American Sound, "The Absolute Nothing"

[thekong]

As far as I understand there are 2 broad types of air- bearings used in turntables . The first one is what I called a half air-bearing (not sure what the technical term is), with which the vertical plane floats on air, but still has a more conventional bearing/ sleeve to hold the spindle in the horizontal plane. Turntables like the Micro, TechDas, CS Port use this type of air-bearing. The JC Verdier La Platine also works similarly, but uses magnets, instead of air, to float the platter.

The second type is what I called a full air-bearing, with which both the vertical and horizontal plane are float by air. Turntables with this type of air-bearing include the Versa Dynamics, Rockport, Kuzma, and Vyger etc.

The full air-bearing used in the Rockport Sirius II looks similar to this:

https://www.newwayairbearings.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/NWAB_-_October_2018_-_Design_-_T-Series_v2-1.pdf

Interestingly, the full air-bearing used in the Kuzma XL Air looks very similar to a conventional bearing:

https://www.kuzma.si/media/uploads/files/IM%20XL%20AIR%20KIT%20%20220627.pdf

 

[Argonaut]

for whatever reason, my Esoteric T1 which is a magnetic drive/rim drive idler, with a servo, become more 'human' and had greater 'flow

For my part I consider the Esoteric MagneDrive System to be a most elegant solution , If it is good enough for the Chūō Shinkansen Bullet Train … it is good enough for a spot of Mahler2 .

 

[PeterA]

Can we get David a 1 day pass to help answer these questions?

I understand exactly how the bearing works. I have assembled and disassembled both the AS 1000 and AS 2000. It is proprietary information and I am not at liberty to discuss the specifics. It’s as simple as that. If David were here, he would not discuss the details either.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Can we get David a 1 day pass to help answer these questions?

David doesn't need a pass to return. He left of his own volition.

 

[treitz3]

Unfortunately, this is true....

Tom

 

[tima]

A lightweight platter whose speed is monitored multiple thousand times per revolution is capable of high stable speed accuracy.

but does it project the feeling of musical flow and liquidity? to what degree?

Yes Mike, if that is on the record.

or is it a bit stark and bare sounding.....relatively? i had the first gen GPA Monaco turntable in my room for a year which most definitely was stark and bare sounding. digital sounding even.

No Mike.

We've heard these remarks from you before. And Fremer, in the minority, did not care for the original either. Can't speak to generation 1, never heard it. You are free to listen to my videos and judge for yourself if they sound like your digital.

for whatever reason, my Esoteric T1 which is a magnetic drive/rim drive idler, with a servo, become more 'human' and had greater 'flow' when i added the clock. it was not lacking flow without the clock, but had more with it.

From the descriptions I've read, it is quite exotic; I trust you are enjoying it. The Monaco 2.0 and 3.0 have their own clocks but they are not a $27k add-on.

my newer Wave Kinetics NVS direct drive turntable with a newer motor drive algorithm had much better flow.

Is that the one with the cogging and speed stability issues delineated by Phoenix Engineering? I can e-mail a copy of that report if anyone wants to read it. I never heard the table.

servos, feedback loops, and all things related do matter for speed control. alot. probably platter mass too.

You can read Roy Gregory's comments (here, here, and here, and ) and my own review (here) to help you understand how the Monaco's work.