Plinth of Darkness

摘要

Born as a riposte to Blue Pearl Audio's £48,000 JEM (which, itself, is perhaps best viewed as a cost-no-object homage to John Jeffries' original Strat), the Lumley Stratosphere Mk 2 offers the same magnetic repulsion based suspension as its Mk 1 forebear, while also offering a veritable battery of engineering improvements.rnThe magnetic plinth isolation is provided by an array of eight Clearaudio Magix, which are held at their optimum compression level by the weight of the plinth, platter and armpod. The plinth itself is constructed of aluminium, finished to match the optional stand, priced at £1650. While the main platter is also CNC machined aircraft grade aluminium, rather than being solid, it has hollow zones containing an unspecified damping material. The main bearing is more conventional than the magnetic solution of the JEM, with a titanium nitrided steel spindle rotating via a pressure plate on a ceramic ball within a Nylatron sleeve. The rubber damped, synthetic two-piece secondary platter is isolated from the primary by six spikes, while the main spindle is surmounted by a Nylatron stub to further isolate the disc from any bearing noise.