ON TEST
20 AustralianHi-Fi ˹˹˹ƖŘˁʊǒǔǞƖƋɁȧ
S
hutupandtakemymoney!
That’swhatI wasthinkingthe
momentI sawthepromotional
videooftheMag-LevAudio
ML1turntable.Why?Because
itsplatterwasspinninginmid-
air,levitatedseveralcentimetres
abovetheplinth,lookingforalltheworld
likeanalienspacecraftcomingintoland...
exceptthatit wasn’tlanding,it washover-
inginmidair,withanetherealorangeglow
emanatingbeneathit.Wow!
Thepromotionalcopyaccompanyingthe
videomadeit clearthatthiswasnoYouTube
trick.Mag-LevAudio,a companyI’dnever
previouslyheardof,basedinSlovenia—a
countryaboutwhoseexactlocationI was
somewhatvague—hadmanagedtobuilda
turntablewitha platterthatrotatesinmid-
air,sothere’snobearing,nodrivemotor,no
rubberbelt...noneoftheusualparaphernalia
associatedwithsupportingandturninga
platter.
Butit wasn’tthethoughtofthetechnical
advantagesofgettingridofthebearings,
drivemotors,andshaftsthatmademewant
tobuya Mag-LevAudioML1atfirstsight...
it wasthatthedesignconceptwasjustso
outrageousandthatthespinning,levitating
platterlookedjustsocool...whatself-respect-
ingvinylholicwouldn’twanttoownone?THEEQUIPMENT
Otherthanthefactthatit hasnobearing,no
drivebelt,noactualdrivemotororanyoftheusual paraphernalia associated with support-
ing and turning a platter, the Mag-Lev Audio
ML1 is a remarkably conventional turntable.
It’s about exactly the right size for a conven-
tional turntable, at a bit shorter than 480mm
wide, a bit narrower than 360mm deep and a
bit shorter than 186mm high.
The Mag-Lev Audio ML1 even has the two
conventional speeds—33.33rpm and 45rpm
(so not 78rpm then...)—and if you know
your tonearms, you will have already realised
that it has a totally conventional tonearm:
the Model 9cc from Pro-Ject (but not totally
conventional, about which more later on).
Unlike some companies, Mag-Lev has not
tried to hide the fact that it’s using a Pro-Ject
tonearm. It not only mentions this in all its
literature, including in the Owner’s Manual,
but also leaves the Pro-Ject branding on the
arm itself. All of this, along with the similar-
ity in the hyphenated names, caused me to
wonder whether Mag-Lev Audio’s factory in
Nova Gorica, Slovenia, was anywhere near a
Pro-Ject factory (which are located in Austria,
Czech Republic and Slovakia).
It transpires that although Slovenia shares
a border with Austria (and also with Italy,
Hungary and Croatia, just in case you’re as
geographically challenged as I am) all Pro-
Ject’s factories are more than 500km away, so
the similarity in the names is apparently just
co-incidental.
The Pro-Ject 9cc gets its model num-
ber from its effective length (9 inches, or
203mm) and its model letters from the factthat both the tonearm tube and the headshell
are made from composite carbon fibre. The
arm fitted to my review loaner sample of the
Mag-Lev ML1 came pre-fitted with an Orto-
fon OM10, a moving-magnet phono cartridge
that usually retails for around $99. The ML1
can otherwise optionally be fitted with an
Ortofon OM20, 30 or 40, or an Ortofon 2M
(Red, Blue or Black).
The unique design of the Mag-Lev Audio
ML1 means you cannot fit any cartridge you
like though, because it seems that due to the
powerful magnetic forces required in order to
levitate the platter, many phono cartridges
are not suitable. Mag-Lev Audio’s Owner’s
Manual (p34) says you can find a list of
recommended cartridges on its website, but
I couldn’t find any such list there. And since
you risk permanently damaging any cartridge
that is not suitable for use with the Mag-Lev
Audio ML1, I would recommend using only
cartridges that are specifically recommend-
ed—in writing!—by Mag-Lev Audio itself. So,
until a full list appears on the Mag-Lev Audio
website (at http://www.maglevaudio.com), your
choice of phono cartridges would seem to be
restricted to the Ortofon models mentioned
here. Other than cartridge design, there’s also
a question of cartridge weight.Shut up and take my
money! That’s what
I was thinking the
moment I saw the
promotional video of
the Mag-Lev Audio
ML1 turntable.
MAG-LEV AUDIO
ML1
TURNTABLE