ACCUSTIC ARTS Audio GmbH
http://www.accusticarts.deMONO II
Handmade in Germany
stereophile.com n August2019 81HIFICTION THALES TTT-SLIM II/SIMPLICITY IIcartridges over old-style pickup heads—a group that surely
includes the vast majority of phonophiles—the Thales player,
and especially the Thales tonearm, absolutely must be given
serious consideration by anyone whose budget can stretch
this far. nConclusions
In the sense that I’m accustomed to thinking that the
ultimate in involving playback is the sole province of high-
torque idler-drive turntables and transcription-length
tonearms—and of phono setups that require hours of pains-
taking tonearm and pickup alignment—the combination
of TTT-Slim II turntable and Simplicity II tonearm was a
surprise, and a very pleasant one. While it never delivered
the sheer impact I continue to associate with old-style
low-compliance pickup heads, both stereo and mono, it
consistently played music in a way that captured and held
my attention and brought out most of the things I love
about my favorite records.
I admit coming away from this review thinking of the
Thales tonearm as the star of the show: Just as the above-
mentioned Sorane tonearms transformed my lovely old
Thorens TD 124 into a drive-meister of a player that all but
rivaled my Garrard 301’s ability to communicate music’s
sheer physicality, the Thales Simplicity II enhanced its abil-
ity to play lines with musical clarity and nearly hypnotic
momentum and flow: playback that was just as involving,
but in a slightly different way. And it must be said: The
Thales Simplicity II is nothing less than the most well-made
tonearm I’ve ever used.
While the Thales products aren’t cheap, they betray a lev-
el of craftsmanship that’s hard to find in any consumer prod-
uct—that and an engineering approach that’s as conservative
as it is original: What else can you say about a designer who,
unlike so many competitors, can make a turntable this good
without having to make it grotesquely, uselessly big?
Especially for the user who prefers standard-mountAnalog Sources Garrard 301 and Thorens TD 124 turn-
tables; EMT 997, Sorane ZA-12 tonearms; Ortofon SPU
Century and EMT TSD 15 pickup heads; EMT TSD 15 N
SPH cartridge.
Digital Sources Apple MacBook Air laptop computer run-
ning Roon v.1.5, Hegel Music Systems Mohican CD player,
Mytek Liberty D/A processor.
Preamplification Auditorium 23 Hommage T1 & T2,
Audio-Creative Mediator 40, and EMIA Phono step-up
transformers, Shindo Laboratory Monbrison (2017) pre-
amplifier.
Power Amplifiers Shindo Laboratory Haut-Brion and
Montille CV 391.
Loudspeakers Altec Flamenco, DeVore Fidelity Orangutan
O/93.
Cables Digital: AudioQuest Carbon (USB). Interconnect:
Audio Note AN-Vx, Luna Red, Shindo Laboratory. Speaker:
Auditorium 23, Luna Red. AC: manufacturers’ stock.
Accessories Box Furniture Company D3S rack (source &
amplification components), Audiodesksysteme Gläss Vinyl
Cleaner Pro.—Art DudleyASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT