ELP laser turntable - any comments?

NABS welcomes comments and inquiries regarding Halcyonics’ products and encourage the audio community to conduct objective A/B testing. We will do our best to facilitate and support any inquiries and or attempts at testing Halcyonics platforms. We are convinced that audiophiles will be pleased with the results of the Halcyonics platforms much in the same way as the hundreds of research laboratories around the world who have been using Halcyonics’ products for almost a decade. What makes the audio hobby so unique is the way in which different manufacturers approach similar problems in different though successful ways. Minus K and Halcyonics are examples of two completely different solutions for the same problem. No doubt, the Minus K and Halcyonics solutions go well beyond the standard vibration tweaks and platforms offered here on Audiogon.

In our opinion, the Halcyonics platforms offer some unique characteristics not found in any other platform marketed to the Audio community: (1) their unique combination of low profile, flexibility and performance; (2) their ability to provide ongoing feedback on vibration to users not only from monitors on the stands themselves but also through software that comes with each unit that provides a virtual oscilloscope to measure vibrations and assess the least resonant location for placing a stand; (3) their use of active vibration control which isolates vibration caused when the user touches the equipment; (4) their ease of setup – it takes literally seconds to setup the stands initially and no tuning or adjustments thereafter; and (5) their vast adaptive range of weight capability – the Micro 40 handles weight from 0 to 220 pounds, vitiating the need for different platforms should your equipment change, are just some examples of how our products differ from others on the market. Each user should examine their own priorities and needs in considering the value of Halcyonics or any other vibration isolation products. We look forward to participating in an ongoing dialog on this and other advances in audio technology.

Sorry, meant to post that with my NABS moniker.

Thanks NABS. I think the Minus K low profile (4-inch) platforms run about $2800. Payload capacity is a little over one hundred pounds for the low profile models, but goes up to 700 pounds with standard models like the BM-1 (which I think has a list price of $3650 or so). I'm excited to see the use of industrial vibration isolation equipment in high-end audio - I think Minus K and Halcyonics are the "real deal" when it comes to getting the absolute best mechanical isolation possible.

About the ELP laser turntable: Stereophile "kinda" likes it;
but Absolute Sound's review is pretty much a "thumbs down." I
think it is probably something that all of us would like to
"play" with, if we could find a dealer who would let us to
that without exchanging big gobs of money. But, as for owning
one, only some time with the unit would tell. If you have a
lot of old vinyl, as I do, the clicks and pops might be too
much to bear. Just think of a CD in which you could hear all
the dust that has collected. CEM

The Loricraft record cleaner seems up to the task of cleaning even old dirty records for use with the ELP. At CES2004, SMART bought old records in Vegas. They were terrible initially, but after a cleaning they worked great, especially the Peggy Lee. The ability to raise or lower the lasar allowed getting to a clean portion of the track.