Michell Gyro SE Turntable – Silver / Moth Tonearm

I remember way back to the mid-eighties seeing on a shelf of my local hi-fi dealer, a stunning silver and Perspex turntable and the Michell Gyro is still a head turner after all these years.. It is in very good condition with just a couple of tiny blemishes – see photographs and will be supplied in original factory packaging. It comes with an upgraded Moth tonearm, power supply unit and as always you will have the benefit of our three month warranty.
Michell Say….
The Gyro SE is a variation of the GyroDec design. Doing away with the full-size acrylic plinth and hinged lid of the GyroDec and replacing them with a single acrylic Spyder to support the turntable. This was done to reduce the overall size of the GyroDec and create a smaller more compact turntable.
Features:
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.
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.
Specifications:
Dimensions: 490 (W) x 375 (D) x 135 (H) mm.
Weight: 10 kg

For a review from Hi-Fi Choice magazine please click here

For a second opinion try American Hi-Fi journalist Michael Fremer writing for U.S. online site AnalogPlanet please click here