StereoNET: AVID HiFi Ingenium Turntable Review

MARCH 2017

AVID HIFI

INGENIUM TURNTABLE

REVIEW / AVID HIFI / INGENIUM TURNTABLE

AVID HIFI

INGENIUM TURNTABLE Distributor: NAG Distribution $2,499 RRP

“The Ingenium is quite simply the little turntable that could”

Oscar Wilde the playwright, essayist, and

uses this technology to trickle down to its less

beam that extends outwards in two directions,

incomparable raconteur, was once asked how

expensive masterpieces.

so two arms can be mounted. Whether the

he’d spent the day.

Remove the Ingenium’s platter and its

He replied: “I’ve spent all morning taking out

skeletal structure reveals a sub chassis in

a comma and all afternoon putting it back

the shape of a cross: the longer part of the

in again.’’

cross carries the bearing and the tone arm

AVID HiFi’s Ingenium turntable in-situ in my listening room, reminds me of Wilde’s fanatically casual, attention to detail.

No matter what angle I view it from, one thing is clear: the elegant simplicity of this audiophilegrade turntable hides an engineering fastidiousness that’s almost fanatical in its precise execution, but seemingly effortless construction at a cursory glance.

Buyers who approach the Ingenium superficially, and bypass it without an audition for more traditionally styled vinyl spinners will be defrauding themselves.

Those that drill a little deeper will be rewarded by a sound that has abundant authority, scads of detail and a character that’s audibly neutral.

The Ingenium is quite simply the little turntable that could. And did, put in a stellar performance in my listening room, given its price.

Which is no accident of design.

Those familiar with AVID’s manufacturing methodology will tell you this UK firm starts its designs with the top of the range models, and

mount, terminated underneath with a single supporting isolation foot. The remaining two

buyer opts for a single arm or a pair of 9 or 12-inch versions, is an individual decision.

The thing is Avid can supply the Ingenium in a number of configurations and provide arm mounts for SME, Linn, Rega, Jelco and Project tone arms.

isolation feet are under the cross’ shorter

The Ingenium’s motor is free standing so it

section to stabilise the Ingenium.

can be positioned behind the bearing. As

AVID’s engineering team decided on a bearing design that is offset towards the front of the main chassis spar. This ensures the spar has greater mass and strength, but there’s another sonic benefit: the bearing is relatively

for getting the right amount of belt tension between the motor pulley and the Ingenium’s sub-platter, Rick Powell the man who had setup the arm and cartridge and delivered the Ingenium, had great advice.

isolated from the chassis so it transmits less

Rick has a legendary reputation in Melbourne

noise to this elegantly conceived chassis in

audio circles for his audio knowledge and

working mode.

expertise. He’s a man who builds his own

Because the arm board is essentially part of the chassis, AVID sells the Ingenium with a choice of two arms. You can have the Rega RB303 or a 9-inch carbon fibre model built

by Pro-ject.

You can also order another version of the Ingenium that has a longer arm spar to accommodate 12-inch tone arms. Since Avid has a close working relationship with SME, presumably the arm on offer will be naturally, a 12-inch model from SME. Yet a third variation on this theme allows buyers to order an Ingenium with an arm

turntables and tone arms. He’s also one of a diminishing select band of veteran audiophiles who I’d allow anywhere near my Linn LP12 when its needs a service or suspension tweak.

Rick’s advice about the belt was simple and clear: position the motor so the belt just touches the outer lip of the pulley without stretching and then slip the belt over the pulley.

The pulley has been machined with two belt positions to provide speed changes. Nothing could be easier. But there is a caveat: get the belt tension wrong and you’ll hear it. Get it right and the Ingenium’s speed locks into a constant speed cycle that’s also audible.

The Ingenium’s platter is made from MDF

simplicity hides sophisticated engineering

topped by a layer or cork to provide a measure

solutions, as does the Ingenium.

of dampening. AVID supplies a hefty machined aluminium record clamp with each Ingenium.

The Rega is a fairly new model and the result of design using the most current 3D CAD and

Rick had installed and tuned our Rega RB303

CAM technology. Rega will tell you the RB303

tone arm and Ortofon 2M Blue cartridge on

comes with more than 30 years of tone arm

our review Ingenium. Once the motor and

design, and that’s a fact you can bank.

belt were in situ, it was simply a matter of powering on the Ingenium and enjoying the music. The thing is, such elegant engineering makes the Ingenium a ‘set ‘n forget’ turntable that should never go out of adjustment.

The RB303 replaces the truly giant-killing RB300 model and improves on this enduring model’s technology via a new, one-piece arm tube and a bearing housing that’s more rigid.

Rega has also fine-tuned the arm’s mass to

Unlike a Linn LP12 that requires periodic

make it more immune to resonances than the

suspension tweaks, there’s nothing a buyer

RB300, and the new bearing assembly has

has to do to maintain the Ingenium, save

less friction as well.

for an occasional dusting. This stress free approach commands a lot of respect from the demographic likely to be Ingenium buyers.

The Ortofon 2M Blue supplied with our review Ingenium will cost buyers about $329 but it turned out to be an ideal sonic match with the

Priced at $2499 including tone arm, the

RB303. The 2M Blue has an output voltage of

Ingenium sits in the hotly contested mid-tier of

5.5 mV, a frequency response of 20-20,000

a three-part audiophile quality market category

Hz and a tracking force range of about 1.6 to

that comprises entry level, mid-priced and

32 grams.

aspirational turntable models.

Buyers will more than likely comprise two broad groups: those buying an audiophile turntable for the first time and have a budget of about $3000, and upgraders with the same amount of money to spend looking for a better turntable than their Rega 3 or Pro-ject Debut Carbon for example.

Their money buys the Ingenium and a tone arm sans cartridge. Smart buyers will opt for the Rega RB303, a tone arm whose elegant

“such elegant engineering makes the Ingenium a ‘set ‘n forget’ turntable”

Into the Music The review system comprised the

Shimmering, crystalline highs

But hearing Desolation Row

Enjoyable enough to have

Elektra Audio PNYX preamplifier

and tantalising midrange vocals

emerge from a dead silent back

us dipping into the album’s

fitted with the new phono board,

flanked by tight informative bass

ground, with Dylan’s vocals

opening track called, ‘If You

the Elektra Audio Reference HD

ensured no one spoke a word for

carried right through the duration

See A Chance’. This was to be

power amplifier and Dynaudio

the duration of the track.

of the track by a menacing bass

the highlight of the evening and

repeating its chords over and

our group listening session.

over again, the Ingenium drew

An engaging track featuring a

the attention to the music and

wholly immersive synthesizer and

not the source or the system.

emotionally laden lyrics.

Contour 1.3 and Wilson Sophia Series 1 speakers.

Clearly the Ingenium was working as a highly neutral platform that

Arthur Rappos, Elektra’s designer

was allowing the sonic qualities

had installed his new and long-

of the tone arm and cartridge

awaited phono board in my

to be heard and appreciated.

A performance parameter that

By the time my guests had left it

PYNX. Asked why he’d chosen

An educated guess reveals the

points to this model’s ability to

was close to 1 am on a Saturday

the name, Rappos explained

RB300 is a synergistic match for

do everything very well without

morning. With the promise of a

that PYNX is a hill in Athens and

this turntable and the Ortofon

excelling in one particular area.

sleep in I couldn’t resist the urge

from the 5th century the meeting

2M Blue much more than a

It reminds one of good athletes

to end this listening session with

place for the city’s democratic

starter cartridge.

who win by playing within

‘Made Of The Sun’, the 6th track

themselves. A sure way to

of the latest Patty Griffin album

eliminate errors in their game.

called, Servant Of Love.

the long track called ‘Desolation

To probe a little deeper into the

A song to her mother, ‘Made Of

Rappos will tell you he designs

Row’, auditioned with the light

Ingenium’s lack of colouration, the

The Sun’ is all about the human

high-end models priced to suit

dimmed and a round of mellow

track ‘Spanish Dancer’ from the

heart and its capacity for finding

the mainstream market. There’s

Port, the general consensus was

Steve Winwood album, Arc Of

joy in real and abiding friendships:

no argument when Elektra

that we were listening to music

A Diver was placed on the platter

owners tell you he’s exceeded

rather than a hi-fi system.

and the Rega tone arm lowered.

No one was arguing that the

And again the room went quiet

look for you, you were the favorite

Both pre and power amp are

Ingenium front end scaled the

and no one spoke for the duration

one/ Your yesterdays poured into

highly transparent, sublimely

heights of sonic veracity the way

of this six-minute masterpiece of

my tomorrows/ And the songs

detailed, have a surfeit of micro

dearer turntables do so easily. For

a track. An organic presentation

you sang/ Were made of the sun.”

and macro detail and both are

example, whilst nicely rhythmic,

comprising Winwood’s high-

addictively musical. The new

the Ingenium lacks the Linn’s

pitched vocals, supported by

phono stage also conjures up a

foot tapping drive and pace. Nor

unconventionally tuned lead

high-end performance with all of

does it have the air and scale

and rhythm guitars was enjoyed

the above qualities along with a

of a fully loaded Gyrodec, or its

throughout the whole track. And

sense of directness that has to

soundstage scale.

all these were carried by a beat

popular assembley that forbear of modern democracy. The word PYNX means ‘’tightly packed’’.

his brief.

be heard.

The classic hit ‘Walk Away Renee’ from the Rickie Lee Jones’ Girl On Her Volcano album, emerged from the Ingenium/Rega/Ortofon combo with a macro dynamic insistence that never failed to surprise visitors to my listening room.

Moving on to the seminal Dylan album, Highway 61 Revisited and

that was truly mesmerising.

“When the world was only you and me and your warm arms/ I’d

Griffin’s distinctive vocal style, her emotion charged delivery and the masterful playing of lead and rhthym guitars, flooded into my moonlit room and it was time to turn off the system.

The Sum of the Whole The next day I thought about the Ingenium’s

Those smart enough to keep any

would leapfrog the Ingenium and remain firmly

pared back, minimalist construction and how

preconceptions of what a turntable is

perched at the extreme top rung of the mid-

this belies the scale of sound it has delivered

supposed to look like should be prepared to

priced models along with the Rega RP6 and

on a daily basis.

be delighted with the precision the Ingenium

the Gyrodec.

Friends wondered and indeed posed the

can playback their precious vinyl.

Looked at this way, the Ingenium delivers

question hanging in my listening room. How,

So where does this mighty mite of a turntable

what you’d expect from a $2499 turntable.

they asked, could a performance with such

that’s priced at just $2499 including either

But please note, not all similarly priced

muscular authority and replete with air, grace

a Rega RB303 tone arm or a carbon fibre

turntables offer the same level of neutrality as

and abundant detail be emerging from a

9-inch model made by Project, sit in the vinyl

the Ingenium.

turntable that compared to mainstream models

spinners’ pecking order?

at its price, seemed structurally anorexic?

And here’s where we sum up what this

If we slot all turntables into three bands of

turntable is all about. The Ingenium doesn’t

Dissenters there were. But these heretics

sonic goodness and light called budget, mid-

really have colourations that you could

were few in number and all had dismissed

priced and aspirational, an audition makes

characterise as its abiding sonic signature.

the joys of vinyl for the cold faith of digital

it clear that the Ingenium is poised just far

decades ago. Too long to understand what

enough to make it into the mid part of the

their ears have been missing all these cold,

mid-priced turntable category.

analogue-less years.

By comparison the Rega P3 priced at about

While its true many potential Ingenium buyers

$1450 with factory cartridge and 303 tone

will be underwhelmed at first by its uncluttered

arm, sits a rung below with the upper level of

build. And its not hard to imagine some

budget spinners.

bypassing this well-kept secret of a turntable for rival models that appear, to offer more real estate for their dollars.

Using the same categories, an entry level Linn with the most basic arm and cartridge

It’s essentially a neutral platform that allows you to hear its accompanying tone arm and cartridge strut their stuff. You really can’t ask for more at this price.

Enthusiastically recommended.

WORDS: Peter Familari

SPECIFICATIONS

DRIVE

MOTOR

// Belt Drive

// 115/230v 12mNm ac synchronous

SPEEDS

VOLTAGE INPUT

// 33.3 and 45.0 RPM

// 115-240vac 50/60Hz 10 watts max. (regional)

PLATTER MASS

DIMENSIONS

// 2.0 Kg (inc. optional clamp 2.5 Kg)

// 370 x 305 x 130mm

BEARING

NET WEIGHT

// Inverted stainless steel

// 5.9 Kg (inc. arm)

THRUST POINT

SHIPPING WEIGHT

/ / Tungsten carbide/Sapphire

// 8.0 Kg

SUSPENSION

PACKAGING

/ / Elastomer

// 54 x 36 x 22cm (WxDxH)

TONEARM / / As selected