Turntables — Acoustic Signature Invictus NEO

The Acoustic Signature Invictus NEO is a high-mass belt-driven turntable from the German manufacturer, assembled by hand from almost 500 individual parts. Complete, it weighs 130kg and measures 710 x 710 x 270mm, and it plays at 33, 45 and 78rpm. The price is $229,999.

Key specs that matter

Six fully insulated AC motors turn the platter through a sub-platter driven by three belts, under the control of the external DMC-20 digital motor controller with its stable multi-voltage power supply. The platter is a 335mm sandwich of anodised aluminium and brass and weighs 16.5kg on its own. It carries 56 Silencer modules, 24 inside and 32 on the outside, all made of polished brass and available with optional 24-carat gold plating or a polished chrome finish. Up to four tonearms from 9 to 12 inches long can be fitted at the same time on custom-made mounting boards, each one adjustable independently.

Engineering and use context

The Silencer modules are Acoustic Signature's way of suppressing vibration in the platter itself. The bearing is the rigid Dura Turn Diamond (DTD) design with a diamond-coated spindle, built for precise rotation and very low friction. The Invictus NEO uses AVC Level 3, the highest level of the company's Automatic Vibration Control system, and the aluminium chassis is treated with Constrained Layer Damping (CLD) to control resonance across the whole structure. Together the isolated motors, the Silencer modules, the DTD bearing and the damped chassis target low resonance from platter to bearing to chassis and a stable rotational speed. The turntable stands on three magnetic double-damping feet for support and isolation. A black-gold version is also offered, with many components coated in gold at the factory.

Pairing

The four arm positions let an analogue enthusiast keep several cartridges or arm geometries ready without ever remounting an arm. Acoustic Signature designs its own tonearms, including the TA-9000 NEO, to match the vibration-control approach of this turntable.

Alternatives

The Acoustic Signature Invictus Jr NEO is a more compact turntable with the same DTD bearing and AVC Level 3, at roughly half the weight and a much lower price.