Revolver Turntable w/Linn Basic Arm - Excellence in its Simplicity

The genius of the Revolver was its careful, and arguably clever, use of highly affordable and readily available materials to give a sound that exceeded the sum of its parts. The basis of this deck is the combination of two sheets of MDF, mechanically decoupled from one another via two stiff neoprene foam rubber strips. These run tangentially to the record groove, in line with the cartridge's cantilever. 

The idea was impressive because it was simple and cheap to do, yet brought real sonic benefits. It was superior – in theory – to the Rega's one-piece painted MDF base, because it offered an additional degree of decoupling between the deck and the outside world. The smaller, upper part of the Revolver's plinth held the motor, main bearing, platter and tonearm, while the slightly larger lower section held the feet – the first barrier to unwanted vibrations travelling into a deck from the ground.

While most affordable, non-suspended subchassis turntables depended on pliant rubber feet to reduce these external vibrations, the Revolver's two-tier base offered an extra line of defence. Another nice touch was that the lower part of the plinth had lead weights attached to each of its rear corners. Said to act as 'harmonic balancers', these were claimed to further reduce any vibrations.

Another standout facet of the deck's design was the platter, which weighed just 1kg and was simply a disc cut from MDF. Most other manufacturers of decks at this price used either polymer or glass for the job, both with their own compromises. Even though the Revolver's platter didn't feel substantial, it was still more acoustically inert than many and also placed less load on the motor. Whether belt or direct-drive designs, heavy platters typically mean motors working harder, potentially putting more noise into the plinth and the platter they turn. A Saia AC synchronous motor was used for the Revolver, with speed change achieved by moving the belt up or down its stepped pulley. Reviews at the time applauded the fact that – unlike the Rega Planar 3 and others – one didn't need to remove the platter to change the speed. One advantage the Revolver had over its Rega rival was that it was a true separate motor-unit design. The Planar 3 was built for, and supplied with, Rega tonearms, and that was your lot. The Revolver, on the other hand, could be had with a wide variety of tonearms, the customer deciding which one and the dealer fitting it.

What a terrific TT, truly spectacular in its simplistic approach. Revolver got all the little things right and it shows in this deck's performance. This fine example has been thoroughly gone through in-house by our analog tech and its playing wonderfully. The Linn Basic arm is a winner so not going to talk up its laurels as there are too many to list. Pop on a terrific Audio Technica AT91 MM cart and your plug & play table is ready to go. 

Demos are encouraged here in Andover

Revolver Turntable w/Linn Basic arm and AT91 MM Cartridge: $379.00 plus sales tax and shipping when applicable