Here is my take on Ken Lyons Neuance Platform 'A'.
First, I'll start by saying that like most components and cables there is a mandatory time needed for breaking in or settling, if you will. Too often we try to rush or just plain don't give a component the time to fit in. For me the wait has made all the difference and it has been just a little over a week.
The purpose of the Neuance Platform is to support a full-blown Linn Sondek Lp12 with Ittok LVII arm and Akiva cartridge. The set up I have is a wall mount rack of tubular steel with four adjustable steel points for the shelf. It is Italian in origin but it has been so long since my purchase (about 25 years ago) that I have no idea what the brand name is. Sufficed to say it resembles the Target single shelf rack or many others with one exception and that is that the steel tubular frame does not surround the shelf panel. It resides on a short interior wall of plaster wood lath (circa 1926) adjacent to the back wall of the speakers. For reference: I am running Coincident Total Eclipses with Atma-Sphere MA-1 Silver edition mono blocks, fronted by Aesthetix Calypso and Rhea.
My first impressions of the Platform during the week or so after it arrived by post was a sense of thick muddy bass, incoherent detail, and time smearing throughout the sound stage. Well, that was to be expected, as it had not settled. Not so amazingly, none of those less than audiophile characteristics exist now. As it found its feet I challenged it to some of my familiar vinyl favorites and some new releases. The Neuance Platform was superior to the MDF shelf material that my TT had been sitting on for many years. Showing no recognizable signature of its own. Its ability to let the TT extract detail without interference from my listening room vibrations was most impressive. The coherence of pace and timbre where spot on. Overall, I noticed a great sense of dynamics and air between acoustic instruments and voices that as it turns out was a huge step forward from my previous set up. As Ivor Tiefenbrun of Linn prescribes this table requires a lightweight, very ridged shelf for the best performance and the Neuance Platform adeptly offers that. A devise that couples mass and density is a big mistake in this application. I have not but fully intend on auditioning this platform under my CDP with soft footers (below the Neuance) as recommended by Ken to see if I reap equal sonic improvements. If so, and I feel confident it will prove worthy of an additional order. IMHO I would unequivocally recommend this platform to suspension turntable owners for its not so subtle benefits.
There are few bargains in High Fidelity. Dont tell Ken Lyons, but at this price point, his platforms are definitely one of them. Happy listening!
