Opinion 1

Continuing the turntable lead, after the old-school looking Linn Sondek LP12 Majik, we have the pleasure of presenting another example of British engagement in cultivating analog tradition – the Avid Sequel SP. The uncoupled sub-chassis, heavy platter and very modern, intriguing – industrial design make it hard not to notice this product. The designers were able to achieve a balance between the minimalism and sparse form of the basic model Ingenium and the almost byzantine, chrome or golden, splendor of the top model Reference SP in the Sequel.

The steel sub-chassis, being also the mounting point of the tonearm, is settled, by means of a proprietary spring-railing suspension, on a triangular, MDF, main chassis, varnished black. The chassis is placed on columns with regulated feet. The stiffness of the chassis is guaranteed with a dense “grating”. Massive, vertical pins are supported by springs, placed in the hollow feet, and the rubber railings act as additional stabilizers. The inverted bearing is placed in a dedicated cradle, and the threaded, brass pivot can handle a respectably sized disc clamp. The platter itself, weighing almost 7kg, is equipped with a nicely looking cork mat and a stylish, rubber ring, which adds visual lightness to the whole. This is not about rethinking the wheel, but just about aesthetics. Breaking the monotony of the aluminum edge with a contrasting element results in a “sandwich” effect, which combines well with the massive feet, on which the construction is supported. The motor is mounted in a dedicated place in the lower chassis. The turntable is equipped with a solid, external power supply, which does not only turn on the motor, but also controls the revolution speed.
The unpacking and mounting of the turntable takes only a few minutes, and even of that time, most is taken by looking at the elements, and not by some complicated assembly … with one small exception. It is about placing the two drive belts. Placing them on the milled pulley is easy, but putting them around the inner collar of the platter is better performed with a friend, who knows at least a minimum about what you will be doing, and have the children and wives go out of the room. But before you will raise your blood pressure, the chassis should be leveled. This is done by turning large nuts, which can support heavy loudspeakers. After placing the platter and the clamp, the leveling of the sub-chassis should be conducted, for which an Allen key is needed – supplied with the turntable.

Now we succeeded in putting the turntable in a nice and working whole, time came to place the purple vinyl Axel Rudi Pell – “The Ballads IV” on the cork mat and the loudspeakers woke up with a melodic, although spiced with heavy metal, music. Compared to the previous tested turntable (link) the ability to keep the rhythm and to have the bass keep up with the rest of the sound spectrum improved drastically. But before I continue, I would like to mention the incredible vigilance of the Polish Avid distributor – Mr. Michal Gogulski from the Poznan based company Intrada, who knew, that the turntable would be tested in two different systems, and with different music, so it can show different faces during this test, allowed us to test the device in our systems, and then with the dedicated phonostage and a balanced cable linking it with the tonearm. This allowed us to hear, how the Avid fares “sauté” as well as a “specialite de la maison” prepared by the master cook. The above showed clearly, that the decision to distribute the brand was not a coincidence, and having an almost unlimited set of possibilities, Mr. Michal can prepare a truly audiophile feast. But let’s not anticipate the facts.

The first few days I player from the Avid connected to the RCM Sensor with RCA cables, and the pleasant pressing of „The Ballads IV” showed, that we do not have to limit the spectrum of player music to genres with limited energy, but it told nothing about finesse. Fortunately I had the ethereal and loaded with nostalgic guitar sounds “Missing… Presumed Having a Good Time” The Notting Hillbillies. Warm, involving sound and slight favoring of the midrange resulted in even this recording not being boring. Masterful focusing of the virtual sources and readability of the articulation created a very positive climate remaining on the side of musicality, without going too much into the analytical regions. Of course after changing the disc to the surprisingly well recorded (William Orbit had much to do with that) “Ray of Light” Madonna, I noted with satisfaction, that the synthetic bass, capable of reaching the depths of the Hades, is brilliantly controlled, while the space effects recorded on the album are so suggestive, that when I started to think about something else, their sudden appearance focused my attention back. The mentioned, spectacular bass did not obscure the rest of the frequency spectrum, and the only issues with stability of the stage were the result of the vision of the sound engineer and not due to the turntable not controlling the material.
Of course I placed on the platter also something audiophile “Satchmo Plays King Oliver” Louis Armstrong & His Orchestra, issued on 45 RPM 200g clarity vinyl, where Satchmo enchants with silky coarseness and caramel warmth. However there was an invisible barrier, which kept the listener at a certain distance, not allowing to immerse completely into the music, something small, that prevented to regard the musical even as complete. This was the moment, where Mr. Michal entered with the Pulsare II phonostage.
I do not want to fall into an overly euphoric state, but the change was so substantial, that I listened again to the playlist I already heard, and made additional notes, about the increase of dynamics in micro and macro scale and about increase of the freedom and volume of the sound. The mentioned barrier disappeared like a soap bubble and the music exploded with a double strength of emotion and timbre. At certain volume levels “Il Trovatore” Verdi (Leontyne Price, Elena Obrazcowa, R. Raimondi / Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan) can create a wall of sound equally well as Deep Purple; “Vedi! Le tosche notturne spogile” sounded much more spectacular than “Smoke on the water” from “Machine Head”. You could feel the reserves of dynamics stored in the system. Like in a V12 engine of a large limousine, which moves the car forward when needed, without excessive noise and other effects, just using the potential hidden under the hood. The kick of the base drum, bass guitar riffs or orchestral tutti were immediate, powerful and showed no signs of compression. In this hurricane of emotion the turntable kept an almost stoic calmness. The timbre remained saturated and juicy, not falling into any dullness or oversaturation. The first of the mentioned anomalies can often be found in too offensive configurations – the contours and overly sharp details come to front, but information about structure and timbres gets lost somewhere. On the other hand, some overly postcard-like, and absolutely unreal, colors appear in systems having not enough power. The Sequel connected with XLRs to the Pulsare produced the sound close to the listener, but without any aggressiveness, with proper breath and gradation of planes. Even in culminating moments I could not catch the set on any shortcut or simplification by concentrating the listener on the first plane, while the further would become an impressionistic jumble.

The stay of the aesthetically and sonically interesting Avid Sequel came to an end, and with unfeigned sorrow I had to pack it back into the cardboard box. But I am happy, that even in such a short time I could witness the interesting idea of combining the assets of light, decoupled constructions with a mass-loader. The British engineers succeeded in making this combination of the two, seemingly so distant ideologies, work surprisingly well. The compact shape, advanced technology and great sound are the best proof for that.

Marcin Olszewski

Distributor:
Avid Audio – Intrada
SME – RCM
Goldring – Rafko

Price:
Sequel SP (black/ silver) – 27 500 zł
Pulsare II Phono (black/ silver) – 21 500 zł
SME 309 – 7 700 zł
cartridge MC – Goldring Legacy (GL0007M) – 3 399,00 zł

Technical Details:
SEQUEL SP:
Drive: Twin Belt drive
Speeds: 33.3 and 45.0 RPM
Platter mass: 6.7 Kg
Bearing: Inverted stainless steel
Thrust point: Tungsten carbide/Sapphire
Suspension: 3 point, springs in vertical, o-rings in lateral frequency
    : vertical 3.2 Hz (variable), lateral 4.5 Hz
Tonearms: Std. cut for SME (adapters to order)
Motor: Modified 24v 140mNm ac synchronous
Power supply: DSP Vari-SPeed control unit
Voltage input: 100-240vac 50/60Hz 20 watts max. (depending on region)
Dimensions: Turntable (overall) 425 x 370 x 205mm (WxDxH)
    : Turntable (footprint) 375 x 325mm (WxD)
    : P.S.U. 250 x 215 x 95mm (WxDxH)
Net weight: 12.6Kg (28lb) turntable only
    : 3.5Kg (8lb) psu only
Packaging: 450 x 480 x 500mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight: 20.0Kg (44lb)

Avid Pulsare II Phono Stage:
Noise: < -81dB MM    <-67dB MC
Distortion: < 0.001%
RIAA: 5Hz – 70kHz +/-0.5dB
Gain: 40dB – 50dB – 60dB – 70dB
Resistance loading: 10R – 30R – 100R – 300R – 500R – 1k – 5k – 10k – 47k – Custom
Capacitance loading: 100pf – 200pf – 500pf – 1.5nf – 10nf – 20nf
Power supply: Double regulated with 300va transformer
Voltage input: 100-240vac 50/60Hz 10 watts max. (depending on region)
Dimensions: 290 x 240 x 100mm (WxDxH)
Net weight: Control unit – 3.8Kg (8.4lb);PSU – 6.4Kg (14lb)
Packaging: 360 x 310 x 290mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight: 12.0Kg (27lb)

Goldring Legacy:
Transducer Characteristics

Frequency response: 20Hz – 22kHz +/-3dB
Channel balance: 1dB max. at 1kHz
Channel separation: 25dB min. at 1kHz
Sensitivity: 0.25mV 1dB @ 1kHz
Static compliance: 16mm/N Vertical tracking angle: 20
Stylus radius: Vital fine line
Stylus type: Non-replaceable

Electrical Characteristics

Load resistance: 100Ohm
Load capacitance: 100 – 1000pF Internal
Inductance: 3 H
Internal resistance: 7ohms

Mechanical Characteristics

Cartridge weight: 8g
Fixing centres: 0.5in (12.7mm)
Playing weight: 1.5g – 2.Og (1.75g nom)

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon 1sc
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Stream player: Olive O2M; laptop Dell Inspiron 1764 + JRiver Media Center
– Phonostage: RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC; Avid Pulsare II
– Integrated Amplifier: Electrocompaniet ECI 5; Vitus Audio RI-100
– Speakers: Gauder Akustik Arcona 80 + spike extenders; Zingali Home Monitor 2.8 Plus
– IC RCA: Antipodes Audio Katipo
– IC XLR: LessLoss Anchorwave; Organic Audio
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB Cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver
– Speaker Cables: Organic Audio; Signal Projects Hydra
– Power Cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power
– Power distribution board: GigaWatt PF-2 + LC-2mk2 Power Cable
– Table: Rogoz Audio 4SM3
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+
– Accessories: Sevenrods Dust-caps; Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; HighEndNovum PMR Premium; Albat Revolution Loudspeaker Chips; Acoustic Revive RAF-48H

Opinion 2

It took some time, but finally we could get our hands on some analog sources. This is a very delicate part of the trade, and many dealers selling turntables, despite the return of the format to full blossom, are not willing to have them tested by not so well known reviewers. I do not think, that I am an expert in this field, and the lack of feedback after some initial talks only proved me right. However I did not care to much about that and started my exploration of this audio area by listening to phonostages. A series of tests of devices from various price levels allowed me to create a network of reference points, to be able to identify, what should be where on a given price level. In the meantime there were some additional talks bringing me closer to the most important part of the game, but only the appearance of the legendary Linn made me become a quite believable and competent listener. Probably there were also some other aspects in favor of me – I use a reasonably high level source for years, I favor this format before the digital one (but not orthodox) and the fact that my vinyl library is much bigger than the CD one. The Scottish turntable (Linn Sondek) was the starting point of my vinyl path, and its appearance on our portal confirmed the old saying “What is delayed, will not flee”. The position it has on the analog market is also not to be disregarded, thus with such opening I can plan my reviews with greater freedom. Marcin decided to go with the flow and contacted another dealer of British turntables – I apologize to the Scottish, but they are part of Great Britain, at least administratively – and his negotiations were successful. The result was the turntable Avid, distributed by the Poznan based company Intrada, the model Sequel SP, equipped with the SME 309 tonearm and Goldring Legacy MC cartridge.

Avid is a brand not as legendary, as the recently tested Linn, but it has a strong position on the international markets, confirming that it is not just a onetime analog lovers product. Its construction is basically similar to the Scottish one, however the decoupled platter and sub-chassis are of much higher mass. I would classify this turntable as a soft suspended mass-loader, reminding me of another giant in this segment, which has a similar setup, namely SME, also a British company. The isolation is different, but the idea of softly suspending large masses allows to place them both in the same box. Despite both companies competing, they do not despise each other, and the mutual respect is shown by the fact, that the Avid comes as standard with mounting points for the tonearm from SME. The model Sequel SP is supported on three solid looking pylons, supporting the lower chassis. Each of those columns below the chassis is a foot, which allows to level the whole construction. The upper part of the pylons has more to do, and is a cylinder, where the springs are hidden, which decouple the vertical movement of the sub-chassis, as well as a mounting point for the rubber rings damping horizontal movements. For perfect leveling there are additional screws inside the springs, that allow to level the sub-chassis against the main support. Being the mounting point of the tonearm and the heavy platter, the sub-chassis has a significant weight, so the springs can elongate with time. To counteract this, you will need to adjust the level from time to time using the supplied Allen key. All Avid models have a disc clamp screwed to the spindle. The thread is quite large pitched, so mounting is quick. And the presence of the clamp brings only positive effects, so the process of placing the clamp quickly becomes invisible – at least for any vinyl lover, because opponents may always have some complaints. The platter is driven by two belts connected to a motor placed on the lower chassis in the left corner. The Sequel SP arrived in a disassembled form, but the process of putting everything together is fairly easy, the only tricky part being to place the driving belts on the platter. It took a few minutes, but anybody should be able to master it. Placing the turntable in the desired spot, leveling it, controlling the parameters of the tonearm and cartridge, connecting the external power supply with revolution control (we can easily set 33 and 45 RPMs), checking the speeds and we are ready to start listening.

When the tested device was fully assembled and placed in the right spot I knew, that things are going to get serious. The whole set costs around 40 thousand zlotys, and it would be a joke, if it would only play good. This price level requires more, it requires the turntable to try and reach the limits of the format played, and not just play good. I was curious, how my first contact with this player will look like, but unfortunately I decided to start with a photo session, an important element of our reviews. To make it more attractive, I took a random vinyl from my collection, being the Pacific Jazz issued monophonic, old Japanese pressing on thick red vinyl (they did such things already at that time): “Wes Montgomery with Buddy & Monk Montgomery”. When I took the pictures, the disc just played in the background, but I already got a positive kick in my music receptors. One of the instruments used in the recording session was a vibraphone, which is in one of my favorite silence dispersers. Well microphoned, mixed, mastered and pressed it is capable of overwhelming other instruments present in the recording. Played from the mentioned disc it made me stop photographing and listen to the whole disc, without paying attention, that it is a mono recording. It sounds rarely as well as on this disc, even in stereo recorded material. Saturation, timbre and not often encountered fleshiness just killed me. In general the disc sounded exceptionally well for such an old recording. After having heard that, I knew, that the British constructors do not just sit around, but they really propose a sound, which is adequate to the price tag of the turntable. And this was only the beginning, which only hinted to the capabilities of the Avid. I was certain, that the easiness of reaching the freedom, openness and smoothness of the sound reproduced from even very demanding recordings will allow me to choose freely from my library of black discs. It may happen, that a heavy metal fan buys this product – everybody is free to have his own taste – and will listen to such energetic music with his neighbors (I wonder, if they would listen voluntarily), having lots of fun, but I am a lover of more toned down sounds, so I placed on the platter the album from the Scottish label Linn Records titled “Messiah” from Georg Frederic Handel.

After the first, quite incidental, but positive contact with this Linn pressing – I decided to check, what the British turntable will present when dealing with an ideally recorded material. I knew already it can better long forgotten musical material, but this does not have to mean, that it can master everything. The sound could have gotten too homogenous, deprived from any rapacity. I lowered the tonearm on the run-in groove of the first side of the first disc and listened. The beginning is a tale of instrument placing over the virtual sound stage, but I waited for the vocals. The choir, skillfully scattered around by the sound engineer, is capable of showing many “favorites” their place in the peloton, but here nothing of that happened. The grading of the planes, readability of the virtual sources, saturation increasing palpability, resolution and a strange softness of the sound while having a good, edgy bass foundation pulled me into the vortex of emotion. I do not know, how the engineers from England did it, but everything here was ideally balanced, while usually something goes amiss when there is such a saturation of the reproduced music. Most companies lose airiness of the upper frequencies and readability of the bass when ballasting the frequency spectrum – nothing like that happened with the Avid. All those aspects create an impression of blacker than black background, what allows to catch all possible audiophile charms. Bravo for this setup for warming up the atmosphere without turning the reproduced music into a mud pool. But the mentioned “trash metal” lover may experience some rounding off the sound. For many people such sound may be an asset, but tastes are different, and we should confront this turntable with our repertoire and expectations. This thicker outline of the musical spectacle is an asset in my opinion, this is the reason for the positive effect with older recordings. This made me also listen to a lot of such recordings what resulted in me being delighted with the final result. But as it happens, I had to make the final coup, and treat the charming Englishman with something loaded with bass, with electronic music. Massive Attack showed many times before, how to tame “narcissistic all-rounders”, but this time I hoped, that the turntable will pass the test with flying colors. Due to the artificial sounds recorded on discs with electronic music, I usually limit the tests using it to verify, how the tested device fares with the flowing together lowest octaves and with the squeaky treble. Having listened to my three disc edition I must say, that even in this genre the Sequel SP fared well. When needed it shook my internal organs and it tamed the screaming treble, showing a more civilized face of that music. I do not claim, that this is the best way of dealing with it, but every listener, who cares for his ears, will give me right, that this is a very pleasant way of showing that kind of music.

Trying to summarize the performance of the British contender I must confess, that it surprised me with its idea for the final effect. Juicy and at the same time readable sound will for sure lure potential clients. The most interesting thing is, that it does not interfere with the overall readability of the sound. When needed the cymbals shine. All parts of the sound spectrum are ably sewn together, none comes before the others. If I would have to characterize the target client for this turntable, I would bet on a music lover, preferring the joy of listening to analyzing the individual sounds. You have to take into account, that my system is directed to the timbre, and I suspect, that a more neutral sounding system will accept the wealth of the assets brought by this turntable with acclaim. I will not even mention sharp systems, because the Avid Sequel SP will become a pleasant introduction into the analog world. Clients listening to music loaded with guitar riffs and short base drum kicks, and liking to split every hair in four pieces, should listen and think, if this way of presenting their beloved music is not more pleasant. In my opinion the price of this turntable, high for the average Kowalski, is absolutely adequate for the sound you get out of it, and the various tastes should only encourage to listen to this product in your own system. Even casual listening may turn into a purchase of this beautifully looking and brilliantly sounding turntable.

PS. When the test was coming to an end, and the Sequel SP was about to be packed I received the call from the distributor to listen to this turntable with the dedicated phonostage and XLR cables. So I received the Avid Pulsare II Phono Pre-Amplifier. Having the distributor show, that he cares about synergy, is worth mentioning. It does not require miracles, but it is enough to present what he has best for this setup. I plugged in the elements of the puzzle in my system (the phonostage is in two boxes) and listened. I could immediately hear a different approach to the source material, which was slightly thinned, improving the contours of the sound coming from the speakers, and was now more neutral. This going in the direction of tonal balance increases the potential target group, which does not need to search for a compatible phonostage. This experience allowed me also to verify, that the set is well balanced and the buyer will be absolutely satisfied. I can also add, that the deck itself has a much higher potential. I tested it with a phonostage almost twice as expensive as the Pulsar II, and the Sequel SP showed, that it can be done better. And this is not often the case, as usually a more refined device shows the shortcomings of the cheaper one. This time the marriage of the Katowice made Theriaa with the tested turntable shone with a deeper, more airy stage, darker background and better three-dimensionality of the virtual sound sources. Unfortunately such good things cost a lot, but I wanted to show to you, that the middle offering of Avid, the Sequel SP, has a lot of potential. I witness many failures with such combinations, so even more kudos to Avid. Bravo!

Jacek Pazio

The system used in the test, a complete set of Combak Corporation.

 Electronics Reimyo:
– Separate DAC + CD player: CDT – 777 + DAP – 999 EX
– Tube preamp: CAT – 777 MK II
– Solid state power amp: KAP – 777
Speakers: Bravo Consequence +
Power cables: Harmonix X-DC-350M2R Improved Version
Speaker Cables: Harmonix HS 101-EXQ (mid-high section); Harmonix HS-101 SLC (bass section)
IC RCA Harmonix HS 101-GP
Digital IC: Harmonix HS 102
Table: Rogoz Audio
Accessories: Antivibration stand for the power amp by Harmonix TU-505EX MK2, Harmonix Enacom improved for AC 100-240V; Harmonix Tuning Room Mini Disk RFA-80i

 Analog stage:
– Turntable:
drive: Dr. Feickert Analogue „Twin”
arm: SME V
cartridge: Dynavector XX-2 MK II
– Phonostage: RCM „THERIAA”