2. analog
  3. 151658-129831

Mag Lev Turntable. Your Thoughts?

One is for sale on Audiogon. Very cool BUT, I can think of a bunch of potential problems. My instinct says it is showmanship but not having actually played with one who knows? Anybody have any experience with the Mag Lev?
The first problem would be that magnetic fields are not solid. They are squishy. What happens when you play different weight records. What about a record clamp? The tonearm is fixed to the plinth. If the height of the platter changes the VTA changes. If the platter bounces at all it will cause rather rapid speed variations. What about those powerful magnetic fields right under cartridges. Looking at the video the platter certainly is not machined very well.
Is it really worth the trouble. Good tables make very little noise. 99% of it is coming from the record itself. My inclination is that the platter should be on a solid footing.
128x128mijostyn
cd318
2,636 posts
 
Intriguing it is, spectacularly so. Without having heard it I'd guess it's as good as anything under $1000. Why wouldn't it be?

If it can be made to work properly it could get rid of two of vinyl's inherent bugbears (rumble + wow and flutter) in one stroke.

Isolation of the platter/record from the outside world has been a perennial challenge for all designers from almost day one. Everything from rubber/springs to reverse thrust magnetic bearings has been tried. 

I think audiophiles will naturally be suspicious of anything as radical or as visually dramatic as the Mag Lev ML1.

Perhaps the Mag-Lev MLS as shown on the website is the one aimed at serious audiophiles? 

https://www.maglevaudio.com/mag-lev-mls/



uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Old video I admit.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JUlPN2A_r-g&feature=youtu.be
best-groove's avatar
best-groove
842 posts
 
Seen at the Monaco Hi-end time ago, the idea is good but the platter starts to run very slow and fluctuates dramatically before reaching 33 rpm.
Ihmo there are still some details to perfect.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,769 posts
 
Saw it at AXPONA 2019. Listened to it on headphones and it sounded very good. They allowed us to touch the platter enough to cause it to wobble while playing and it recovered very well and did not skip. Looked and felt very well made. Not for me but definitely did what it claimed. I spoke to the manufacturers and they were knowledgeable and very funny. Good guys.
tablejockey
3,894 posts
 
Seems like more of a conversational piece, when you're  entertaining  non audio friends- especially those who like to listen to their phones.

Lets see this concept on a SERIOUS platform, by one of the established manufacturers. Not holding my breath.
More to discover