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http://www.angelislabor.com/gabriel.html
"A true reference turntable equipped with a base that can accept up to four arms. The materials used include aluminum, bronze and stainless steel. The turntable and arm are totally decoupled at several points - beneath the base, beneath the turntable and beneath the pin, using a magnetic field calibrated and controlled with great precision.
Type: magnetic levitation
Transmission: double Belt in special material
Thrust block: Magnetic levitation with absolutely no friction or noise. The tolerance levels of the mechanical parts are incredibly low.
Power supply: Three speeds, 33 – 45 – 78 rpm with fine regulation. The motor is controlled by two electronic cards, the first controls the speed electronically and the second card reduces the motor vibrations by means of electrical adjustment of the phase of the motor itself.
The Gabriel Arm is made in Modena, Italy in the same factory where they construct precision parts in highly technical alloys for Ferrari. The arm is a very sophisticated achievement of which we are very proud. The Gabriel turntable and arm require absolutely no antiskating and in fact have no provisions for it. The turntable system is composed of three parts - the table and base for one to four arms; the 13-inch arm; and the cartridge. The Gabriel frame consists of two cone sections created by overlapping bronze with aluminium. These sections are joined by an aluminum rod. The first cone supports the turntable bearing, the second the arm and its mount. The assembled unit is quite tall and heavy: over 30 kilos. In terms of appearance, this is one of those analog monuments which catches everyone's eye the first time they see it.
Having to produce a top-class record player trying to get away from the constraints of traditional construction, we had to devise a completely new suspension system. And it is truly disconcerting. Gabriel is a magnetic suspension record player. The repulsive force is used not merely as a suspension system but also to support the turntable. This does away with the need for the traditional pinion thrust-block ball bearing bathed in oil, which is the fundamental critical part for any traditional record player. In practice, the turntable spindle unit is lifted by the force of the magnets while the centering system consists of self-lubricating brass bearings.
The 12+12-pin motor is synchronous, constrains the rotational speed to the mains frequency and uses an external power supply. This outboard unit has a twin control circuit: the first is based on the constant frequency signal generated by a quartz and amplified by an active solid-state circuit coupled to the motor via output transformer and operating as the speed controller. The second control circuit is passive and regulates the timing between the motor windings, compensating for rotational irregularities and reducing the vibrations created by the running motor. Finally, the motor support with its very heavy base and a series of flexible isolators reduces remaining vibrations further. An equally innovative approach was used for the design and creation of the arm. First, the joint system, as for the record player spindle, is a magnetic suspension system as well. To optimize the performance of the arm, three fundamental areas were focused on: considerable actual length to reduce radial tracking error; reduction of joint friction; and resonance damping." The Cat
"I wish I could score everything for horns." - Richard Wagner. "Our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts." - Friedrich Nietzsche
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