TECHWEEK
For the domestic market, the Japanese company Luxman announced a new flagship player Luxman PD-191A at the very end of last summer. However, outside of Japan, the turntable has just gone on sale, at the same time details became known. Luxman America President Jeff Sigmund said, “Many music lovers have told me how much they enjoy using the PD-171A, and the new turntable is more than a worthy successor. It opens up completely new horizons in functionality, circuitry, mechanics and sound quality .
The Luxman PD-191A turntable features a brand new tonearm, drive system, platter mat and PWM/PID speed controller. Other key features include a suspended chassis with a 15mm thick aluminum top panel and a massive 5.2kg aluminum rim.
The new LTA-710 tonearm for the Luxman PD-191A has been developed in collaboration with Japanese tonearm design and manufacturing company SAEC. To accurately follow the finest details of the record’s groove profile, the new tonearm features a vertical knife bearing for superior feel. An effective tonearm length of 10″ (256mm) not only minimizes tracking errors, it also improves vibration damping. The tracking error ranges from +1.07° to -1.52°. In addition, the tonearm features adjustable anti-skating and a 22mm VTA adjustment, allowing for a wide range of cartridges. The complete universal Luxman shell has DUCC (Dia Ultra Crystallized Copper) wiring.
While the Luxman PD-191A comes with an excellent tonearm, the turntable does not preclude the use of other brands of tonearms. The manufacturer offers additional bases for tonearms ranging in size from 9 to 10 inches and an external second base for long 12-inch tonearms.
When playing vinyl, even a slight change in the rotational speed of the disc will cause the musical tone to oscillate. In the Luxman PD-191A player, every effort has been made to maintain the stability of the disc rotation speed. Luxman’s unique Pulse Width Modulated power supply provides stable DC current for the brushless motor. Speed regulation accuracy is maintained by PWM/PID controller. The rotation from the engine is transmitted to the platter through a wide belt made of new EPDM material, which is characterized by a long service life.
And, finally, the rotational stability is provided by the 5.2 kg platter itself, made of aluminum alloy. The disc acts as a flywheel with an extremely high moment of inertia of 0.7 tcm2 to compensate for even the slightest speed fluctuations. Such a heavy disc requires bearings that can withstand high pressure. Luxman engineers chose polyetheretherketone (PEEK) support bearings and brass radial bearings. As a result, the player’s weighted RMS wow & flutter ratio is less than 0.04%.
Luxman engineers paid special attention to the vibration decoupling of the player from the installation surface. Luxman PD-191A rests on large rubber anti-vibration mounts, each of which allows height adjustment. The main components of the turntable are mounted on a 15 mm thick aluminum alloy top plate, which achieves both high structural rigidity and excellent damping characteristics. Special rubber damping mounts isolate the turntable’s body from two internal sources of potential vibration: the motor and the power supply’s power transformer, which, in turn, are mounted on a 3.2 mm thick metal bottom panel. The cherry on top of the anti-vibration cake is a special rubber mat on which the record is placed.
All switching, both power and signal, is made on high-quality connectors, which allows the use of third-party cables. The Luxman PD-191A comes with a 4mm thick acrylic dust cover fitted with spring-loaded cam support loops. The player allows the installation of a cartridge weighing from 4 to 11 g. Luxman PD-191A dimensions are 491 x 399 x 128 mm, weight – 24.8 kg.
The Luxman PD-191A turntable is now available for a suggested retail price of $12,495 .
