WORLD PREMIERE

⌈ MUARAH AUDIO made its debut during the Audio Video Show 2015 with a complete system designed for playing music from vinyl records. Associated primarily with turntables, it also offers electronics. This time, however, we are testing its flagship MT-1 EVO turntable with a PSC precise speed controller. ⌋

HE TITLE OF ONE OF THE ARTICLES on the spiderweb.pl portal seems to use an alarmist tone: Manufacturers suspend production. A key element of new cars is missing. Reading it, we learn that it is not about the components that we associate with cars, be it the body, wheels or even engine components - it is about semiconductors. This type of exclamation could be blamed on the editor's "click-creating" invention, if it were not a fragment of a bigger problem. The lead of one of the articles in the latest issue of the Polityka weekly says:

At the beginning of 2021 happened, what the experts predicted would - the market ran out of microprocessors and integrated circuits. The modern economy needs them just as much as a constant energy supply. What happened?

⸜ EDWIN BENDYK, Krzemowa geopolityka, „Polityka” no. 11 (3303), 10.03-16.03.2021, p. 57.

It turns out that their producers had to respond to the surge in orders in the computer sector, so they limited deliveries to less profitable industries - including car manufacturers. It seems unimportant, a small piece of properly shaped quartz, one of the most popular minerals on earth, and it is impossible to make an ordinary car without it.

The pandemic that is still not letting go has shown us how fragile the world order is and what uncertain ground the globalization is based on. It took just a few months of breaks in the supply of components for many manufacturers to run into problems that forced them to limit their sales - and it's not just about cars.

▌ THE CASE OF TONEARMS

LET'S GET BACK TO AUDIO INDUSTRY. Here, micro-catastrophes happen even more often. Sometimes it is about some manufacturer who slightly changed the specification of some tubes or transistors, or stopped the production of a specific D/A converter, and finally - as in the case of the Japanese company AKM - a tragedy happened and when its production plant burned down (October 2020, more HERE; accessed 03/16/2021). In 2020 the MUARAH company faced a problem belonging to the same category.

The Warsaw specialist is one of those manufacturers that designed their turntables to work in close symbiosis with JELCO arms. In May last year, ICHIKAWA JEWEL COMPANY, the company behind the Jelco brand, announced that due to the difficulties caused by the pandemic and the aging machines that could no longer be serviced at this difficult time, this part of its history ended (more HERE; accessed: 16/03/2021).

In the official announcement of the company, its CEO, Mr. TAKAKO ICHIKAWA-san said:

Over the past few years, our company has experienced a decline in productivity as a result of the health problems of our aging, skilled engineers. Moreover, due to our outdated mechanical equipment, its maintenance has become extremely difficult. I would like to thank everyone for their warm support that has been shown to us over the years. I would also like to express my deepest gratitude for your kindness and wish you all the best in your further development.

It may seem to ba not such a big deal, but if we take into account that in December 2019, another specialist, the SME, officially announced the end of the production of its arms in the OEM system for other manufacturers, and also - perhaps even more importantly - decided that from now on it would sell its arm with its own turntables and they would not be available separately. Each of these events separately would be a shock for the audio world, but together they turned out to be a catastrophe, something like the Permian extinction (about 245–252 million years ago), which will change the audio world for good.

However, life abhors a vacuum and, just as after the extinction of more than 90% of marine organisms and about 50% of terrestrial organisms, there was an explosion of life in the following period, turntable manufacturers reacted similarly to the „tonearm crisis”, I mean those who previously bought them from one or the above mentioned suppliers. Their strategies can be divided into two main groups of: "producers" and "adapters".

An example of the former is Transtoror, a large manufacturer with a large machine park and great experience, who designed and built his own TRA-9 arm, awarded by us and the German magazine HIFISTATEMENT.net with the STATEMENT statuette in High Fidelity (more HERE). The latter group would be smaller producers and it would be the majority. They had to look for other arms for their products, which benefited smaller producers of tonearms. Most of them simply "transplanted" new arms into existing turntables, but some - such as Muarah - have redesigned their turntables with new arms in mind.

| Mørch DP-6 MKII

In this case, the Polish manufacturer decided to use products made by a Danish producer, MØRCH. In its top turntable, the Polish company used its latest design, the DP-6 MkII model. This is an improved version of the well-known DP-6 model, equipped with bearings used so far only in the flagship DP-8 model. This means that the attenuation in the horizontal plane is the same in both models, ie significantly greater than in the Mk I. It reduces the amplitude of the basic resonance in the horizontal plane.

Like all Mørch arms, the DP-6 Mk II is made with watchmaker’s precision and has been luxuriously finished. The tested model is finished with chrome, but two other versions are also available: gold-plated and black anodized. All arms can use either 9" or 12" arm tubes in two weight versions: the red one - lighter for high compliance cartridges and the blue, heavier one for low compliance cartridges.

| A few simple words…

JACEK SIWIŃSKI, WIESŁAW ZAWADA
Owners, designers

▬ Gentlemen WIESŁAW ZAWADA (sitting) and JACEK SIWIŃSKI right after assembling the turntable in

OUR COMPANY WAS FOUNDED IN 2015. We are engineers, graduates of the Warsaw University of Technology. From the very beginning, our company's mission consisted of three postulates:

1. We design devices for the highest quality sound reproduction.
2. The appearance of our devices matters as much as the sound quality.
3. We focus on analog technology - the primary source of sound for us is a vinyl record.

In business terms we are followers of the, promoted, among others, by prof. Jerzy Hausner, Economy of Values (Open Eye Economy), which assumes that it is the customer and the quality of services and products provided to him that should be most important for an entrepreneur. Adequate profit is supposed to be a consequence of this approach, not an end in itself. Therefore, the production is located in Poland and our company is not looking for savings in production costs at all costs. The ecological aspect is also important to us. Manufactured devices are designed to be long-lasting and can be easily serviced in the event of a fault.

▬ Mr Zawada presents a new platter

The company's offer includes three models of turntables, a tube amplifier, a phono stage and accessories. Among the latter, a unique product is the speed controller working with an "intelligent" InteliClamp. Our turntables previously featured tonearms from the Japanese company Jelco. After they end production in 2020, we established cooperation with the Danish manufacturer Henrik Mørch and the Austrian company Pro-Ject. ♦

▌ MT-1 EVO

MT-1 EVO OR EVOLUTION, which we would like to talk about this time, is a result of changes introduced to the previous flagship model - MT-1. It is a suspended turntable, with a large platter mass, with a belt drive. Its construction was mainly made of acrylic - a feature characteristic of this company, but steel was also used.

Both the base and the suspended sub-chassis, as well as the platter in the MT-1 EVO are "sandwich" designs. The chassis stands on three solid, chrome spikes that can be adjusted using convenient knobs from the top, thus adjusting the level. The subchassis is suspended flexibly on three conical springs. All MT-1 series turntables also have a double leveling system - the subchassis is positioned separately in relation to the chassis (tonearm mass compensation), and the whole turntable separately in relation to the ground it is placed on - this is a solution inherited from the tested turntable's predecessor, the MT-1.

DECOUPLING Spring decoupling has been known in audio almost since the creation of the first turntable, but it was only introduced to high-end systems by EDGAR VILLCHUR in the Acoustic Research turntable from 1961. This type of decoupling is a great solution, but it has some disadvantages - the springs are constantly working, so the platter and the arm are never stationary. To counteract this, Muarah used an interesting solution, to some extent already "proven" by another manufacturer, the ORACLE AUDIO company, in the Delphy deck.

In the MT-1 EVO, the vibrations of the sub-chassis are suppressed thanks to the use of a large, visible underneath the turntable, oil vibration damper inspired by solutions known from the automotive world, as we read in the company materials. Immersed in oil, the damper's internal ballast is fixed in one line with the turntable's main bearing. The bearing, in turn, is magnetically decoupled, which reduces friction to a minimum and ensures almost infinite trouble-free operation of the turntable.

The solution of a platter's magnetic decoupling is periodically re-approached by various companies, most recently by Pro-Ject and Clearaudio, to minimize vibrations transmitted from the base to the platter axis and, consequently, to the cartridge needle, also to prevent premature "wear" of a bed or a mandrel in the bearing. It makes sense, the more so as the platter of the tested turntable is quite heavy - its weight is 9 kg.

The evolution of the MT-1 EVO means a lot of modifications. The most differences can be found in the sphere that is difficult to assess with the naked eye - it is about the selection of materials for some components. The key element for the operation of the entire mechanism, i.e. the subchassis was made not of aluminum but of acrylic this time. This change, as we read in the company materials, helped to further improve the damping of vibrations, extinguish harmful resonances and improve the sonic properties of the turntable.

PLATTER The platter was designed for this particular turntable, and while the MT-1 version features one made of solid aluminum, the EVO version uses a hybrid structure, consisting of an acrylic body and a steel inner ring, the task of the latter is to increase inertia and improve rotation speed stability.

Both parts are connected in a flexible way, which resembles structures known from the automotive world - e.g. harmonic balancer a dual mass pulley with a vibration damper. Once assembled, the platter is then precisely balanced to obtain the best possible stability and to reduce loads on the main turntable bearing. As you can see, the turntable designers once again reveal their connections with the automotive world and their fascination with motorsport.

Another modification worth describing and most visible to the naked eye is the structure integrated with the platter one puts a record on. It consists of optimally selected in terms of dimensions discs made of natural suede and a rosette-shaped form made of acid-resistant steel, that is magnetically neutral. In addition to its intriguing appearance, it is a practical solution, as it provides better stabilization of a record on the platter after placing a clamp on it. Interestingly, a similar support for the platter - I mean in terms of the shape and distribution - is offered by the expensive TU-800M turntable mats from Harmonix.

MOTOR Muarah uses high class low-torque AC synchronous motors in its turntables. This is another, difficult to see with the naked eye, but significant change introduced in the EVO model. The speed of the motor in the new model is 500 RPM (number of revolutions per minute) - unlike the other models that use 600 RPM versions.

To achieve this, a drive pulley with a slightly larger diameter than before was used. This change translates - I quote the manufacturer - into "even lower vibrations of the entire drive, which, combined with all the vibration damping techniques used, means that no vibrations influence the sound one can hear from the speakers, i.e. there is no hum. The motors are made by the French company CRUOZET. An interesting fact - this year the company celebrates its 100th anniversary. Fortunately, it also supplies the medical industry with motors, so there are no worries about a story of Jelco repeating itself.

A technical curiosity is the material from which the pulley is made - this material is Teflon with an admixture of graphite. The point is that the use of relatively low torque motors (to keep vibrations as low as possible) in combination with such heavy discs can cause starting problems - quite strong vibrations and accelerated motor wear, as well as accelerated drive belt wear. Teflon with an admixture of graphite is a material with the lowest coefficient of friction among solids, so when the motor starts, the belt may slightly slip on the pulley, which ensures a smooth start and acceleration of the platter.

The system can be powered directly from the 240 VAC mains, you can also go a step further and buy a PSC power supply with a dedicated InteliClamp, equipped with an electronic module with a gyro sensor (Muarah's patented solution for measuring and controlling rotation). I believe that this upgrade is necessary, not just optional ...

OPERATION The turntable requires a bit more work to set up than the non-decoupled designs. The first step is to level the base. We do it with the help of adjustable feet - the two front ones feature nuts from the top. After putting the plate on and mounting the arm, we need to level the subchassis. This is done by means of screws attached from the bottom, under each of the springs. The company supplies a special little screwdriver to help with the task.

Switching the motor on and off is very conveniently - executed by touch, you just need to touch the base from the bottom, right under the logo. Speaking of the logo, let me explain that although audiophiles most often associate it with the logo of the American company McIntosh, the Muarah company points to other inspirations:

Associating the illuminated green MUARAH logo and red LED with the McIntosh company is quite a stretch. If we are to look for the similarity of our logotype to other brands, we recommend the automotive direction, in particular the logo of the iconic Maserati car - Merak ...

I assume you will be using the PSC power supply. The rotational speed is changed with a small switch located on its bottom. On the display we can read a current speed, and a small diode placed next to this indication will inform us that the motor has entered its Silent Mode. It consists in the fact that after accelerating the platter to proper speed, the voltage for the motor is reduced by 30%, which significantly reduces its vibrations, and thus noise. This power supply can now be ordered for Transrotor (3 motor control), VPI (10W version) and others.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED The Muarah MT-1 EVO turntable was placed on the top shelf of the Finite Elemente Master Reference Pagode Edition rack. I placed its driver on the middle shelf next to the phono stage. As always, I used the RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC preamplifier. The signal from the cartridge was carried by the cable supplied with the Mørch DP-6 Mk II arm. For the test, I used the SHELTER HARMONY cartridge with a load of 200 Ω and a VTF of 2 g. The Polish design was compared to the Transrotor TMD Alto turntable with the SME M2 tonearm.

Let me start, however, with a few impressions from the listening session with one of the creators of the turntable, Mr. Wiesław Zawada.

Records used for the test | a selection

⸜ ARCHIE SHEPP, On Green Dolphin Street, Denon YX-7524-ND, „Denon PCM | Jazz in New York”, Japan LP (1978)
⸜ CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER, Paralells, Deutsche Grammophon 4839661, 2 x 45 RPM, 180 g LP (2021)
⸜ JOE HENDERSON, The State Of The Tenor • Live At The Village Vanguard • Volume 2, Blue Note/Blue Note BT85126, „Blue Note Poet Series”, 180 g LP (1987/2019)
⸜ JOHN COLTRANE QUARTET, Ballads, Impulse!/Speakers Corner Records ‎AS-32, 180 g LP (1962/2003)
⸜ JOSCHO STEPHAN TRIO, Paris-Berlin, Berliner Meister Schallplatten BMS 1817 V, „Limited Edition | No. 53”, 180 g Direct-To-Disc LP (2018); ⸜ OLEŚ BROTHERS & CHRISTOPHER DELL, Komeda Ahead, Universal Music Polska 775 894 4, TEST PRESS, 2 x 180 g LP (2019)
⸜ PORTICO QUARTET/HANIA RANI, Portico Quartet/Hania Rani, Gondwana Records GOND121003, „Limited Edition of 500”, Maxi-LP, ClearWax, 180 g LP (2021)
⸜ THE BASSFACE SWING TRIO, The Bassface Swing Trio plays Gershwin, Stockfisch SFR 357.8045.1, „Direct-To-Disc”, 180 g LP + SACD/CD (2007),

▌ WIESŁAW ZAWADA

When testing your own design, it is difficult to put aside our ambitions and expectations, to just stand aside and observe objectively. It is even more difficult when this turntable of ours works in combination with other devices that we do not know, and that was just the case.

Assessing what I heard as a whole, I can say that I remember most the power, range and rhythmic perfection of bass tones. The power of the bass was so impressive that I began to envy my host for his speakers, amplifier, power supply potential, obviously great relationship with his electric power supplier and even better ones with neighbors who allow his to play music in such manner. It was great to have that bass all over my body, feel it pulsating and spontaneously surrender to it.

The Dead Can Dance album (Into The Labyrynth - ed.) sounded exceptionally beautiful and at the same time scary. I do not know how it happened that I did not write down its title and did not note it in my memory. Clearly I had to be overwhelmed and I was probably mesmerized by the bass I'm talking about. I only remember that in my head I had the words of our brand’s slogan: "Muarah - the power of sound". I even thought that here I am now faced with this power. The nuances, subtleties, details receded into the background when the rhythm and energy of the music overwhelmed me so much.

I'm not saying there was something missing, the music seemed complete, just I didn't feel the need to go into details when the rhythm was ruling my emotions. These are my impressions from listening to the system with the MT-1 EVO turntable, that’s what I remembered the most. I cannot estimate an input of the turntable separately from the cartridge, amplifier and speakers. I suspect that the speakers had the decisive voice here, they dotted the "i", but I am glad that the turntable worked so well in this wonderful system and that it did its job admirably. WZ

▌ WOJCIECH PACUŁA

It is difficult to argue with the fact that the materials used in the design of any turntable have their "own sound". It’s a fact, there is no need to waste time discussing it. Same goes for selected design assumptions - you do not need to be very well-informed to notice the differences between mass-loaders and light turntables, suspended and non-suspended ones. The point is not that this character should not exist, because it is impossible, but that one should use these characteristic qualities in the best possible way and transform them into something positive.

In the case of the reviewed Muarah turntable, the fact that it was made mainly of acrylic is audible, as is the fact that it is a suspended turntable. So it sounds significantly different from the Transtoror AMD Alto turntable to which it was compared. And that’s great - it gives music lovers a choice. It is not that some solutions are by definition better than others - what counts is what the designers have done with them and how the music we like should sound like for us.

The MT-1 EVO is a design with incredible depth of sound. I heard it during several informal listening sessions, when I was just familiarizing myself with it, experimenting with the cartridge loading, and investigating the impact of using the PSC controller on the sound. But it only took a few minutes of the Ballads, a JOHN COLTRANE QUARTET album in the 2003 version, released by the Speakers Corner label, for it to come out in an incredibly powerful way.

The turntable sounds so deep that when the Coltrane every now and then blows the saxophone in the low registers, when listened to on the Harbeth speakers it reached so low, in such a fleshy way, as I heard with much more expensive Transrotor and TechDAS designs. It was not a hum or thickening of the sound, but a three-dimensional, vivid "extension" of an instrument that sounded more natural than it sometimes does live. This is not a contradiction, I did not get confused - a well-played instrument on a recording may sound better than during a concert.

The second feature of the MT-1 EVO is the incredible stereo effect. We get a very wide panorama with it, with an extremely deep "there", with the sounds behind the speakers. Anyway, the elements out-of-the-phase are presented exceptionally well by this design, which was clearly heard in extra-musical elements, like the pre-echo on the Ballads, coming from the copying of the "master" tape, coming from the left side, next to me, or the studio space where Hendrik Pauler cut a direct-to-disc titled The Bassface Swing Trio plays Gershwin.

The latter album has quite a long reverb on the instruments, which contrasts well with the relatively close production of the earlier album, recorded by Rudy Van Gelder. The double bass on the album released by Stockfisch Records was large, dense and massive, confirming what I heard before, namely that the tested turntable has a tonal balance set quite low and that it delivers a strong, dense bass.

Low tones are shown by the MT-1 EVO in a softer way than by the Transtoror, or - if I remember correctly - the TechDAS AIR FORCE III PREMIUM. The difference is considerable, these are not details, although I would not say that what the Polish construction presents is clearly worse - it is simply different. This was confirmed by the way in which the double bass was played from another direct-to-disc album, the JOSCHO STEPHAN TRIO album, recorded at Emil Berliner Studios, entitled Paris-Berlin.

The sound of this instrument is more distinct and stronger than on the Bassface record, and the perspective of the instruments is closer. The photo on the back cover shows that the microphones for the double bass were set in the XY (intense) configuration, in a vertical arrangement, i.e. a configuration promoting close sound. Which the Polish turntable showed right away. Interestingly, the guitars had a smooth, silky sound, but they were also open in the treble area, and the bass density did not bother them in any way.

The MT-1 EVO showed the differences between all the above-mentioned recordings beautifully. So I got a dark, low Coltrane sound, but with strong cymbals, a slightly distanced recording with the Bassface Trio album and a direct, tangible sound with JOSCHO STEPHAN TRIO, that felt like it was almost at my fingertips. The Polish turntable shows changes in tonality, dynamics and space really well. Appreciating this property, however, it was more interesting for me that despite such a clear differentiation, all this had a common basis - and that basis was silkiness and internal softness.

Let me explain what I mean by that. Both the Transtoror and TechDAS turntables and - to stay in this circle - ACOUSTICS SIGNATURE and KUZMA, present the sound in a quick and precise way. They are all so refined that the sound doesn’t become dry, I would even say that it is extremely saturated, and yet a moment spent with a turntable such as the Muarah and we know that it is a completely different world. The MT-1 EVO shows everything in a silky and smooth way. Its resolution is excellent, yet the details are not over-exposed here but clear. And yet what I was talking about, i.e. the ability to differentiate, is very good.

I waited with great interest to listen to a group of three albums with digitally recorded material, albeit in different formats: ARCHIE SHEPP On Green Dolphin Street, recorded using the Denon DN-034R tape recorder (14 bits / 47, 25 kHz), JOE HENDERSON, The State Of The Tenor • Live At The Village Vanguard • Volume 2, on a Mitsubishi X-86 reel-to-reel tape recorder (16 bit, 48 kHz) and OLEŚ BROTHERS & CHRISTOPHER DELL Komeda Ahead, with the material recorded on the Pro Tools workstation (24 bit, 96kHz).

| Our albums

⸜ ARCHIE SHEPP On Green Dolphin Street

Denon YX-7524-ND | „Denon PCM Jazz in New York”
LP | 1978

ON GREEN DOLPHIN STREET WAS RECORDED by the saxophonist ARCHIE SHEPP for the Japanese label Nippon Columbia (Denon) in 1977. The uniqueness of this recording was that a Denon DN-034R digital tape recorder was used for it. It belonged to the second generation of this type of devices, it offered up to eight recording tracks, but its basic assumptions were the same as for the first recorder of this type, from 1971 (DN-023R). It was a reel-to-reel tape recorder using video transport mechanism, with PCM coding with 14-bit resolution and a sampling frequency of 47.25 kHz. It was then the most modern recording system in the world.

As we read in the essay accompanying the release, the material for this album was rehearsed during the previous week during concerts at Village Vanguard. The session lasted only six and a half hours, with several takes of the tracks recorded, with The Scene Is Clean being the first one. Shepp, wearing a Pierre Cardine three-piece suit and Yves Saint Laurent sunglasses (shown on the cover), was accompanied by WALTER BISHOP Jr. on piano, SAM JONES on double bass and JOE CHAMBERS on drums..


The sound of this album is surprisingly dynamic, open and fluid. You can hear a slight thickening of details, the decays are not as clean as in the best recordings. And yet it is highly enjoyable because it is great music and fantastic sound. Today's recordings, made in 24-bit resolution, with a sampling frequency of 96 kHz and higher, rarely come close to what was achieved on the evening of November 28, 1977 at Sound Ideas Studios in New York. ♦

I HAVE TO SAY, THAT THE SHEPP records sounded fantastic! Recorded in 1977 as a multi-track (8 tracks) on a second-generation digital tape recorder, it shows what digital recording could sound like if the development of this technique was linear and not meandering, looking for a balance between sound quality, convenience and cost. It's only 14 bits, but the sound of this album is dynamic, open and simply very good. Its Achilles' heel is a lesser palpability than in previously listened albums and not fully developed high tones; also the bass does not extend as low as before.

I heard a much better bass on the Joe Henderson’s The State Of The Tenor .... The record was compiled from "live" recordings made at The Village Vanguard by David Baker, similarly to direct-to-disc recording, ie directly onto stereo tape. Its sound is lower than the previous one, the bass is denser and better defined, and the cymbals have a wider spectrum of colors. But also it's not as ravishing sound as from Denon! I do not know how it is possible, it is a technique that is about ten years newer, but I am telling you how it is.

And now - the Muarah turntable showed it without any problems, without, however, underlining these differences. Similarly to the sound of the Komeda Ahead, unfortunately sounding the worst of the three. It is great, beautifully played music with sound, which actually has everything we would like it to have. There is both top and bottom, there is dynamics and there is also space. However, all of this is smaller, there is less of everything than on the previous albums, even though I played this title from Test Press records.

The Muarah MT-1 EVO, however, has a property that does not allow these differences to be over-exaggerated. It offers a smooth, almost gentle sound. The dynamics in the macro scale is excellent, although in the micro it is rather calmed down and in this respect masqueraders and non-decoupled turntables are better. This design presents us with a large, expansive image, regardless of whether it is the intimate playing of the Coltrane quartet or electronics from the latest, limited to 500 copies edition of the Portico Quartet/Hania Rani maxi-single released on transparent vinyl.

▌ SUMMARY

The tested turntable introduces us to a different world. It is a world full of colors and soft, oval chords. Details and subtleties are presented in the background, even though the the overall differentiation is above average. The bass extends very low and has a large volume, but it is also a bass without a clear impact and attack, slightly rounded. And yet it is a quite taut bass.

The Polish turntable incredibly easily creates large scale sound sets, which can be heard right now, when I am writing these words - on the recordings from the CHRISTIAN LÖFFLER’s Paralells on two 45 RPM discs released by Deutsche Grammophon, a gift from my girls for the Boy's Day, with sound unfolding in all axes, going sideways, behind me, and with the elements sampled from shellac 78 RPM records shown far into the stage, on the listening axis.

MT-1 EVO is not the answer to all problems, as these can also be approached differently. However, if you value a relaxed music presentation, if the most important for you are the colors and spacing, and if you are willing to sacrifice attack and slam in their name, it will be one of the best ways to make even the wildest dreams, of course related to music, come true - and at a more than competitive price.

▌ DESIGN

MUARAH MT-1 EVO IS A SUSPENDED TURNTABLE - there are three lossy elements - adjustable springs. The base, sub-chassis and part of the platter are made of black acrylic. A steel element is attached to the platter from the inside, which gives it mass and acts as a flywheel. From the top, the platter is covered with a metal element with suede pads a record rests on.

The motor is placed on the sub-chassis, also the tonearm is mounted to it - the synchronous motor was purchased from one of the French companies. It has a relatively low torque, which makes this design similar to Pear Audio turntables. The point is that as little vibrations as possible are transferred from the motor to the platter. The torque is transferred via a single rubber belt with a circular cross section.

The disadvantage of suspended systems is that they are never at rest, but always vibrate. Muarah designers used a large container with oil with a floater immersed in it, which inhibits the movement, mainly in the vertical plane. The container is hermetically sealed with a lossy element (membrane), so the sub-chassis can move freely and the oil does not spill out.

The inverted main bearing (i.e. with a support on top of the bearing roller) is made of aluminum and steel. The shaft runs inside a bronze bushing, and between the axle and the bed there is a steel ball based on a Teflon insert placed in the center of the shaft. The pressure on it is relatively low, despite the large weight of the platter, because two parts of the bearing are repelled by magnets. This significantly extends the life of the bearing and reduces noise. The bearing is made in-house by the Muarah company.

One turns on the rotation by touch, tapping the bottom edge of the base, under the company’s green illuminated logo. The rotation speed is changed manually, unless we buy a PSC speed controller. And to tell you the truth, I cannot imagine any other scenario. With the controller, you can change the speed with buttons in the controller.

The MT-1 EVO turntable is a nice, aesthetic turntable with some interesting solutions. It will decorate any interior and any audio system. ■