MAG-LEV AUDIO ML1 TURNTABLE
TURNTABLE
The platter rotates in mid-air, so there’s no bearing, no drive motor, no rubber belt and, thus… no rumble at all!
Shut up and take my money! That’s what I was thinking the moment I saw the promotional video of the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 turntable.
Shut up and take my money! That’s what I was thinking the moment I saw the promotional video of the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 turntable. Why? Because its platter was spinning in midair, levitated several centimetres above the plinth, looking for all the world like an alien spacecraft coming in to land… except that it wasn’t landing, it was hovering in midair, with an ethereal orange glow emanating beneath it. Wow!
The promotional copy accompanying the video made it clear that this was no YouTube trick. Mag-Lev Audio, a company I’d never previously heard of, based in Slovenia—a country about whose exact location I was somewhat vague—had managed to build a turntable with a platter that rotates in midair, so there’s no bearing, no drive motor, no rubber belt… none of the usual paraphernalia associated with supporting and turning a platter.
But it wasn’t the thought of the technical advantages of getting rid of the bearings, drive motors, and shafts that made me want to buy a Mag-Lev Audio ML1 at first sight… it was that the design concept was just so outrageous and that the spinning, levitating platter looked just so cool… what self-respecting vinylholic wouldn’t want to own one?
THE EQUIPMENT
Other than the fact that it has no bearing, no drive belt, no actual drive motor or any of the usual paraphernalia associated with supporting and turning a platter, the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 is a remarkably conventional turntable. It’s about exactly the right size for a conventional turntable, at a bit shorter than 480mm wide, a bit narrower than 360mm deep and a bit shorter than 186mm high.
The Mag-Lev Audio ML1 even has the two conventional speeds—33.33rpm and 45rpm (so not 78rpm then…)—and if you know your tonearms, you will have already realised that it has a totally conventional tonearm: the Model 9cc from Pro-Ject (but not totally conventional, about which more later on). Unlike some companies, Mag-Lev has not tried to hide the fact that it’s using a Pro-Ject tonearm. It not only mentions this in all its literature, including in the Owner’s Manual, but also leaves the Pro-Ject branding on the arm itself. All of this, along with the similarity in the hyphenated names, caused me to wonder whether Mag-Lev Audio’s factory in Nova Gorica, Slovenia, was anywhere near a Pro-Ject factory (which are located in Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia).
It transpires that although Slovenia shares a border with Austria (and also with Italy, Hungary and Croatia, just in case you’re as geographically challenged as I am) all ProJect’s factories are more than 500km away, so the similarity in the names is apparently just co-incidental.
The Pro-Ject 9cc gets its model number from its effective length (9 inches, or 203mm) and its model letters from the fact that both the tonearm tube and the headshell are made from composite carbon fibre. The arm fitted to my review loaner sample of the Mag-Lev ML1 came pre-fitted with an Ortofon OM10, a moving-magnet phono cartridge that usually retails for around $99. The ML1 can otherwise optionally be fitted with an Ortofon OM20, 30 or 40, or an Ortofon 2M (Red, Blue or Black).
The unique design of the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 means you cannot fit any cartridge you like though, because it seems that due to the powerful magnetic forces required in order to levitate the platter, many phono cartridges are not suitable. Mag-Lev Audio’s Owner’s Manual (p34) says you can find a list of recommended cartridges on its website, but I couldn’t find any such list there. And since you risk permanently damaging any cartridge that is not suitable for use with the Mag-Lev Audio ML1, I would recommend using only cartridges that are specifically recommended—in writing!—by Mag-Lev Audio itself. So, until a full list appears on the Mag-Lev Audio website (at www.maglevaudio.com), your choice of phono cartridges would seem to be restricted to the Ortofon models mentioned here. Other than cartridge design, there’s also a question of cartridge weight.
My guess is that Mag-Lev is using these Ortofon models at least in part because they are so light in weight (5 grams) that they will have the least effect on the motion of the platter. The heavier the cartridge, the more likely the mass of the cartridge is to affect the rotational stability of the platter.
The Pro-Ject 9cc is not quite ‘factory standard’ because unlike any 9cc model I have ever seen, the one fitted to the Mag-Lev has an automatic arm raise/lower lift device in addition to the usual manual cueing lever. It subsequently transpired that there was a very good reason for this handy addition… about which more later.
The speed control knob is very cool. It’s a thick, cookie-like control that has a single large hole in it. Looking down through the hole enables you to see the turntable’s status: You’ll see the word ‘Off’ when the hole is at the ‘9 o’clock’ position. Rotate the knob to the right to the ‘12 o’clock’ position and you’ll see ‘33’ at the bottom of the hole (the letters are so large that 33.33 wouldn’t fit!). A further rotation to the right to the ‘3 o’clock’ position will have you seeing ‘45’ at the bottom of the hole. The letters and numerals have an orange backlight that flashes until speed stability is achieved, after which the light glows a steady orange. In the ‘Off’ position, the light will eventually extinguish when the turntable automatically enters its power-saving Stand-by mode. There is one other position of this ‘cookie’ control, which you reach by turning the control anti-clockwise from the ‘Off’ position to the ‘6 o’clock’ position. In this position, there’s a single flat line ( – ) visible at the bottom of the hole. Mag-Lev Audio calls this position the ‘levitation mode’ and it levitates the platter to its normal operating height, but does not rotate the platter. I presume it is used to facilitate things such as VTA alignment (a feature of the Pro-Ject 9cc), but Mag-Lev Audio’s Owner’s Manual does not elaborate.
While it’s obvious that the platter is held in mid-air by magnetic forces, it’s not at all obvious exactly how this is done, nor is it obvious what method Mag-Lev Audio is using to rotate and manage the speed of the platter, and the company is keeping its cards pressed tightly to its chest, with its website saying only that it uses: ‘ innovative and patented technology that allows to maintain the incredibly precise turning of the platter with sensor regulating software (sic)’. My best guess is that Mag-Lev Audio is using an induction motor in which the platter is actually the rotor part of the induction motor, and the stator part is located in the plinth. My confidence in this guess was enhanced when I noticed that in circumstances following a fault condition (about which more later) the platter rotated far more slowly than it should which, if I am right, would be the result of a phenomenon that affects all induction motors called ‘crawling’ (for a reason that will shortly become obvious).
However I was totally impressed that the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 was not at all affected by another serious issue that affects all induction motors—particularly at start-up—called cogging. It seems that Mag-Lev Audio has developed an innovation solution to this issue. My ‘best guesses’ aside, the one thing about which I am certain is that Mag-Lev Audio’s approach to platter levitation is different to all other companies using levitation (e.g., Clearaudio) and its drive system is completely different to companies that claim to be using ‘magnetic drive’ systems (such as Paravacini).
When the platter is not spinning unsupported in mid-air (which is just sooo cool!), it is supported by four pylons that automatically rise up from where they’re hidden inside the plinth. Also hidden inside the plinth is an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) that stores just enough juice to raise the pylons in the event of a power outage. The UPS necessarily includes a rechargeable battery, which would have to be replaced at regular intervals to ensure correct operation. Mag-Lev Audio’s Owners’ Manual does not mention the replacement interval nor the costs or procedures involved.
At present, four cosmetic variants of the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 are available: one has wood-grain plinth, one has a gloss white plinth, and two are black and silver. The lowest-priced versions are the black and silver models, at $4,895, while the highest-priced is the one with the wood-grain plinth, at $5,665. A clear Perspex turntable cover is available as an optional extra, for $390.
My one disappointment about the MagLev Audio ML1’s visual presentation was its turntable slip mat. It’s a very thin, insubstantial piece of light-weight felt that’s not at all in keeping with the high quality fit ‘n finish of the other fittings.
IMPORTANT! READ THE MANUAL!
While it is always advisable to read the Owner’s Manual carefully before installing any turntable (because many of them require special techniques to be used during assembly), it is absolutely essential to do so before unpacking and installing the Mag-Lev Audio ML1, because there’s a lot that could go wrong if you’re not careful, mostly because of the powerful magnetic fields required in order to suspend the very heavy platter in mid-air.
In fact there are so many warnings in MagLev’s Owner’s Manual that I was getting a tad worried about my own personal safety!
By way of example, the Owner’s Manual states that children are not permitted to use the turntable ‘ due to risk of damage to hands, fingers and other body parts.’ Nor is any person fitted with a heart pacemaker or heart defibrillator permitted to use this turntable. In fact, if you have a heart pacemaker or defibrillator, the manual advises that you should not even come within one metre of the Mag-Lev turntable because it says the magnetic fields generated in the base of the unit and in the platter are strong enough that they could cause these devices to switch to their ‘test mode’ which would result in their improper operation. The manual also warns that because the neodymium magnets used in the Mag-Lev are fragile, they can be broken or damaged if they’re dropped, and most particularly if the magnets ‘crash together’. Anyone who’s tried to pull two neodymium magnets apart will realise how powerful they are—even the small ones I have used for pet projects were so powerful that I couldn’t pull them apart with my fingers… I needed to use tools or first slide them sideways to gain leverage. I would emphasise that it is absolutely essential to keep both the Mag-Lev turntable itself—and most especially the platter!—at least one metre away from any metallic (ferrous) object.
But what about those powerful magnetic fields themselves? Could they present a problem for a fit and healthy adult without any metallic surgical implants of any sort?
Mag-Lev Audio’s Owner’s Manual has a warning that has a bet both ways on the safety of powerful magnetic field by first saying that: ‘ based on current knowledge, magnetic fields from permanent magnets do not have a measureable positive or negative effect on people. It is not likely that permanent magnets present a health risk.’ However the company then goes on to offer further, and somewhat contradictory advice: ‘ However, it is not possible to be completely sure. For your safety, avoid constant contact with the magnets (and) make sure you to keep strong magnets at least one metre from your body.’ I suspect this last part of the statement is to encourage you to operate the turntable at arm’s length (literally!).
Of course there are other physical objects that depend on magnetism to work that you need to keep well away from the Mag-Lev ML-1, such as credit cards, keyless door entry cards, hard drives, any products containing hard drives (laptops, computers, NAS drives etc), mechanical watches, and so on. Mag-Lev Audio also recommends you make sure that hearing aids, TV sets and loudspeakers are kept at a goodly distance from the Mag-Lev Audio ML1. One object the company does not mention, and one which is something that quite a few audiophiles might own, is open reel tapes.
But what about those powerful magnetic fields themselves? Could they present a problem for a fit and healthy adult without any metallic surgical implants?
These, too, should be kept well away from the Mag-Lev Audio ML-1. But one final thing that Mag-Lev Audio does n0t mention—which means no-one at Mag-Lev has ever watched any of the hilarious You-Tube videos which feature them merrily spinning about—are cats, which will find batting the ML1’s platter with a paw irresistible (or even, perhaps, pouncing on top of the platter, with predictably calamitous results for both the platter and the cat).
So… be warned: No pets allowed!
INSTALLATION, USE AND LISTENING SESSIONS
As I said before, I read the manual very carefully before assembling the turntable, during which time I also noted that it is recommended that the turntable be positioned a least one metre distant from any metallic object, which presumably means that equipment racks that have steel struts or surfaces are out, and in my case meant that I had to move a little steel sculpture my wife is particularly fond of further away, to a position in the room that she found less feng shui- ish. And just in case you thought that the Mag-Lev ML1’s platter being suspended in mid-air meant that you could get away with any old support, you can’t. I found that the Mag-Lev ML-1 was just as sensitive to external vibration as any other turntable (and in some cases even more so) so you should make sure that in addition to being non-metallic, the Mag-Lev NL-1 is positioned on a really solid support that effectively and properly isolates it from external vibrational influences.
You also need to position the Mag-Lev ML1 well away from windows that would allow sunlight to shine in on it, because sunlight (or any bright light) can interfere with the sensors that control the speed of the platter, in which case the turntable will not operate and you’ll get a red flashing light warning. (A flashing white (amber) light indicates that the magnetic coils inside the player are too hot, in which case you have to turn the player off and wait for them to cool down, a process that Mag-Lev Audio says ‘ usually takes about 30 minutes’.)
Having followed the Owner’s Manual assembly and installation instructions to the letter, I was so shocked by the noisy, grinding mechanical sounds that emanated from the turntable when I tried to play my first LP that I immediately switched the turntable back to ‘Off’. A quick phone call to the editor revealed that these rather nasty-sounding noises were ‘normal’… one of them being the sound that the tonearm lifter motor makes when it raises and lowers the tonearm, and the other the sound made by the motor that raises and lowers the four platter support pylons. So, reassured that I had not made a mistake during assembly, I again switched the front panel control to ‘33’, and waited for the platter to spin up to speed. And waited… and waited… and waited.
It took so long that I stopped it and started it again, simply so that I could use the stopwatch app on my phone to time it. It took thirty-six seconds for the speed to stabilize on 33.33 rpm. Since I had the phone in my hand, I then timed how long it took to for the platter to stop revolving (since the platter must be stopped, and supported on its four supports before you can change from Side A to Side B of an LP). Stopping took even longer—38 seconds. This means that it will take more than a minute and a half to go from playing one side of an LP to playing the other. I know a minute and a half isn’t a long time in the great scheme of things, but when you’ve just finished listening to Great Gig in the Sky and are anticipating Money bursting forth from your loudspeakers, one and a half minutes can seem like an eternity!
Once play had re-started, I checked the small record label-sized stroboscope I’d attached to the LP label and discovered that the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 was maintaining an almost-perfectly steady 33.33 revolutions per minute. To check the speed accuracy at 45 rpm I lifted the tonearm from the LP manually and turned the front panel control to ‘45’. Eighteen seconds later, the speed had finally stabilized and my strobe again showed an almost-perfectly steady 45 revolutions per minute. So it was back to 33.33 rpm (which took 16 seconds) and back to enjoying Pink Floyd’s classic ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ (the 40th Anniversary re-master, which I think has the edge on sound quality over the second-best sounding version of this album that was pressed by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. I also have the original EMI/Harvest from 1973, but I keep it only for sentimental value, because it’s so worn and scratched that I never play it for fear of wrecking a stylus.)
My enjoyment of Pink Floyd’s masterpiece was enhanced by total lack of background noise. The music was issuing from a perfectly silent background. OK, so there the inevitable surface noise from the LP itself, but on the new remaster, it’s a long, long way down— pretty much on a par with the CD version, in fact. The really important thing to note is that I could not hear any rumble at all. This complete absence of rumble resulted in an incredible clarity of the sound, particularly at low frequencies, such that it was rather difficult to believe I was listening to a cartridge that retails for under a hundred bucks. However I wasn’t totally happy with the stereo imaging I was getting from the OM10, so I switched in my own Ortofon 2M Blue, noting in the process that Mag-Lev had aligned the OM10 perfectly in the Pro-Ject 9cc’s headshell, so you can be perfectly happy with the factory-set alignment… including its VTA setting, which was also perfect.
I could not hear any rumble at all. This complete absence of rumble resulted in an incredible clarity of the sound, particularly at low frequencies
After first letting the vinyl cool down and re-form, I played Dark Side through again using the 2M Blue and was even more blown away. Now I was totally happy with the stereo imaging, and the midrange clarity had improved even further and now the extreme high-frequencies had just that little additional bite that I like. This little experiment left no doubt in my mind that the Mag-Lev ML1 will be able to extract the highest levels of performance from higher-quality cartridges. That said, Ortofon’s OM10 is a great cartridge, with a beautifully neutral midrange sound, solid and extended bass and a very sweet treble. No doubt MagLev chose this particular model in order to keep the total ‘system’ cost under a certain price-point, but it was a good choice.
When building a turntable, ensuring low levels of rumble is important, and speed accuracy is also important (though not so important as you’d imagine!). However, probably the most important thing to get right is minimising variations from the correct speed, both slow (wow) and quick (flutter). Sustained notes on a piano are the best material to use when listening for the tell-tale sounds of wow and flutter. As it happens, my favourite album for evaluating wow and flutter is also one of my all-time favourite records, period. It’s Michael Nyman’s stupendously good album ‘Decay Music’. It’s aptly named, because it’s full of simple and complex chords where he strikes the piano keys, then lets the sound decay into silence, very often for periods of up to ten seconds. It’s beautiful, meditative music, and nothing at all like the soundtrack he wrote for Jane Campion’s film, ‘The Piano’, which I can’t stand.
Anyway, there I was listening to Decay Music, with my eyes closed in absolute reverie, and marvelling at the lack of wow and flutter, when I suddenly heard both wow and flutter suddenly introduced. Opening my eyes, I saw that the platter was rocking every which way, like a drunken sailor, and it was these gyrations that were causing the wow and flutter. I also saw immediately what had happened: a door that I’d left ajar had been blown open by a gust of wind, and it was this wind that had caused the unwanted platter movement. I closed the door to see what would happen, and after about five minutes, the gyrations finally died down, after which normal playback resumed. I then tried to re-create the event by puffing a breath of air from my mouth down at the surface of the LP. I thought I’d blown quite gently, but I’d obviously overdone it, because the resulting gyrations were so severe that I triggered a safety mechanism built into the Mag-Lev ML1 that caused the tonearm to lift away from the LP (also revealing one reason Mag-Lev has fitted an automatic lifter to the 9cc tonearm).
I thought that when the gyrations died away the tonearm would be automatically returned to the record surface, but this did not happen. Instead, the platter slowed down dramatically, doing about one rotation every five seconds (see my earlier note about the ‘crawling’ phenomenon). I let this slow rotation go on for some time to see if there would be any change in speed—either faster or slower—but there wasn’t, so I eventually gave up on waiting, returned the arm manually to the tonearm rest, and switched the front panel control to ‘Off’. I subsequently discovered that any air movement in the listening room (even walking quickly past the turntable) tended to induce some degree of platter wobble, which will then result in increased levels of both wow and flutter until the ‘wobbles’ have almost completely gone.
Initially, I thought that this Achilles Heel was the reason Mag-Lev offered a turntable cover as an option, because I imagined such a cover would prevent air movement in the room from affecting the platter’s rotation. However, when I looked at the Owner’s Manual, it specifically states that the cover should not be used while the Mag-Lev ML1 is operating.
Since there must be some good scientific reason for not using a cover while the turntable is operating, I refrained from experimenting with any type of makeshift turntable cover, in case I inadvertently caused some damage. Instead, I made sure that every time I listened to an LP, all the doors and windows were closed, the air-con was off and that, after setting the record on the platter, I had moved back to my listening chair so I could be seated and still before the platter started ‘floating’ and therefore susceptible to air movement caused by my movement. You won’t have to rush to your chair to do this: it takes a full seven seconds before the support pylons drop away from beneath the platter.
ConClusion
The Mag-Lev ML1’s flying saucer-like abilities—and its non-contact platter drive system—are so amazingly ingenious—and so amazingly effective—that I would not have believed any of it was possible had I not witnessed the Mag-Lev ML1 in operation myself.
Indeed every time I used the ML1, I felt like a magician performing his best trick! But of course that magic trick costs money, and it introduces issues that don’t affect boring old bearing-supported turntables—the waiting times, the limited cartridge choice, the restrictive operational prerequisites and the difficulty of keeping the platter entirely stable. All of which means you might well find better performance at the price amongst the conventional competition. But it wouldn’t levitate!
Of all the hi-fi components I have ever seen or heard of, the Mag-Lev Audio ML1 is by far and away the most impressive. Absolutely every person who saw it in operation exclaimed ‘Wow!’ and followed up by adding a comment to the effect of ‘that’s incredible’… which is a perfect summation:
The Mag-Lev Audio ML1 is a truly incredible turntable! Steven Roland