outer and inner area and, by adjusting the position of the weight, produce uniform VTF across the record surface.

The Simplicity solves two of the many problems of tangential tracking: the stylus is not forced to haul a large horizontal mass across the record surface, which exacerbates record eccentricities; and the large disparity between a straight-line–tracking tonearm's horizontal and vertical effective masses is eliminated. Still, because in the outer-groove area the headshell is offset relative to the cardanic bearing (though of course maintaining groove tangency within 0.008°), the offset creates a skating force. Because as the arm travels across the record surface the offset angle decreases from 19° to 7°, the amount of skating likewise diminishes.

Huber ingeniously compensates for the change in skating force using opposed magnets in each counterweight that repel each other and produce an antiskating force. However, as the arm travels toward the inner grooves, the distance between the magnets grows, thus reducing the repelling force. While the amount of antiskating applied varies with the arm's position, overall, the range is fixed at the factory. Even when adjustable by the user, applying antiskating is inexact—the skating force is result of friction and varies with the tracking force, stylus profile, vinyl formulation, and, especially, the amount of groove modulation. Huber believes that, since variations in groove modulation are an uncontrollable variable and affect the skating force more than do any of the other variables, a fixed antiskating force range is acceptable.

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Footnote 1: HiFiction AG, Stäffelistrasse 6, CH-8409 Winterthur, Switzerland. Tel: (41) 52-202-43-12. Web: www.thales.swiss/home.html. US distributor: Aaudio Imports, Parker, CO 80134 (2014); Wynn Audio, Richmond Hill, Ontario L4B 3A8, Canada (2021); MoFi Distribution, 1811 W. Bryn Mawr Ave., Chicago, IL 60660 (2023). Tel: (312) 738-5025. Web: www.mofidistribution.com/.