Acoustic Sounds

KLAUDiO

Magnezar

By: Michael Trochalakis

March 16th, 2024

Category:

Turntables

Tracking Angle Exclusive: First Look at KLAUDiO’s Magnezar Turntable.

Michael Trochalakis spent a month with the first production model of KLAUDiO’s new turntable, the Magnezar.

Peter Cheon founded KLAUDiO approximately 15 years ago, starting as a DIY hobby. In addition to the now famous KLAUDiO Ultrasonic Record Cleaning Machine KD-CLN-LP200T (having sold into the thousands) and pivoted tangential tonearm (KD-ARM-AP12), Cheon has also designed and built vacuum tube amplifiers (using esoteric broadcast transmitter tubes), vacuum tube preamplifiers, vacuum tube phono preamplifiers, moving coil step up transformers, tone arm headshells, digital display level meters, silver audio interconnect cables, and aluminum take up reels.  During the first five years of KLAUDiO, Cheon built tube amplifiers. He followed up with tube preamplifiers, the ultrasonic record cleaning machine, the pivoted tangential tonearm, and finally, a direct drive, magnetically levitated, auto clamping turntable.

The prototype of the Magnezar turntable was showcased in July 2023 at the Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, Washington. Peter began developing this turntable approximately four years ago. When asked what inspired him to design a turntable, he mentioned the challenge in designing a quiet direct drive motor.

Magnezar Direct Drive Motor

Cheon states that the direct drive motor sourced for the Magnezar is primarily used in robotics. The motor has forty-five poles, and can produce ½ horsepower at 1,800rpm, but runs much lower for driving the turntable’s platter. The motor design was created in house by Cheon himself, who has an electrical engineering background. Prior to starting Koolance, KLAUDiO’s parent company which specializes in water cooling solutions for industrial applications (such as computers, medical equipment, theater projectors), Cheon spent approximately ten years designing motor control mechanisms for factories.

The Magnezar’s platter, which weighs 44 lbs., is permanently magnetically levitated, even when the turntable is not in operation. The levitation is implemented using opposing neodymium magnets. There is a 3-5 mm clearance between the base of the turntable and the levitated platter.

The sub platter, which is encased with blue water, weighs approximately 3 lbs., and sits inside the main platter. Cheon states that when the turntable is in operation, the water in the sub platter creates a centrifugal force around the circumference of the platter that helps reduce wow and flutter. Cheon observed a measured improvement of 0.01% in wow and flutter when water was added to the sub platter.

The turntable’s automated clamping system consists of two parts: a spindle and a periphery clamp. The spindle clamp is spring controlled. Inside the platter are two motorized actuators which control the automated outer periphery clamping system. The two clamp pressures measure approximately 3 and 10lbs, respectively. When the clamping system activates, the lower platter circumference displays a warm white glow. Cheon has a patent pending for this clamping system.

The turntable can accommodate two tonearms, with both mounting bases featuring connections to allow activation of the automated clamping system when the tonearm is engaged towards the platter.

The Magnezar operates at three speeds:  33 1/3, 45, and 78.26 rpm. The platter ramps up to speed and locks in within approximately 4 seconds. Stopping of the platter is accomplished through electronic braking.

Traditional platters rely on a mechanical thrust bearing and thrust pad. Thanks to the turntable’s magnetic levitation, this is not necessary, and mechanical transmission of motor noise to the platter is eliminated, making for an incredibly quiet listening experience.

The Magnezar was evaluated with Cheon’s pivoted tangential tonearm (KD-ARM-AP12), which has been available for approximately five years. Cartridge swapping is very quick and easy with this tonearm since it uses an SME connection for the head shell. Overhang is adjusted with a sliding ‘sled’ at the base of the tone arm. A green laser projects a straight line perpendicular to the stylus for adjusting overhang. The tonearm has previously been reviewed, so the focus of this report is on the turntable.

On February 3rd, Cheon showcased the first production turntable at a listening event for the Pacific Northwest Audio Society. Approximately forty members of the society were in attendance. Due to the turntable’s ability to play 78 rpm records, those were also played at the listening event along with LP’s.

The Magnezar is available through direct sales from KLAUDiO at a cost of $60,000. For anyone interested in listening to the turntable in person, Mr. Cheon invites prospective buyers to his Koolance/KLAUDiO offices near Seattle. A more comprehensive and in depth review of the Magnezar will be conducted in the near future by Michael Fremer.

 

Specifications

Drive Method: Direct Drive

Braking Type: Electronic Magnetic Bearing

Motor Torque: 2 Nm/sec

Speeds: 33.33 RPM, 45 RPM, 78.26 RPM

Speed Accuracy: ~0.001% RPM

Wow and Flutter: 0.06% max

Platter Weight: 44 lb (20 kg)

Outer Clamp Pressure Weight: 10 lb (4.5 kg)

Inner Clamp Pressure Weight: 3 lb (1.3 kg)

Manufacturer Information

KLAUDiO

2840 West Valley Hwy N, Ste 101

Auburn, WA 98001

sales@klaudio.com

www.klaudio.com

(253) 249-7813

Comments

  • 2024-03-16 11:52:49 PM

    Zaphod wrote:

    That is a whole lot of technology in one turntable for only 60K.

    I have a theory as to why vinyl and analog seem so much better than digital and that is because digital is “perfect” whereas analog and vinyl all have “flaws” that creep in. But to me, it is just those flaws that give it the enjoyable characteristics and why digital can seem cold.

    So why do I bring this up, because trying to make a perfect turntable that eliminates all these characteristic will, in the end, be cold. However, this is only a theory as I could afford one of these along with all the required hardware to go with such a reference system.

    Of course, If anyone is generous enough to supply me with all the required pieces, I would gladly test out my theroy.

    • 2024-03-18 08:17:38 AM

      PeterPani wrote:

      As someone who plays analog from 2-track 15 ips tapes (AP, Tapeproject, HorchHouse etc.) and from Laserdiscs (some of the analog tracks of live-LD's beat even r2r), too, I can tell that these analog carriers sound more perfect than digital, but still sound analog and pleasing to the ear.

  • 2024-03-17 12:24:14 AM

    Come on wrote:

    Interesting, I didn’t expect an elaborate and probably cost driving measure like the added water feature for a direct drive table, which is anyway in a good enough w/f range.

    Complete isolation of the platter weight from an otherwise used pivot is essential in my experience - but how is the platter (although floating) isolated from motor vibrations in case of a direct drive, which somehow must be direct coupled to make use of its advantages?

    So far I understood, this kind of more or less direct coupling necessary and the electronic/magnetic parts of a motor directly near the record playback, are the main (probably only) disadvantages of direct drives vs. belt drives.

    Does it make sense to isolate the platter from pivot but not from a direct drive motor?

    • 2024-03-17 01:54:47 PM

      Come on wrote:

      Not sure if I missed part of the article and the pictures first or if a part was later added, but now some of my questions are answered.

    • 2024-04-02 08:56:10 PM

      DD wrote:

      "how is the platter (although floating) isolated from motor vibrations in case of a direct drive, which somehow must be direct coupled to make use of its advantages?"

      Because in direct-drive the motor runs at 33rpm, the speed of a playing record, at half of a hertz, whereas in belt-drive or idler-drive the motor speed can be from 300rpm up to 1800rpm which is 30Hz and it creeps into audible range. If you spin your platter by hand and are able to hold the speed steadily at 33rpm, your hand is a direct drive motor! Can you hear 1/2 Hz? The fallacy by Linn and other belt-drive manufacturers have years been using the direct coupling motor noise to platter to discredit DD turntables. Nothing is perfect of course but motor noise is certainly NOT an issue with the direct-drive concept. The problem with DD is cogging and maintaining smooth rotation and torque linearity but every designer has their own approach attacking the problem.

  • 2024-03-17 12:53:36 AM

    Zaphod wrote:

    By the way, in that second image, I just love the look of those Mono Block Amps (even if they are again, the typical black rectangles, why not blue or orange? It is always black, so boring!)

    • 2024-03-17 04:31:57 AM

      Zaphod wrote:

      I think more photos were added (or they just never loaded on my slow internet) so it is more like image 9.

    • 2024-04-02 08:59:13 PM

      DD wrote:

      Not boring at all. It has the lineage from the industrial designs of Western Electric, RCA, Altec, etc... the Machine Age. It is the modern audio jewelry look that makes me vomit.

  • 2024-03-17 03:29:44 AM

    Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

    Few turntables look that wild and beautiful! From the clamps to the motor to the overall design flow... dang that is a cool TT.

  • 2024-03-17 03:46:43 AM

    Anton wrote:

    Live and learn!

    I would not have expected putting water into a platter like that would lower wow and flutter.

    Really kind of amazing!

    • 2024-03-18 02:38:06 AM

      KirksAudio wrote:

      The wow and flutter on this is worse than a basic linear tracking turntable made by Technics...

      0.06 is not very good at all!

      • 2024-03-18 06:15:02 PM

        Jeff 'Glotz' Glotzer wrote:

        And yet it sounds so much better than a basic linear tracking turntable by Technics! Why is that?

  • 2024-03-17 02:02:37 PM

    NLak wrote:

    44 LB magnetically levitated platter ? Yowza!!! Some ingenious thinking applied here. Bet it sounds amazing and “only” $60,000. If Linn or SME had developed this it would be $300K LOL. Hope to hear it one day.

  • 2024-03-17 07:19:01 PM

    mtemur wrote:

    I listened to this turntable and tonearm last year in Tokyo. Although it sounded good the design approach raises questions such as free surface effect of liquid in platter and no-antiskating underhang tonearm.

    • 2024-03-17 09:36:56 PM

      Anton wrote:

      I guess we could DIY a water filled after market platter. Never considered it before.

      • 2024-03-17 09:39:04 PM

        Anton wrote:

        Sorry, meant to include: do those water filled records show reduced wow and flutter when they are played?

    • 2024-04-04 06:12:36 AM

      DD wrote:

      Since the tonearm is tangential, it's neither overhung nor underhung. I'm still not sure if skating force exists or not and it's a passive articulated arm.

  • 2024-03-18 02:15:20 AM

    jeromelang wrote:

    How will those neodymium magnets, so intense in magnetic flux, so close to the cartridge, affect its sound? ".....Always So Preoccupied With Whether Or Not They Could, They Didn’t Stop To Think If They Should....."