We all love our music and some formats sound better than others. The Linn LP12 and Valhalla controller are excellent but they can be substantially improved upon. Accurate, stable speed control is essential for extracting the best out of...
We all love our music and some formats sound better than others. The Linn LP12 and Valhalla controller are excellent but they can be substantially improved upon. Accurate, stable speed control is essential for extracting the best out of the vinyl format – without getting that right we are building our HiFi listening pleasure on shaky foundations.
After repairing and servicing hundreds of Valhalla and Axis boards I decided I could do better. I was also fed up with having to remove the platter and change the belt every time I wanted to play a half speed mastered LP or 12” single.
Wear of the belt, bearing and stylus drag also have a big impact on speed stability and most Valhalla boards and Premotec/Linn motor combinations actually run slightly off speed from the start and unless you resort to mechanical adjustment there is no way to correct this easily and certainly not frequently as the mechanical and electrical components tolerances drift.
Enter the Zeus controller! The Zeus uses a speed sensor to detect the platter rotation speed and correct the rotation to achieve stunning accuracy down to 0.001Hz. this results in speed stability typically to three decimal places. Variations of belt, bearing, motor, vinyl condition and stylus drag are accounted for every two seconds. The improvement in pitch, rhythm and overall timbre are astounding. Available as internal or external versions.
5 out of 5
