Page 117 - Hi-Fi World (January 2020)

VINYL SECTION

example, coming over with great showed its peculiar sonic strengths,
presence and good pitch stability; pulling out the rich tapestry of sound
there was no obvious wavering. from this wonderfully
Similarly, with I Look To You on the recorded LP, teasing out
flip side, Cheryl Porter’s vocals stood the timbral delineation
out with all the vivacious push LP can that analogue
provide – a lovely performance. can achieve. The
Swapping over from the Creek sense of speed
Evolution 100A to Blue Aura and pace came
VA40 there was slightly more largely from the small
dimensionality, courtesy of the valves. ps40 loudspeakers that
Although there was less absolute well complement the rest
power – 10 Watts against the Creek’s of this system. You don’t get
Tracking force is applied by a 100 Watts – the VA40 still went very deep bass here, but you do get
calibrated counterweight and loud, driving our Martin Logan ESL-X speedy punch. Think lively, dynamic
bias by a weight on a thread hybrid electrostatic loudspeakers with and clear.
over a shaped wire support. ease. It was a fine sound, communi-
cating the smoothness of analogue CONCLUSION
easily worth five Globes, especially and also its dynamic liveliness. Blue Aura’s PG-1 turntable is a neat
at the very low price – superb value. Via Bluetooth the sound became little package with fine sound from
They are a tad bright but clear and slightly softer and blander – almost the Audio Technica AT-3600 budget
detailed – and with fast bass. Far a shame as the PG-1 deserves MM cartridge fitted. The Bluetooth
better than they had any right to be the convenience of a Bluetooth link is a convenience that allows
at the price I felt. connection that is higher in fidelity. the turntable to be sited anywhere,
But you can’t have everything at this but quality is below that of direct
SOUND QUALITY price. connection. The PG-1 works well
I used the PG-1 with our Creek Feeding Blue Aura’s VA40 within Blue Aura’s fine little system
Evolution 100A amplifier connected amplifier and ps40 loudspeakers and also on its own, offering superb
to Martin Logan ESL-X hybrid direct (phono leads) the PG-1 was sound and value. It’s definitely worth
electrostatic loudspeakers to assess lovely. Hugh Masekela’s ‘Uptownship’ hearing this little set up – one that
its sound directly and – of course raced along, sounding vivacious – his takes up little space, sounds lovely
– through the VA40 amplifier also trumpet rich in tone. Here, the and costs – well – I’ll say it again:
connected to the Martin Logans, then carbon fibre cantilever of the AT-3600 peanuts!
the ps40s.
Connected directly via the MEASURED PERFORMANCE
internal phono stage to the Creek I
had to turn volume up but the PG- From a 3150Hz test tone (DIN 45-452 turntable. Our speed variation analysis
1 was clear, smooth and accurate. test disc) the PG-1 wandered from also shows a flutter peak at right
Running through a selection of our 3134Hz to 3142Hz, in random fashion (15.9Hz) responsible for a poor 0.1%
high quality review LPs I heard a over a 24hr period. That puts nominal Flutter reading (0.04% typical). All
sound that was well balanced and speed at 3138Hz, a small -0.4% slow the same, total Wow & Flutter, DIN
revealing. There was plenty of detail – not subjectively obvious in terms of weighted, was 0.13% – respectable for
at high frequencies that made vocals pitch accuracy. budget belt drive turntable.
stand out, the trumpet solo on The speed wander did however The internal phono stage has a very BLUE AURA
Fanfare for the Common Man from result in a mediocre 0.2% Wow value, low gain of x60 and overloaded above BLACKLINE PG-1
‘Two Countries One Heart’, for fairly typical of a budget belt drive 10mV in / 600mV out, where distortion £259
SPEED VARIATION measured 1%. Although this is poor, in
practice it will only affect music peaks £
and pass largely unnoticed. Equalisation OUTSTANDING - amongst
was accurate, making frequency the best.
response effectively flat from 10Hz to
20kHz, there being no warp filter. VALUE - keenly priced.
Frequency response of the AT-3600
cartridge, measured with pink noise, was VERDICT
relatively flat via the Line output (-1dB Good budget turntable, well
suited to Blue Aura’s neat
at 10kHz), but with treble roll down via little system.
Bluetooth (-3dB at 10kHz, as shown),
giving a milder sound. FOR
FREQUENCY RESPONSE BT The PG-1 measured as expected for - bluetooth
- phono stage
a budget belt drive, having no serious - analogue sound
weaknesses. Considering price versus
complexity, it was very good. NK AGAINST
- cartridge weight range
An EM84 valve shows music Speed error -0.4% - some speed variation
level in a light blue fluorescent Wow 0.2% Blue Aura
0.1%
Flutter
display that's entertaining Wow & Flutter (DIN wtd) 0.13% +44 (0)1480 477738
– especially in the dark. www.blueaura.co.uk
www.hi-fiworld.co.uk JANUARY 2020 HI-FI WORLD 117