Wilson Benesch made a reputation for itself as one of the
world's advance manufacturers of analog playback gear, first with its
innovative turntable, then with its unique—some said "impossible"—ACT
One tonearm (now replaced by the 2.0). Both make use of composite carbon-fiber
technology. (ACT stands for Advanced Composite Technology.) I am using this Turn table for all my Vinyl
Records.
Why use carbon-fiber laminate in place of metal? It's said
to absorb resonant energy instead of passing it on, or reflecting it back, to
other materials with which it comes into contact. According to W-B,
carbon-fiber composite is extremely stiff—stronger than titanium, with only
half the mass of aluminum. Of course, like any material, a carbon-fiber
laminate does have a resonant frequency—a relatively high one, which W-B says
can be more easily controlled with careful damping. The resonant frequency of
such a composite depends on the amount and orientation of the carbon-fiber
cloth material and the resins used to hold it in place.
The original W-B turntable that I am using uses a sub-chassis
of honeycombed Nomex to which a carbon-fiber skin is laminated—much like the
body of a racing car. That, combined with other sophisticated innovations,
brings its price up to about $3300 (not including arm). The original 'table has
garnered extremely positive reviews worldwide. Domestically, it is available
only in combination with the $2995 ACT 2 arm for $6295.
Now W-B enters the "mid-budget" arena with the
Circle turntable—a totally new, quite unique and compact design that sells for
$1995 fitted with a Rega RB300 arm, or $2995 with W-B's new ACT 0.5 arm (the
combination reviewed here).
HK Snob
