Ben’s experience with the Gyrodec and GyroSE turntables
The Gyrodec and GyroSE turntables have been a favourite for many years. I’ve been selling and setting these beautiful turntables up for customers since the 1990s. They are extremely well built and look beautiful. I have installed a wide number of 9 inch arms on the Gyrodec turntables ranging in price from 500 dollar Rega arms to 3000 and 10,000 dollar Acoustic Signature arms and even some more expensive arms from AMG, Tri Planar, SME and Kuzma. When set-up correctly the Gyrodec and GyroSE out class most in their price range. The strengths include a very low noise floor and exceptional resolution and detail. The bass is detailed but not overstated. The separation of instruments and quiet spaces between them is sublime. Come in to our Adelaide showroom to have a listen.
History of the Gyrodec
The GyroDec turntable was first introduced in the early 1980s and employed a design that outperformed any other turntable at the time. Utilising a hanging pendulum-style sub-chassis with an isolated drive motor, the Gyrodec literally turned turntable design on its head and influenced the future of vinyl playback.
Although the modern GyroDec may look very similar to the original 1980s design, the current Gyrodec is far more sophisticated. Everything from the motor and power supply to the platter and main bearing has been redesigned and improved to ensure the performance and reliability of the turntable remains class-leading.
Specifications
Low contact area feet.
The solid aluminium feet of the turntable are shaped so the area in contact with the supporting surface is very small, this is done to minimise the transfer of vibrations from the supporting furniture into the turntable.
Three point spring suspension system.
Three suspension towers are fixed to the acrylic base to hold the suspension springs in place and provide height adjustment for the sub chassis.
Weighted pendulum style sub chassis.
Hanging on the three suspension springs, this provides a rigid dense platform to mount the main bearing, platter and tonearm assembly, ensuring there is no movement between them, while also acting as a ‘resonance / vibration sink’ drawing away unwanted vibrations from the sensitive elements of the turntable.
Inverted oil circulating main bearing.
Contrary to traditional designs, our main bearing has the point of rotation at the top of the assembly, not at the bottom. This orientation allows us to fully lubricate the inside of the entire bearing while the platter is turning. We achieve this by way of a modified Archimedean screw that we machine into the inside bore of the bearing. The oil is drawn from a reservoir at the base of the main bearing up to the thrust ball at the top, fully lubricating as it goes, it then returns to the reservoir via a waste hole drilled into the bearing spindle. Lubricating the precision parts of the main bearing in this way means that any potential for noise or vibration created by the rotation of the platter is avoided.
High density acrylic base.
This provides a rigid non resonant surface to fix the suspension system to.
Impedance-matched platter with solid brass weights.
The platter material was chosen for its vibration dampening characteristics and because sonically it is a very similar material to vinyl, so it has a very neutral sound characteristic. The brass weights are added to give the platter extra mass and subsequently more momentum when spinning. This greatly improves speed stability and helps keep wow and flutter to a minimum.
Free standing motor unit.
The motor unit used to drive the turntable is completely separate to the turntable, meaning it doesn’t touch the turntable in anyway. The only connection between the motor and the turntable is the drive belt that drives the platter. This stops any noise or vibrations created when the motor is running, getting through to the sensitive parts of the turntable.
Hinged lid.
The turntable comes with a hinged clear acrylic lid to protect the turntable from dust and damage. The hinges are made in two parts that allow the lid to be easily removed if required.
Record clamp.
Supplied with a standard record clamp, this helps flatten warped or uneven vinyl and reduce resonance within the vinyl disk.
Weight 14kg
Width 53cm
Depth 41cm
Height 19cm
Width (lid open) 53cm
Depth (lid open) 49cm
Height (lid open) 55cm
