s it turned out after checking, my first BRINKMANN review happened six years ago. At that time, the brand was known primarily for its turntables and turntable arms, phono preamplifiers and turntable accessories (if power supplies count as such), that were developed by Mr. HELMUT BRINKMANN. Several years have passed and thanks to Matthias Lück, a digital specialist who joined Brinkmann, the company's offer was expanded with an addition of the excellent Nyquist digital-to-analog converter (now sold in version II), which I had a great pleasure to review (see HERE).

Interestingly, also thanks to Matthias and his musical passion, some lucky visitors during the recent Audio Video Shows in Warsaw (and during several presentations at the distributor's headquarters) had a chance to listen to a copper matrixes of two discs, to which he (and Nyquist) contributed to significantly. I think that not only for me, the opportunity to listen to music from such a matrix was a unique experience. I have already mentioned several times that the "regular" vinyl editions sound great and they are definitely worth having in one’s collection (although there is really no chance to get the "Special 33" title that was limited to 500 copies).

| THE DRIVE

Brinkmann is an interesting case because although their range is not particularly big, one can find representatives of two types of drives - belt and direct drive. Usually manufacturers consider one of them superior and focus their efforts on it, trying to make the best turntables of given type they can. Helmut Brinkmann, however, approaches it differently, which, I think, results from his philosophy of creating the most perfect "sound illusion".

And this means that the means are not particularly important, the ultimate goal is and as we all know different ways can lead one to the goal. As everyone who has at least some experience knows perfectly well, there are no "the only right one" solutions in audio, only the goal is common, although even the latter may be defined differently depending on who you ask. We all have our own preferences, but it means is that some compromises are easier for us to accept than others. Because there are no perfect audio components or perfect sound - they just don't exist.

Belt drive | Six years ago, the star of my first meeting with the Brinkmann brand was an entry level turntable called Bardo. This turntable features a direct drive (DD). DD and belt drive are the two most popular, though not the only, solutions of turntable drives that have been competing for the attention of users for decades. Most top turntables, however, are those in which the drive or torque from the motor axis (or pulley placed on it) is transmitted directly (or indirectly) to the platter by means of some sort of a belt (sometimes several belts from one or several motors).

This solution provides better isolation from harmful vibrations from the motor that can be transmitted to the stylus, whose task is to read the information from the disc groove as precisely as possible. Disadvantages? The belts are made of flexible materials, whose properties degrade over time, which can affect the precision of the platter rotation speed, which is one of the key factors of achieving good performance. Of course, one can always replace the belt, but the point is in gradual degradation, having after some of operation a small, but still existing negative impact on the sound quality.

Direct drive | Some (read - mainly the fans of direct drive) point out a longer time needed for platter driven by belt to achieve proper speed, and in some extreme cases even the need to give the platter a push when the motor doesn’t have enough torque to start heavy platter’s rotation. Most direct drives accelerate the platter’s rotation faster, although Taurus does it gradually. The question is, whether these few seconds actually make a difference? You need to answer this question yourself when making your choice of a type of drive. My J. Sikora turntable, i.e. a belt-driven one, accelerates its very heavy platter instantly and stops it almost as quickly.

Taurus, for a change, needs a few seconds to achieve proper speed, and after one presses “stop” button it keeps spinning for a long time which by the way shows how good the main bearing is. Did it bother me in spite of what I am used to? Not at all. The real advantage of direct drive is the lack of a component that degrades over time (belt). The disadvantage (more or less real) is a direct contact of the motor with the platter, and thus indirectly with the stylus which may cause transmission of harmful vibrations between the two. As it turned out Taurus is a perfect example that DD drive can be implemented without an audible negative impact of this solution on the sound.

I admit that I have always, probably thanks to the first Unitra turntable bought almost from under the counter in the 1980s, I have been a fan of the belt drive. I’ve always associated DD with record players used by DJs at discos, in a word - certainly not with the high quality sound. It actually was Brinkmann Bardo, but also my own (after another Unitra, Thorens TD325 and Michell Gyro SE) TransFi turntable, that convinced me that the belt drive is not the only “right” way to transfer drive to platter. The are no single “right” ways to do things in audio.

Bardo was a classic DD type turntable, while my TransFi used a drive, which the designer calls rim-drive. It featured a free-standing motor with a pulley on the motor axis, which, using a clever lever, leaned towards the platter so that the pulley was in contact with platter’s edge (rim) transferring the torque directly. This solution, combined with a great tangential arm moving on the airbag of the same manufacturer, was able to easily compete with much more expensive turntable models from other manufacturers. It took my current J. Sikora Standard Max (costing about 10 times more) for me to replace TransFi in my system. But a sentiment, initiated by this machine and Bardo, for other than belt-driven record players, remained.

| TAURUS

So when Matthias during the Munich High End 2019 presented to me the latest Taurus model, I immediately asked for a chance to test it. The new model costs over twice as much as Bardo. It looks elegant, it is very well-made and beautifully finished, but still, due to its size, it looks quite modest, which only increased my curiosity.

I had another chance to listen to it during the Audio Video Show 2019 in Warsaw and during the presentation organized by the distributor, Soundclub, in their showroom. At the time we confirmed that at some point I would definitely get Taurus for test. All there was for me to do was to be patient and wait. When it finally happened, the distributor went a bit “crazy” on me (maybe to make up for a long wait :-)). It was partly my fault, because when asked whether I would be testing the turntable with my own cartridge, or if they needed to deliver it with one, counting on an interesting experience (i.e. listening to some new for me cartridge model) I told them to surprise me. And so they did.

The turntable arrived in a large solid, double cardboard box that, suspiciously, was accompanied by two more, quite large ones. The turntable itself is a compact, relatively small design. Due to the direct drive, there is no free-standing motor, which is not the case for most high-end turntables, so I actually even looked for it for a moment in the box... but of course couldn’t find it. The small base is shaped a bit like a water drop. There is a motor installed in the wide part of the base and a platter mounted on its axis. In the narrower part the base one find an arm-base, but it is possible to buy a second one that due to a clever mounting is easy to install in the wider part of the turntable base, which then becomes more symmetrical.

However, remembered that it costs quite a lot - 12,500 PLN - plus you need to decide whether you need it for a shorter arm (9, or 10 inches) or a longer, 12-inch one, because the bases differ slightly depending on arm’s length. The basic price of this turntable includes the drive, one tonearm base and the basic power supply. Tonearm (s) have to be purchased separately. I’ve mentioned that the distributor went a bit “crazy” on me, haven’t I. Well, he did install the best and most expensive Brinkmann 12.1 tonearm for this test. But that’s still not all.

„Add-ons” | There was a reason to install the top tonearm it is called Air Tight Opus 1, and this cartridge costs “only” 45 kPLN. And these two additional boxes I’ve mentioned? One contained a basic power supply, the other the top, tube one, costing an additional 13,000 PLN, called the RöNt II. Those who attended one of the Taurus presentations probably noticed it, but for those who have not seen this deck I mention one more element that distinguishes this design among hundreds available on the market.

One operates it, i.e. it starts and stops rotation, as well as selects rotation speed, using an elegant, wireless remote control. It’s a beautifully made, black, metal disc with three buttons on it. At the front of the turntable there is a remote control receiver, which additionally indicates the selected speed with the backlight color - green means 33 1/3 rotation per minute, and red means 45 r.p.m. And there is no option to manually operate these functions. The remote control is powered by a rechargeable battery, which should allow long operation. I’ve spent weeks with this turntable and never had to recharge the battery, but when it is necessary it can be charged via the mini USB connector. One more thing - in the box you will also find two small, round washers (one made of felt that other of leather - I guess an “eco-type” - you can use one under the remote control, while the other can be used when you need to put aside the record clamp. Both are made of metal so these washers will protect surfaces from scratches. And they look nice too.

| HOW WE LESTENED TO IT

During the test I used my GrandiNote Celio mkIV phonostage and additionally the „Phono-Enhancer” (Entzerrer) by Thöress, simply because it’s a remarkable component and I had to give a chance to Opus 1 to truly shine. And since the Brinkmann tonearm does not feature its own interconnect I decided to lend Jorma cables from distributor, that I’d known from previous tests.

For the most part of the test the reviewed turntable was accompanied by my reference system, i.e, Gran iNote Shinai integrated and MACH4 loudspeakers. Since it spent quite a while with me I also had a chance to listen to it with some other reviewed components, such as: Living Voice R25 Anniversary and Aida Acoustics Atylla loudspeakers, also with the fantastic Audio Reveal Second (tube SE), Supravox Vouvray and LampizatOr Metamorphosis (both hybrid designs) amplifiers.

And a small digression - this is not the first case when I get to the test a turntable equipped by distributor with a cartridge almost as expensive as the whole deck (sometimes it even includes a tonearm, as in the case of the VPI Prime Signature and Lyra Etna cartridge). I do not protest such an approach of distributors, I even encourage it, because it gives me a chance to get to know some cartridges I otherwise might not have had a chance to. And the Opus 1, I anticipate the facts, but I can’t help it, turned out to be one of the three absolutely best cartridges I've ever listened to in my system (next to Murasakino Sumile and Kondo IO-M - the latter combined with company's phonostage and matching transformer), while the aforementioned Lyra occupies the place right behind the podium. So it's hard for me not to take advantage of such opportunities. End of digression.

I started listening with the most basic configuration in this case, i.e. with the standard power supply and GrandiNote Celio mkIV phonostage. Having previous experience with Brinkmann power supplies, I realized that the tube one would introduce some improvement to the sound, but since it costs additional 13,000 PLN, so I thought that the basic version must be enough at least at first. And, to my surprise, somehow I didn't feel the need to look for ways to further improve the performance, even though I had it within my reach.

The absolutely remarkable Opus 1 was in part responsible, obviously. It offers a combination of incredible resolution, dynamics and power with smoothness, flow and musicality. In terms of the latter, I think - although without direct comparisons I can’t be 100% sure - it gives way to the Kondo cartridge, and the resolution and refinement of the treble are in turn Murasakino's (small) advantage, or at least that's how I remember it. But I listened to the other two on my turntable, the J. Sikora, and the differences I am talking about are small. Still, the very fact that the top class of this cartridge was so obvious proved the capabilities and class of the Taurus.

Perhaps, I don’t review as many turntables as other components, but still, I get to review some from time to time, and their appearance/size/weight often translate into sonic character and class of performance. Taurus was undoubtedly one of the smallest (but not the lightest) decks I've had in my system in recent years. In theory, we listen to music with our ears, but in fact the eyes also participate in the process of perceiving what we hear. Probably that is why Brinkmann did not cease to surprise me with a large, mature, full sound that lacked nothing, which somehow did not quite correlate with small dimensions my eyes could see.

It’s not a double- or triple decked, it’s not as huge as most competitors, there are no multiple free-standing motors, no split bases, the platter is maybe 1/3 in height of the one my J. Sikora sports, and yet the sound easily filled my whole room. And, as I have already mentioned, it kept surprising me time and time again. Whether I listened to electronic sounds from Dead Can Dance album, or thunderous orchestra from the Night at Bare Mountain by Mussogorsky, this small German bull ('taurus' = bull) flexed its muscles and played this music with incredible energy, momentum, and at the same time absolutely effortlessly.

While the presentation of spatial effects on DCD’s album did not impress me as much, the spectacle that the tested turntable rendered with The power of the orchestra was impressive as hell in terms of scale and momentum. I have mentioned this album several times in my texts, because it is not just that it contains amazing performance and was brilliantly recorded, produced and pressed, but also, when it is properly played, it simply takes the listener to the witches' sabbath, into the middle of the storm and gusty wind, and creates a convincing atmosphere of (almost) horror. The amount of information stored in the grooves is so huge that if you have a system that can read and convey them all in a proper way, you can listen to this albums many, many times and discover something new each time, because you can't really comprehend it all at once, or even after a few times listening to it.

And all this Taurus did flawlessly, and I sat “chained” to the armchair, absorbing the well-known recording and holding my breath so as not to lose a single note of this beautifully realistic, engaging performance. I’ve heard this album played in SUCH A CONVINCING WAY only a few times so far, most of them with my J.Sikora turntable as a source accompanied by the best components/systems that I hosted. Taurus with 12.1 tonearm and Air Tight Opus 1 not only squeezed every last drop of information from the groove, even the smallest details and subtleties, but also presented them in an extremely clean, expressive, yet orderly way.

Unable to forget this experience from the beginning of this test, I repeated it again with the tube power supply (and ultimately also with Thöress again). And although it did not seem possible to me, yet, partly due to an even darker background, even more stable rotation speed, and thus even better timing, the Night on Bare Mountain sounded even better, even more energetic, with even better control over every aspect of the sound. It was one of those absolutely unique experiences provided by the best components / audio system.

Around the same time, to support them in current hard times, I took advantage of the promotion organized by the native label Audio Cave, buying several vinyl records from them. Among these was, previously unknown to me, album of the Oleś brothers entitled Spirit of Nadir. Taurus started playback by clearly showing me that this is a pretty good, though not top, production. And after a while it took me on an incredibly moody trip to some desolate, but incredibly beautiful desert. As our readers probably already know perfectly well, the double bass is one of my favorite instruments. That's why I bought this album, and the Taurus capabilities fully allowed me to enjoy the richness and depth of the sound of this instrument, as well as Bartłomiej's drums.

With all the richness of sound, the ability to immediately indicate the quality of the played record, Brinkmann also once again proved how perfectly it is able to convey the mood of the recording, how electrifying, immersive spectacle it can create. It is clear that with all its technical perfection, meeting audiophile requirements, which we usually describe in dozens of terms, here all that is nothing more but just means to an end. And the end is to enable the user to experience the music at its fullest.

Maybe even better the tested turntable showed it with another of the purchased albums, the Overnight tales by Mateusz Gawęda Trio. Among those purchased this time, this recording’s quality was the lowest, that is, in audiophile categories we would call it "decent" (as it wasn’t bad at all). And yet, having discovered this fact, I easily forgot about being pulled into interesting new musical discovery.

Same happened bit later when, as sort of an experiment, I reached for the very old record of the Nocna Zmiana Bluesa band titled Nocny koncert, released ages ago by PolJazz. I haven't played this record for many years, so before placing it on the platter I took a closer look at its condition. It clearly indicated many years of listening to it using not so good cartridge. Despite all the scratches, I played the disc. And I listened to it from the very first till the very last note. Because Taurus indicated the aforementioned condition of the album, but this information was given in the background. In the front, so to speak, it did recreate a unique atmosphere of great fun that musicians and the large audience obviously had and was so well captured on tape. And it invited me for this live performance and I went for it totally forgetting about the technical side of this wore-off record.

And since the German turntable perfectly follows the tempo and rhythm of music, realistically, tangibly presents vocals, it can truly recreate the participation of the audience, including applause (which for me is one of the indicators of how good the tested device is) and it , as they say, simply “feels the blues”, so this time, despite the pops and cracks and the noise, and the non-audiophile (though surprisingly good) production, I once again had a great time!

Let's go back to my shopping spree and Audio Cave for a moment. Another album I’d known already from many auditions, but that somehow I had never purchased before, was the one by Chad Wackerman Dreams nightmares and improvisation. And Taurus started with congratulating me on a great purchase as it clearly pointed out that this was by far the best, even audiophile, recording. And then it took me into the world of percussion "nightmares, dreams and improvisations."

The already mentioned perfect PRAT, the ability to convey power and high energy of low tones, delivered with great control, definition and differentiation, which seem to be inherent features of this turntable, created conditions in which the master skills of Chad caused hair on the back of my neck to raise, and I felt shivers going up my spine too Especially when I turned the volume on the amplifier up, raising my neighbors heart beat rate (for a short time, of course, because in times when we all have to stay at home, irritating neighbors should be avoided even more than usual).

Brinkmann presented the same agility, tightness (the accurate one) in both range extremes, with fast response of drums’ membranes and cymbals, proper reverb and weighted sound of the latter, the elasticity of the former, in a word it did everything possible to make the percussion sound as realistic as it is possible inside a room.

An evaluation of a turntable could really happen (for me) without participation of the Rodrigo y Gabriela duo. Especially since it was already clear that in terms of dynamics and energy the Taurus was really not far behind my turntable, the J.Sikora. And as expected - sparks came from the guitars of the Mexican duo, waves of highly energetic sounds came flooding from speakers, but they were kept in check with an iron hand (hoof?) of the German bull. The timing was remarkably accurate, timbre and texture of the guitars seemed very natural, the transients were fast, attack nicely marked, and the reverb long and full. Let's add the above-average impression of the musicians' presence in my room, even though they were not pushed before the line connecting the speakers. All these qualities seamlessly came together to offer me yet another, unique musical spectacle. One I involuntarily (although voluntary too!) participated, in which I was fully engaged, because listening to THIS performance in the background was simply not an option.

Equally involving was Taurus’ rendering of the fantastic Flamenco puro live album by Paco Pena. It was not just about the guitars sounding insanely vivid, realistic, but Taurus was also able to recreate the dance performance recorded in the grooves of the disc in a breathtaking way. Flamenco does not only involve guitars and singing, but also dancing. I have mentioned this record more than once before, but I usually do it when not the music, which is (relatively easy to play) but the dancing is extremely convincing, and that was the case this time. The energy, power and speed of each stomp, as well as the dance floor’s energetic response that followed, meant that all I had to do was to close my eyes to "see" dancers raging around the stage much larger than my room,. I could even “see” swirling dust particles around them. A fantastic, very convincing rendition of incredible performance! Way to go Taurus!

| SUMMARY

Replacing my turntable, the J.Sikora Standard MAX with KV12 tonearm, never even crossed my mind - it simply meets all my expectations and sounds fantastic. It has only one disadvantage - it weighs 85 kg, so there is no way for me to move it around (which could come handy for some tests). Brinkmann Taurus, for change, is small, neat, great, although, for a turntable, an inconspicuous-looking machine. And it easy to as easily fall in love with its performance, looks and versatility, as with the J .Sikora.

It combines the features attributed to mass-loaders, i.e. dynamics, high energy, high resolution, excellent transient response, with sophistication, smoothness, coherence and fluidity of sound more often characterizing suspended turntables. It is able to effortlessly play great musical performances impressing listeners with the scale and spatiality of the sound. And, which is another remarkable feature of Brinkmann, one forgets this long list of advantages the moment music starts to play, because then only the music and emotions that it triggers in the listener count.

And, I believe, that if I wasn't the proud owner of the J. Sikora, Brinkmann Taurus would become a top contender on my private list of turntables that I would love to have in my system. Not because it is the best record player I know. There still some that are able to outperform it, even if the list is short. But the unusual combination of Taurus's physical and sonic features makes it a unique turntable, that does everything in terms of sound presentation, at least well. And even if some elements of the sound can be presented in an even better way, the record player that can do that either costs a lot more, or one needs to be ready to accommodate some huge and heavy best in one’s room, like the ones offered by Mr. Janusz Sikora, for example. More often than not, it will be both, huge/heavy and much more expensive at the same time.

This is not a cheap device, and in terms of the cost of 1 kg when compared to the competition, it probably won't be the the winner. But with the top class performance and outstanding musicality, it can easily compete with any turntable, regardless of price. It won’t come on top in all such duels, but will surprise you more than once standing its ground. The term “high-end” has devalued in recent years, because it’s used all the time, so at least I try not to abuse it. In this case, however, it is fully justified - Brinkmann Taurus is a fully-fledged high-end record player! Hats off to Mr. Helmut Brinkmann, as he created a small, beautiful "monster" ready to "devour" many larger, heavier, more complicated and more expensive competitors.

Brinkmann Taurus is a non-decoupled mass-loader featuring a small chassis made of 40 mm thick duralumin, and direct drive. The chassis has an elongated, curved shape reminiscent of a water drop and rests on three small metal feet. They are adjustable, but so small that taking care of leveling the surface one places the turntable on becomes even more critical than usually.

The manufacturer, as with all his devices, recommends placing the turntable on a granite slab, but I placed it on the Rogoz Audio SM040 anti-vibration platform made of plywood and MDF sandwich, veneered and featuring adjustable brass spikes, which I additionally supported with Franc Audio Accessories Ceramic Slim Feet. In the wider part of the turntable base there is a magnetic drive with motor custom made for Brinkmann in accordance with their specifications. The motor controller provides the so-called "soft start" or gradual acceleration of the platter to the desired speed, which is selected (among two available - 33 1/3 and 45 rpm) using a neat, aluminum, finished in black like the entire turntable, remote control. It’s a small disc with a diameter of approx. 10 cm.

On the front of the plinth there is a round “window” that hosts the remote control receiver. The green illumination indicates that 33 1/3 r.p.m. was selected, red one indicates 45 r.p.m. On the back edge of the base there are high quality RCA sockets, used to output signal from cartridge to a phono preamplifier. There are two small sockets for connecting the grounding cables. Usually only one of them is used, plugged into the socket next to the tonearm, and only one such cable is included in the set. However, if necessary, you can use the second one.

The aforementioned motor drives directly a heavy, 10 kg aluminum platter, which by factory fitted with a glass mat. An additional element is a metal screw-on record clamp. The arm base is factory fitted at the narrower end of the chassis. The manufacturer offers two types of these - for shorter and longer arms. You can buy a second base and use the Taurus with two tonearms. The manufacturer also offers an elegant, metal protractor that makes the setup proces easier and its results more precise.

The standard version of this turntable features s solid, external, transistor-based power supply. Optionally, it can be replaced, for an additional charge, with the top PS offered by Brinkmann - the RöNt II tube PS. Importantly, the power supplies are universal, i.e. they can be used with any model of this manufacturer's turntables.

It is small, but quite heavy, well-made and beautifully finished, as well as perfectly thought-out in terms of ease of installation, setup and use turntable. Highly recommended! ■