Turntables — Luphonic Model R2

Luphonic, a German analogue specialist, ships the Model R2 belt-drive deck with the company's K2 tonearm in its 9.5 inch form. It has a sub-chassis layout in which the motor sits on a separate lower layer, decoupled from the top layer that holds the platter and the arm. The suggested retail price at launch was EUR 3,690.

Key specs that matter

Two speeds, 33 1/3 and 45 rpm, are chosen electronically with a puck, and speed deviation is specified at 0.04 percent DIN WRMS. The drive is a synchronous motor with integrated motor control. The black platter, 24 mm high, uses solid surface material as well. The deck is 440 mm wide, 350 mm deep and 120 mm high, weighs 10 kg and comes with a white chassis.

Engineering and use context

The chassis consists of two layers of highly polished white solid surface material, a dense composite with a low-resonance homogeneous structure, separated by damping cellular rubber, and it stands on height-adjustable feet. An LED display shows the selected speed and other device parameters. The rotating arm base can take tonearms from 9 inches to 12 inches, so the deck can be upgraded to a longer arm later. The K2 fitted as standard is a radial arm with horizontal and vertical precision ball bearings in a gimbal housed in anodised aluminium, an arm tube in carbon fibre and a headshell of sintered polyamide filled with tiny glass spheres, a combination Luphonic chose for low mass with high stiffness. The counterweight is stainless steel. Its effective length is 239.3 mm, overhang 17.3 mm and mounting distance 222 mm. Arm height, downforce, azimuth and bias can each be set by the owner. Luphonic also offers the K2 in a 12 inch version with an effective length of 304.8 mm, an overhang of 12.8 mm and a mounting distance of 292 mm, which matches the range of the arm base. The deck is operated entirely through the puck, with no conventional buttons or switches on the chassis, and the motor on its own lower level keeps its vibration away from the arm board. Luphonic's current catalogue also includes the Model H1, Model H2 and Model R3.

Pairing

Cartridges from 5 g to 14 g suit the K2, so the arm takes a broad spread of MM and MC pickups. The phono stage should be chosen for the output and load needs of the cartridge, and a firm level shelf is enough for setting up the deck.

Alternatives

Luphonic also builds the Model H2, a belt-driven deck with a microprocessor-controlled motor and a 1.9 kg platter.