Why does everybody avoid Voyd?

the Well Tempered is a beauty and sounds absolutely fantastic - no LP12 type of colouration, much more detail, more rhythm, more tunes, more everything.

Voyd didn't really have the marketing to push the product properly. Peter Qvortrop certainly does, but he obviously appeals to niche product shops, since he offers tube electronics and doesn't really come into the mainstream therefore. The Valdi is now the TT2 I believe, and the Voyd itself is now the TT3 with all trhe usual upgradeability you could possibly want.

Helius had problems with production quality variation. Some of their arms suffered from bearing problems. Audio Note took them over and have applied their higher production standards to the arms, but in fact, I believe the sole survivor of the 3-arm range is the Cyalene. All the other arms in the Audio Note range are modifications of Rega's ubiquitous RB*00 series as far as I know.

For those not in the know, the Voyd is a 3-motor deck with a classic 3-point suspension a la LP12. The belt is driven by all 3 motors, driving an inner subsection of the platter which is made of Lexan (a plasticky polymer). The deck is physically quite large and can be imposing, though I find its looks to be classically understated myself (meaning I like it), having a curved wooden plinth available in a variety of wood cheecks such as rosewood or cherry. Piano lacquer is available at a considerable premium. It can be supplied with cutouts for SME or pretty much any arm you care to mention. I haven't tried it with an ARO.

I have been playing with a Voyd 0.5 reference for the last three weeks or so (someone I know who is considering selling it). This has the Reference bearing, but not the big motors or big power supply. I think it retails for around £3500 with no arm in this form (though I could be wrong). I am playing it with a Graham 1.0 unipivot tonearm and my Dynavector Te Kaitora. This is not the best match since my cartridge is a little heavy for the model 1.0, but it gives me a good idea of the effectiveness of the deck.

It's a fantastic deck, but not without its own set of compromises. It has great control, timing and speed, but quite a few LP12-like colourations. For example, it has a full bass with loads of swing to it if not the last word in resolution. In some ways I would liken it to an LP12's big brother, more communicative than an LP12 with greater round earth attributes such as soundstaging, depth and scale, and less of the 'Linn' signature sound, which is a bit too authoritative for me.

However, it isn't the quietest deck in the world. First of all, the small power supply has a tendency to hum a little (transformer hum). The deck itself hums somewhat when the platter is spinning. This is due to having three motors all going in the one plinth. I wouldn't say it's noisy, and it certainly doesn't cause a problem when music is playing. It's just noticeable when no music is on, that's all. I am playing it on my Quadraspire. I think a more solid stand would bring benefits. The Mana mini-table did not work with it, making the music sound disjointed on this occasion, though I may try again sometime.

In terms of performance, I find this Voyd to be way superior to my Gyrodec, and all the Orbe solutions I have heard so far. It communicates and has great presence. The sound quality is a little messy for the cost of record deck, but the enjoyment factor is very high. I have not tried it in a pure Naim system yet, though this may happen soon. Due to the suspension system and the manner of its musical presentation, I have a feeling that a Naim ARO would work very well in this deck, possibly better than the Graham I am using now, though this is undeniably a formidably fluid and emotive arm.

I have also been playing with a Well Tempered Reference turntable, which is in the same ballpark price. The Well Tempered has much more resolution, is much cleaner and has a much lower noise floor. It doesn't hum and it still communicates very well indeed. However, I still enjoy the bloom and involvement of the Voyd.

I have been trying to make up my mind between the two decks for about 3 weeks and this is proving to be a very difficult choice indeed. On the one hand the Well Tempered is fantastic in its clean punchy but not over dramatic approach. On the other hand the Voyd leans heavily on its communication abaility, its ability to miss the notes but play the music. What I really want (I guess) is a combination of both decks!

I hope this helps...

Regards,
Frank.

Arie

So refreshing to read about record players for a change.

Paul

Hey Dev, what cartridge have you got on that Well Tempered? The Dynavectors suit it beautifully. Yes, guys, I've got a Te Kaitora on each deck for a true comparison!

Regards,
Frank.

Yep, that's it. It looks quite understated in black and without anything near it in the picture to gauge by.

First of all, that's the Helius Cyalene arm on the deck. This arm is not the usual 9 inches long but 10 inches long. I believe (though I may be wrong) the end-side error is lessened with the extra length of the arm. Basically, it's a big arm!

That actually looks like an old photo since I believe the arm has changed shape slightly. In plan, the deck uses quite a large surface area - about as wide as the Gyrodec, only deeper. But it's not very high (maybe 6 inches?).

The Viger looks well over the top. That said, the Reference power supply of the TT3 is as big as the deck so it certainly makes its own statement. Here's a newer shot (if this attachment thing works):

OK so the attachment thing didn't work (I must say that a 30K limit seems a little small to me, but then I don't have Paintshop to make this shot smaller)...

Regards,
Frank.

[This message was edited by Frank Abela on TUESDAY 07 November 2000 at 18:06.]

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Can anyone tell me what the pressure-gauge thing is?

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Vuk,

does the arm have an air bearing?

Could it be a pressure guage for the air supply?

cheers, Martin

I think the reason in the US is that they are akin to unobtainium--not aware of any US distribution since Rich Gerberg of ProAc USA stopped importing them. From what little I have heard of them they are quite good, though they seem a bit pricey from Franks description.

Cheers,

Bob

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Hey Petrik, you see what V'ger ended up as after touring the entire universe and modifying itself with the most civilised technology.

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Only makes sense considering the Voyager spacecraft contained an LP, not a CD, even though it was one of those 24k gold audiophool-type records.

Joe

Have you done all that stuff about measuring the fall time on the arm and matching the damping of the arm to the damping of the cartridge? I think it makes a difference.

I have to say I'm totaly delighted with the deck, I've played about with three turntables this year and have not rushed to rash conclusions but the WT sounds utterly incredible - it's bigger, more detailed, less coloured, faster and doesn't need 27 layers of Mana to sound decent.

regards,

Dev

did you consider fitting BNC's to the Well-Hung, and having male BNC's terminated onto the Prefix in place of the ARO connector?

Joe

What was the music on the audiofool record?

Martin

I thought of the air-pressure guage too. Any round-earthers lurking that can debunk this mythical arm?

Rico - musichead

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What was the music on the audiofool record?

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The Voyager record contains a range of stuff, from sounds of earth, to music, to multilingual greetings, to even analogue-encoded images.

Vuk will of course be disappointed that the music doesn't include Bruckner, but jazz fans should take note that Melancholy Blues, performed by Louis Armstrong and his Hot Seven, made the cut.

Joe

I would like to thank all you helpfull people for encouraging me.

Frank, you did a nice report on exposing the Voyd's qualities in respect to other 'tables.

The reason for my Voyd question was that a friend got a Voyd Valdi plus Helius (maybe early Cyalene) for very low money on the flea market, of course in quite wrecked non-playing junk condition. I managed to overhaul the tonearm, which plays nicely on my newly acquired pre-Cirkus LP12 (but didn't compare to my ARO, in case you are asking - I suspect that it is a bit like Ittok, but smoother). As for the Voyd, it needs some serious work, and I was wondering, whether it is worth the effort of doing all the things necessary to bring it into good condition.

thanks again,
regards,
Hartmut from Munic

The Valdi was a two-motor deck and nowhere near as good as the actual Voyd. It was a very good deck in its own right. As to whether it's worth fixing, that depends on what needs doing. I know less about the Valdi than the Voyd.

Most Valdis were fitted with either an Orion or Aerius tonearm. I think it very unlikely that a Cyalene would be fitted to a Valdi. I wonder if it would fit!

The better arm of the two was the Orion, which retailed for around £600 (if memory serves). The Aerius was closer to £300 I think.

Regards,
Frank.

When I missed to let the Voyd's belt run over both motors, I realized, that it sounded a bit less energetic, but much more real with only one motor.

The Helius sounds much better on the Voyd than on the LP12.

The ARO sounds much better than the Helius on the LP12.

regards,
Hartmut from Munich

Better warn Vuk that the 1st movement of Beethovens Fifth Symphony is on the Voyage record, conducted by none other than Klemperer !

Cheers,

Bob∞