Sublime Vinyl Replay
"There's lots of debate about what is the right technology for a turntable and arm. Why?"
About the Modi & Thor
The Modi and Thor setup is a striking example of modern design and functionality. At times, this setup looks like a piece of military stealth tech. And as well as the turntable and linear-tracking tone arm there is a large additional unit – and this is the air supply.
That air supply (and power suppply to the turntable motor) is a good place to start your thinking about this vinyl player because it is the root of the most significant differences between the Bergmann players and other types of Turntables. Gently compressed air that is smoothed and filtered, passes through two hoses and connectors at the rear of the plinth to feed the air platter and the air tonearm.
The 7.5kg solid aluminium platter is supported on a hard anodised spindle that interestingly does not allow the platter to rotate at all until the air feed is connected and running. The control logic keeps things managed correctly when turning the turntable on and off with the air supply and starting and stopping the motor.
The Thor linear tracking arm is the natural partner for the Modi, hence they're described here as a combo. But of course the Thor can be purchased separately as a stand alone upgrade for other turntables.
Tech Insight
Let's talk about the air bearing platter. That, in a way is the technical highlight of this turntable. It's easy to imaging how an air bearing might work – a feed of air, smoothed into a gentle flow, fed into a slim space around the bearing to raise it up by about 3mm in this case, and allowed to bleed out of a small vent hole. Well, in essence that's it. Not easy to make of course but why would you do it when you can have a normal, high quality and very hard bearing instead? Well, the answer is in that last statement really, normal bearing – hard, air bearing – soft. Soft and decoupled actually. So by using an air bearing Bergmann have isolated the platter from the plinth, so broken the path of inbound vibration. They have also removed any sound source from a mechanical bearing's mating surfaces, and they have provided a soft and compliant cushion of air to further dampen the platter itself. So, simple tech in principle but with more than one benefit to be had.
Specifications
Modi Turntable
Airbearing design: Accepts 2 tonearms (radial or linear tracking).
Plinth: Solid cnc-machined composite material.
Platter/Bearing: Aluminium platter floats on air. 3mm Polyethylene mat.
Centered by hard anodized spindle/hardwearing low friction polymer bearing.
Motor: DC tacho motor with high precision feedback control system. 33 & 45RPM. Belt driven.
Platter weight: 7.5 kg.
Dimensions: 395 x 460 x 124 mm (D x W x H)
Total weight:17.5 kg.
Thor Tonearm
Linear tracking airbearing tonearm.
Aluminium/carbon consrtuction, armtube has double carbon fibre tube construction, with internal damping. Counterweight decoupled from armtube.
Adjustments: VTA, overhang, leveling, tracking force.
Wire: Pure copper litz.
Clips/Connectors: Gold plated copper/Gold plated DIN.
Effective mass: 12g.
Weight: Incl. armboard, 1.055g.
Dimension:
87 (maximum) x 285 x 252mm (H x W x L)
Airsupply
Silent, clean, dry and smooth airflow. Replaceable filter.
Dimensions:
355 x 195 x 107 mm (D x W x H)
Weight: 7,8kg
Matching & Setup
The Modi and Thor are not difficult components to set up. The turntable needs a high quality stand that can be accurately levelled and the air supply unit needs to be placed on a lower shelf or the floor so it is isolated from the turntable. The supplied air hoses are 3m long and can be trimmed down to suit your final setup configuration. Once the plinth is in position and level, Bergmann provide attachments to safely lower the heavy platter onto its spindle.
The main part of the setup is adjustment of the Thor tonearm. There are various procedures and adjustments to go through, and that is too much to describe here. It's not complicated to do but we would naturally provide direct support and in essence 'training' to any potential or new customer. And of course, if you're not confident with all the fiddly bits, we would come to you and set up in your own home.
