The Helix One Mk3 is engineered to deliver unparalleled performance in analogue playback and is the result of many years of research, development, collaboration and listening by internationally acclaimed analogue designer Mark Döhmann and his team.
When a stylus moves through the grooves of a record, it converts vibrational energy into an electric signal. The shape and cut of the grooves contain an immense amount of information and the objective of any quality analog music system is to interpret this information as accurately as possible. For that to happen the stylus needs to operate in an environment that is free of any vibrational energy & resonance that is not a result of its interaction with the grooves. However, in practice there is a lot of energy moving through a turntable system that the stylus picks up in addition to the vibrations associated with the grooves that it is designed to do. This unwanted energy can be heard as distortion, smear, added harmonics, channel imbalances and these types of sonic phenomena often obscure the micro details within the recording as well as add a coloration to the music.
The first step in designing a high quality turntable is to carefully measure where is this unwanted energy is coming from and how does it move through the system. At Döhmann Audio, we have spent a lot of time using sophisticated test equipment to measure the resonance profiles of common turntable designs because in order to improve the performance of a turntable, you must first have an accurate understanding of where the resonance is generated and how it behaves. Our research indicated that some resonance originated from the mechanical systems of the turntable (eg. motor, bearing, platter, etc), some from the environment (eg. building, floor, sound waves, etc) and some from the electrical systems (eg, power supplies, control circuitry, etc). Furthermore, the turntable also acts as a physical eco-system where resonance moves through the various parts and interacts with itself. We also made some ground-breaking discoveries about how the vinyl record itself interacts with these energies.
The Helix One Mk3 is engineered to deliver unparalleled performance in analogue playback and is the result of many years of research, development, collaboration and listening by internationally acclaimed analogue designer Mark Döhmann and his team.
When a stylus moves through the grooves of a record, it converts vibrational energy into an electric signal. The shape and cut of the grooves contain an immense amount of information and the objective of any quality analog music system is to interpret this information as accurately as possible. For that to happen the stylus needs to operate in an environment that is free of any vibrational energy & resonance that is not a result of its interaction with the grooves. However, in practice there is a lot of energy moving through a turntable system that the stylus picks up in addition to the vibrations associated with the grooves that it is designed to do. This unwanted energy can be heard as distortion, smear, added harmonics, channel imbalances and these types of sonic phenomena often obscure the micro details within the recording as well as add a coloration to the music.
The first step in designing a high quality turntable is to carefully measure where is this unwanted energy is coming from and how does it move through the system. At Döhmann Audio, we have spent a lot of time using sophisticated test equipment to measure the resonance profiles of common turntable designs because in order to improve the performance of a turntable, you must first have an accurate understanding of where the resonance is generated and how it behaves. Our research indicated that some resonance originated from the mechanical systems of the turntable (eg. motor, bearing, platter, etc), some from the environment (eg. building, floor, sound waves, etc) and some from the electrical systems (eg, power supplies, control circuitry, etc). Furthermore, the turntable also acts as a physical eco-system where resonance moves through the various parts and interacts with itself. We also made some ground-breaking discoveries about how the vinyl record itself interacts with these energies.
Operation:
Operated by two push buttons on the table top plate for speed selection/on/off.
Speed Control:
Speed is constantly calibrated over 130,000 times per second to deliver precise 33.33 or 45.15 rpm (factory default). Default factory set speeds are 33 RPM and 45 RPM.
Please note that 78 RPM and other custom speeds are available by request.
Simple user-adjustable speed control is accessible via two intuitive push buttons on the rear of the main chassis.
Drive System:
Fully integrated Swiss-manufactured high torque motor (de-coupled).
Dual-belt platter drive designed to reduce static electricity and vibrations.
Tonearm Facilities:
Two armboards to facilitate the mounting two tonearms up to 12” (305mm) simultaneously.
Armboards:
Comes with one Advanced Composite Armboard for the main tonearm on the right hand side and one standard solid aluminium armboard for the second tonearm facility on the left hand side. The armboards are removable and allow simple interchange and calibration.
Finishes:
Available in titanium or black finish. All Helix One Mk3 turntables have a carbon fibre top plate.
Power Options:
110-120 VAC, 50/60Hz 2A
220/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz 1A
Dimensions:
Dimensions without clamp or tonearm
600mm (W) x 480mm (D) x 250mm (H)
23.6 inches (W) x 18.9 inches (D) x 9.8 inches (H)
Weight:
Main Chassis: 54kg (119 pounds)
PowerBase: 22kg (49 pounds)
Total weight: 76 kg (168 pounds)
