It takes a bit of chutzpah to name a brand-new record player a Classic, but anyone who has met Music Halls founder, owner and highly outspoken spokesperson, Roy Hall, will already know that he was not only at the very front of the line when chutzpah was being handed out, but that he circled back for a second helping. We have been doing business with this company for many years our USB-1 is made there, he told SoundStages Tom Moon. The aural images of the instruments in the break acoustic guitar, synthesizer, electric bass, steel and synth drums, and, of course, Washingtons evocative sax (theres a lot going on) sounded nigh on perfect. Music Hall Classic top view of main components. The Classic takes you back to the days when the finest turntables had big wood bases and stout, silver tonearms. With the combination of strong sonic performance and desirable features, the Music Hall Classic turntable is a product of significant value that is hard to beat in its price range. New York, Some lead-out grooves are noisier than others, which makes for a longer lift time.. Someone sure had fun programming that sequence of events! And Music Hall even supplies a good-quality phono cable lead set, complete with a separate earth wire (a wire you may or may not need depending on how you connect the Classic to your system). Wow. Mind you, hes pretty much on the money when it comes to his latest creations name. Click here for more information aboutAustralian Hi-Fi, including links to buy individual digital editions and details on how best to subscribe. By Note that if you do this, the tonearm will not lift automatically another reason for the description of the turntable as being semi-automatic.. Based on the current popular trend, it is quite clear that vinyl is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. The phono cartridge is not only installed but also correctly aligned in the tonearm. Between the text and the diagrams, anyone with a modicum of patience should be able to set up this turntable in half an hour or less. According to Roy Hall, creating a musical turntable with an auto-lift/auto-stop feature is one of the main motivations behind this product. It also has a built-in phono stage (defeatable) and hence, it can be directly connected to the regular line-level input of any preamplifier or integrated amplifier. Music Hall instills a classic styling into its Classic turntable using the combination of a dark-walnut wood-veneer finish plinth and silver-finish platter/tonearm. As previously mentioned, the Classic turntable is equipped with a built-in phono-stage preamplifier, which amplifies the phono-level (~5 mV) to line-level (~1-2 V) signals, allowing vinyl playback by just connecting the turntable output to the line-level input connector found on most audio preamplifiers, integrated amplifiers, or receivers. A built-in speed control circuit ensures the accuracy of the classics 2 speeds. Last year I wrote about the $399 Music Hall MMF-1.5, praising the turntables excellent sound, fine finish, luxurious tonearm feel and comprehensive feature set. Thank you for signing up to What Hi-Fi?. Hall designed a turntable based on technology hed learned at Linn and from during his time distributing and repairing Revolver turntables, as well as technology developed by Pro-Ject, and the first Music Hall turntable arrived in the US shortly afterward. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. The bass was initially deceptive midbass notes were well controlled but not quite overdamped. The Planar 1 is not a slouch by itself, but it has a slightly noisier background and lacks clarity in its presentation when compared to the Classic. a classic. The Music Hall Classic turntable has the look and features that can rival the more expensive ones out there. Note that power switch does not switch off the 240V mains power, only the 12-volt DC power from the switch-mode power pack that plugs into your 240V wall socket. The Classic effortlessly drew me into its musical presentation and made me want to listen more. Classy-looking turntable with great build quality. If youve installed your own cartridge, the process is not much more difficult. Given the stock Classics performance I cant help but wonder how it would sound with a cartridge upgrade, but it is good enough out of the box that you can just buy it and enjoy it. Please refresh the page and try again. The cueing lever is one of the better Ive worked with: it lifts and lowers the arm slowly and, wonder of wonders, is more accurate than the cueing systems found on many other tables. He then acquired distribution rights for Creek Electronics, and Music Hall grew from there. I experimented and thought it sounded best with 1.5g of tracking force, not the 2g recommended in the manual. It also comes from Music Hall, and they have outdone themselves with the new Music Hall Classic. When its activated, the Classics platter doesnt start spinning until the tonearm is lifted off the armrest. The classic features adjustable vibration- damping feet. Digging a little deeper I found the correct press release, with a $599 price for the Classic. Lichtenegger has been building Musical Hall turntables in his Czech factory ever since, but and its a big 'but' Musical Hall Classic turntables are not being built by Pro-Ject, but in China, in a factory Hall discovered when he was looking to bring out a budget turntable. Phono stage Simaudio Moon 110 LP v2 Turntable Dual CS5000 with Sumiko Oyster Moonstone cartridge Preamplifier Linn Majik-1P Power amplifier NAD C 275BEE Speakers Acoustic Energy Radiance 3, Advent ASW-1200 subwoofer Interconnects Dual phono cable (captive), Music Hall, Straight Wire Speaker cables Acoustic Research (14-gauge) with Dayton Audio banana plugs Music Hall Audio Classic Turntable and Spirit Cartridge Price: $599 USD. Yongki considers himself as an aerospace engineer by day and an audio/home-theater enthusiast by night. The Classic seems to be very well constructed and well named in appearance, it reminds me of the Swiss-made Thorens and Lenco turntables of the 1960s and 70s. Second, the drive belt comes pre-wrapped around the sub-platter, complete with a tag that allows you to move it out over the drive pulley without having to touch the belt at all (you need to avoid touching turntable belts with your fingers, lest oils or sweat transfer to the rubber, to potentially cause slippage, but also deterioration of the belt itself). The sonic balance of the Classic across the frequency spectrum was particularly good as exhibited in playing a rather old Alternating Currents (1985) LP by the contemporary jazz group Spyro Gyra. With this feature, I did not need to rush to stop the turntable when it had finished playing a record side or when I needed to step out for a short while from my listening area. Like the MMF-1.5, photographs do not do it justice. Joels saloon-piano figure in the final verse came across exactly as it should, and the intro still sounds like something Aaron Copland might have composed. What We Are Listening To Summer 2022 Edition, A Collection of New Vinyl for the Audiophile: May 2022, Pro-Ject Classic EVO Turntable with Sumiko Amethyst Cartridge Review, Setting Up a Bryston BDA-3.14 Streaming DAC and Qobuz Streaming Service A How-to Series, Part 2, Setting Up an AURALiC ARIES G1 Streamer and Qobuz Streaming Service A How-to Series, Part 1, DCI-P3 Color What It Means in Todays Ultra HD World, AVR-Audio Video Reciever-Build Quality: Part V. Does Your Projector Display Accurate Color, and Why Is That Important? Of particular note is the Classics built-in phono stage. I do not have sufficient knowledge in this matter to confirm or deny Roys observation, but it is clear that the mechanism employed in the Classic turntable adheres to the principle of avoiding playback interference. I need the auto off feature because I am afraid of forgetting when the record is over and having it spin for hours and hours, ruining my needle. Theres a story about how 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, from Paul Simons Still Crazy After All These Years, came to sound the way it does (LP, Columbia PC 33540). They started to come out with designs that were different from the ones offered by Pro-Ject. None of the usual hunting to and fro, not even a gradual creep of the strobe bars. The Classic turntable is also equipped with an auto-lift/auto-stop mechanism. At a time when the Compact Disc was all the rage, Hall had picked up distribution rights for the UKs Revolver turntable, one of the premier budget decks of the 1980s. And so, especially, did the pacing: every note from every instrument combined to create a beautifully coherent ensemble performance. In my system, the Classic was the clear winner here. But even if you had to pay more, youd still be getting value for money, because the Music Hall Classic looks fantastic, performs very well and is built to last a lifetime. We prefer Nikolai Demidenkos version of Lgendes, but Leslie Howards version is very good too. At the end of the record side, the arm and stylus is then lifted away from the playing surface and the platter stops. I thoroughly enjoyed having the Classic in my system the end of the listening period for this review came all too soon. I like the fact that I could change the speed rapidly using its touch button selectors. If you then press the 45 button, platter speed will increase to 45 rpm. The Music Hall Classic has all the features that were most prized on the classic turntables of yesteryear, built by the likes of Garrard, Acoustic Research, BSR and others. A 2-speed belt driven turntable that comes complete with a tonearm, mounted music hall spirit cartridge, and built-in phono amp. The Spirit generates a medium-level output of 3.5mV, 2dB (1kHz at 5cm/sec), which should be enough for most phono preamps, integrated amplifiers, and receivers. The selection of the motor speed is done through two touch-sensitive buttons on the front-left top-side of the table. Alternating Currents, Spyro Gyra, (1985) Heinz was not happy with his US distributors performance and wanted to go into competition with himself to stir things up. From the top, the layout is simplicity itself. This feature is defeatable, so it does not hinder the use of an external phono preamplifier if preferred. The cross-section of the replaceable elliptical stylus measures 0.4 x 0.7 mil a good all-around configuration. Simple yet classy-looking two-speed belt-driven turntable. The recent death of singer-songwriter Bill Withers inspired me to pull out one of his best performances: Just the Two of Us, from Grover Washington Jr.s Winelight (LP, Elektra 6E-305). It is a well-built and attractive-looking turntable that is loaded with features such as touch-sensitive speed selector buttons, the auto-lift/auto-stop feature, and a built-in phono stage preamplifier. Touching either button when playing at that speed will cause the platter to stop. The build quality is very good, and, in my opinion, the turntable overall looks classy. pricing with the same product in other countries. There was a problem. Although his field of expertise is in aerospace control systems as exemplified by more than 80 technical articles in various aerospace-related journals and conferences, his passion is always in hi-fi audio reproduction. I was told by Music Hall VP Leland Leard that the Spirit is based on the Audio-Technica AT-95E but has minor, proprietary modifications. My combo of Sumiko Oyster Moonstone cartridge and Dual CS5000 turntable had a slightly brighter sound overall, especially the trumpet, as well as a bit more bass heft and possibly a hint more punch overall not worse, not better, merely different. Ive often mentioned how much I enjoy The Ballad of Billy the Kid, from Billy Joels Piano Man (LP, Columbia PC 32544). If we didnt hear any wow or flutter when playing back his famous Gymnopdie No. Theyre not push-buttons, but touch-sensitive piezo sensors. The sonic characteristics of the Classic carried a strong sense of musicality in its presentation. Limit: Less than 0.15% WTD at 3KHz RMS(CD-4005), Typical: More than 65dB (DIN-B) Music Hall Classic turntable front-top view. Understandably, one needs to get a good turntable as a starter for vinyl playback. But Music Hall makes assembly easy for you. In all, the Classic offered truly nuanced reproduction of low frequencies. With the rising popularity of vinyl, I am sure that a good number of non-vinyl audio enthusiasts consider joining the vinyl bandwagon, although the thought about the amount of investment needed to get to it can be overwhelming. The low mass of the Spirits cantilever certainly helps transient performance, allowing it to respond more quickly to sharp, high-level sounds. Its like a mini light-show. One thing I hadnt noticed before but did with the Classic was that the backing vocals had a real sense of physical separation from the band and superb blend among themselves. develop and bring these tables to market.. You, too, might enjoy it. For this review, I paired the Classic turntable with the Michi X3 integrated amplifier driving the Revel Ultima Studio speakers. With a few of my LPs, Auto Stop took a few extra seconds to kick in. Visit our corporate site (opens in new tab). The format quickly garnered popularity, but with the rise of digital audio technology, it experienced what seemed like a slow death during the 1990s and 2000s. Features such as an automatic stop and tonearm lift at the end of an LP (known then as semi-automatic' because the tonearm was simply lifted, and not moved back to its rest on the tonearm post) and a removable headshell. Then, while holding the VTF ring and counterweight together, turn both to 2, to set the VTF to 2gm. Thats over three months ago and I still enjoy listening to it every day.. This is unlike the Planar 1 where, to change speed, I need to lift the platter and adjust the rubber belt track. Sign up below to get the latest from What Hi-Fi?, plus exclusive special offers, direct to your inbox! I started my listening of the Classic turntable by using its line-level output, utilizing its built-in phono stage preamplifier. He rejoined Secrets not too long after he has returned to the US in 2012. Roy Hall (and therefore Music Hall) is renowned for his customer service, and for making sure that a) anyone who purchases one of his products doesnt have to fork out any more money in order to get that product up and running, and b) that his customers dont need a degree in turntable design to ensure they have the correct cartridge to best-suit the tonearm and that the cartridge is correctly aligned. But the Classic turntable performed equally well in playing 45s, as with the Ed Sheerans Divide LP (2017). After I played a few records I remembered a recent Music Hall press release with a $699 price quoted somewhere. A very satisfying performance by the Classic. A quick check using RPM Speed and Wow app installed on my Android phone revealed that the motor of the Classic was able to generate quite accurate and steady platter rotation. To put it in proper perspective, though, this was not a fair comparison as the digital part of my system used in this comparison, which consisted of PS Audio PerfectWave Transport and PerfectWave DAC II, cost many times more than the Classic. Now edited by What Hi-Fi? For the Classic, this assembling process, which involves installing the platter, inserting the headshell with a pre-mounted cartridge into the tonearm, adjusting the counterweight of the tonearm, and installing the dust cover onto the table, is a relatively straightforward undertaking and the steps are described well in its manual. Indeed it was founded in the USA by Roy Hall specifically to import and distribute Revolver turntables from the UK, after Hall parted ways with Linn of Scotland (though he still remains best mates with Linns founder Ivor Tiefenbrun, who hes known since childhood when they lived around the corner from each other, and grew up doing all the crazy things teenage boys are not to do). He was a member of the SECRETS Team in the early years, before moving to Singapore for a number of years. It all looks and feels much more expensive than it is. The DC power input jack of the turntable is located on the rear panel, together with the main power button, auto-stop on-off switch, single-ended audio output connectors, ground connector, and phono-stage on-off switch. The recommended VTF is 2.0gm, 0.5gm. The affordable MMF-1.5 and its Vessel Special variant from LP Gear quickly became my most recommended turntables, and readers purchasing them quickly became fans as well. Miamis CasaHiFi Becomes a Focal Powered By Naim Specialty Store. No wow, no flutter, not even a hint of it. First, the assembly instructions are first-rate. The bass solo, with incredibly quick fingerings, came across as very precise. Compact Disc (CD) or cassette tape (remember that?) is supported by its audience. In recent years, however, vinyl has experienced a strong revival. The auto lift works by sensing quiet in the groove, thus sensing the end of the record, Roy Hall told me. Joels acoustic piano wasnt quite as prominent as Ive heard from some other cartridge-turntable combos, but that meant it didnt overpower Joels voice, as sometimes happens. is the most likely starting point. Not only does the Classic turntable looks good, but it is also equipped with desirable features, such as electronic touch-sensitive speed control and auto-stop/auto-lift function. Australian Hi-Fi is one ofWhat Hi-Fi?s sister titles from Down Under and Australias longest-running and most successful hi-fi magazines, having been in continuous publication since 1969. The dustcover comes standard. Only the briefest, lightest touch is required. The dustcover is hinged, as it was for most turntables in the days of yore. Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, The drive belt is already mounted on the platter all you need do is position one of the large windows on the platter directly over the pulley, and place the belt over the pulley. I searched my inbox and found the press release with the $699 price, but for the Music Hall MMF-3.3 turntable. nothing. On the Music Hall Classic, the rather manic drum part sounded as intense and percussive as called for, with no slop and lots of body. Operational convenience aside, listening to vinyl through the Classic turntable was a delightful experience. The inclusion of the touch-sensitive buttons on the turntable is a nice touch and gives a modern feel to this classic equipment. The Music Hall Classic comes very well packaged, and kudos to Music Hall for providing excellent, clearly written setup instructions. Click here for more information aboutAustralian Hi-Fi, Musical Fidelity MX-Stream aims to bring high-quality music streaming to your digital hi-fi system, PS5 restock news: where to buy a PlayStation 5 console in 2022, HDMI ARC and HDMI eARC: everything you need to know, AirPods Pro 2: release date rumours, price news, design and leaks, Best speakers 2022: budget to premium stereo speakers, The best home entertainment buying advice, Issues delivered straight to your door or device. A quality music hall spirit cartridge is pre-mounted and precision-aligned. classicFeaturedMusic HallMusic Hall Classic Turntablereview 2021TurntableTurntable review. This feature makes it easy for people to jump on the vinyl bandwagon if they were not into vinyl before. The Simaudio was marginally smoother through the highs, but that was it. I have not mentioned the price yet because there is a story behind that as well. What happens is that the 33 LED starts flashing for eight seconds, after which both the 33 and 45 LEDs flash together for a further eight seconds, after which the tonearm lifts from the record surface and the LP stops rotating. But would it work right? I want something good, but for under $1,000. The auto-lift/auto-stop feature worked well most of the time, although on some rare occasions it took a while to detect that it had reached the end of the record. The Classic did a fine job of reproducing the audioband, from the bass through the highs, and inspired me to play other cuts on this album, all with similar results. Overall, the recording is a tour de force, with Simons wispy voice not greatly out front of the stellar backing band and singers. The string arrangement sounded as it must have been as intended to sound by all involved: of a piece, not individual instruments. Where the Heck are the Small A/V Receivers? The delicate hand cymbals came through crisply, and the drum line, of course, makes the song. One also needs to add a good phono-stage preamplifier, which is often not part of their existing system. I also used the Rega Planar 1 (P1) turntable (MSRP $475), which is equipped with a stock Carbon MM cartridge, for comparison during the review. Of course, when you look at some of its other features, such as the built-in RIAA phono preamplifier (switchable, in the event youd rather not use it) and the touch-sensitive electronic speed control, or the precision drive DC motor and the quality of the bearing, you realise that this is a turntable that could never have been built back in the 60s or 70s, such are its electronic and electromechanical sophistications. Essentially, if you flick this switch it transforms the turntable from being a semi-automatic one into being a completely manual deck. The Classic did an admirable job in conveying the separation among the various musical elements in the track. In his observation, the auto-lift/auto-stop mechanisms employed by many turntables interfere with the playing of the vinyl, and thus negatively affect their playback performance. Both turntable combos performed superbly; I could enjoy either over the long term. This can happen, for example, if the end of the grooves produces noise that might be confused with the presence of the musical signal. You may be intrigued about the slider switch at the rear of the Classic turntable that allows you to switch off one of its most desirable features so that the turntable does not switch itself off automatically once an LP has finished playing. To install the headshell/cartridge on the tonearm, turn the lock nut to screw on and firmly affix headshell to arm. There was some sibilance on some of Simons words, but perhaps the cartridge wasnt quite broken in when I started listening. Their sensitivity is exemplary, as well. There is a small LED indicator in the middle of each speed-selector button, which will illuminate blue when the turntable is operating at the selected speed. Set the antiskating control to 2. Connect the dustcovers hinges to the plinth, plug the power wart into the wall and the phono cable into your preamp, and youre ready to play records. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. The fact that it has an RIAA preamplifier built in means that your amplifier does not require the otherwise obligatory phono input you can plug the output from the Music Hall Classic into any conventional line-level input or even into a powered loudspeaker or soundbar if youd prefer.