52 Test

Turntable Bergmann Audio Sindre

Airy
No, Bergmann Audio is not a new manufacturer from Ruhr, trying
to revolutionise the turntable with the help of heavy machineryengineering and montane technology.
The exquisite turntable “Sindre” actually comes from our northernneighbour and mesmerises through a truly airy performance.

Nr_6-2009

Turntable

Test 53

Associated EquipmentL

all ambitious manufacturers invest a Cartridgeet`s be honest. With such afair amount of effort into this specific · Benz LP-S
stunning apperarance, it almost· Clearaudio Gold?nger
doesn`t matter how the thing sounds. component. At the end of the day, it · Jan Allaerts MC1B
With its harmonious proportions, clear all boils down to the interplay be· MFSL C3.5
tween a spindle and a socket, which · Denon DL103R
design and effortless elegance, theBergmann Sindre demands attestation are designed to absorb the horizontal forces while causing as little
Phonostage
beyound all questions of taste-as anatural champion independent of what friction as possible -usually with the · Pass XP-15· Leema Agena
comes out at the other end. Pieces of help of lubricants: Friction causessuch beauty usually have a price, and surface irregularities and noise- both · MalValve preamp three phono
this is no exception: The Sindre with of which are unwelcome.
Pre amplifier
tonearm expects to be honoured with These componrnts are usually· MalValve preamp three line
accompanied by a ball, which runs
14.000 Euros. The fact that Sindre· Vacuumstate RTP3
against a platter bearing and absorbs
was originally a dwarf within Nordic
the vertically active forces; in other
Mythology, who became known forPower amplifier· Pass XA30.5
forging Thor`s Hammer, provides little words: it carries the platter weight.
· SymAsym
There is an infinite amount of difconsolation in this respect. The
ferent designs for this feature, but in · Audio Research VS60
creation Johnnie Bergmann has
sculpted from the mythological name the end, all operate according to theLoudspeakersame principle. A non-contact andlooks the exact opposite of rough· Lumen White Artisan
therefore frictionless bearing is thehammering- and represents precise· K+T Prototyp
dream of every turntable designer;
Scandinavian design of the finest
one of the very few possible ways oforder. Exquisite, yes, but that is notachieving
this is to let the platterenough to justify the premium price.
float
on
an
air bearing. similar to the Turntable/Tonearm
For this we expect a technical highlighttechnology
behind hovercrafts.
or two. And indeed it boasts such
· Transrotor Fat Bob / Graham
Playersof
thisdesign have appeared Phantom
features- from the field of compressedin regular intervals over years- and· Clearaudio Innovation / Universal
air applications.
· Acoustic Solid Machine / SME M2-12
haveachievedvariouslevelsof
The source of this is a compressor
performance
success,
at
this
point
in
wich is part of the turntable offer; atime, there is only a handful oftransparent plastic tube delivers the
air to the turntable, where the invisible players which honour this principle.
If I am not entirely mistaken, theand almost inaudible gas achieves
Sindre is in fact by far the cheapest
The entire Bergmann construction:
decisive effects: In particular, it
The motor control to the left, theestablishes a virtually perfect bearing of these player models.
compressor to the right,
for the platter and tonearm.
-and in between- the turntable with
The platter bearing is a key component
tangiential armof any record player; the quality
thereof co-determines the audial
capacity of the player , which is why

LP_6-200954 Test

Turntable Bergmann Audio Sindre

Cowboy Junkies – The Trinity Session

The underside of the subplatter serves
as a “lid” for the airbearing andcarries the snub axis of
the horizontal guide

PlayedCowboy Junkies
The Trinity Session

Guiseppe Verdi
Aida, Wiener Philharmoniker,
Karajan, Tebaldi, McNeil

Marc Cohn
Marc Cohn

Dead Can Dance
Toward The Within

Rickie Lee Jones
Rickie Lee Jones

Luxurious conditions:
All of these elements aredesigned to optimally supply
the speed-regulated DC motorwith electricity

What connects thissolution to several ofits kindred players is
the result of logical reasoning: If you have to
produce compressed air
for the platter bearing inany case, then why not supply the tonearm with thecompressed air as well: Exactly!
Airbearing is one of the few ways lp
generate a “passive” tangential arm
be banished to an adjacent room, it
which runs smoothly enough tocanactually be left with the turntable.
actually works very well. Johnnie
Duringthe test it was placed on the
Bergmann implemented this design
strategy as well- and the result is part floor under the turntable rack and did
not cause any trouble there. The mostof the turntable offer. The Sindre iscomprised of three devices: the turn- bothersome feature is the fact that thepower switch is on the back of thetable itself, the compressor for air
device (which IMHO desperately needs
supply to the tonearm and platterbearing and the feeder for the motor. to be changed). The solid metal
housing of the air processor is quite
I find the compressor the mostastonishing of the three: In contrast bulky (width 21cm, height 22cm, depth
to all the other representatives of this 42cm) and mainly contains features fordesign type which I have encountered sound insulation. The astonishlingy
compact pump is located in a massive
over the years, it operates virtuallycylindersact as “Elcos for air”, i.e.:soundlessly. What this means: Evenbufferstores,which “smooth out” thethough sufficient tube length isintermittent
airflowfrom the comsupplied, the compressor need notpressor. There is also a water
separator, which withdraws condensewater from the compressed air- as thiswould harm the airbearings- andanother good helping of soundproofing
material in the housing cover.
The design strategy has paid off- theunit is whisper quit. The turntable baseis comprised of a thick MDF sandwich.
Circumferential milling conveys acertain optical lightness to the block,the impeccably executed black mattfinish is the perfecy laminate for thisraw material. It stands on three heightadjustable spikes, which are adjustableby means of counter nuts. Nothing off
the peg, self-manufactured
components with a hand-smoothrubber vibration pad on the adjustingring.

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Turntable

Test 55

The platter is a relatively normal 60"
The setting board is aligned
parallel to the arm- and theacryl platter- at least at the firstneedle must then land precisely
glance. In actual fact, this elementon the line
forms the tip of the iceberg so to
speak; when removed a “subplatter”
of the same diameter in the form of a
3,2kg aluminium disc appears. This
platter flush with the upper platteredge and must remains optically invisible. The belt runs along the borderof the subplatter (flat rubber belt) andis understandably quite difficult toassemble. The motor- a relatively highspeed regulated DC motor- does its
gap. Air flow can be adjusted bymagic out of sight, which is why some means of an adjustment screw onpratice is required to successfully
the back of the unit, however, there
attach the belt: a secund pair of hands is usually no need to adjust theis immensely helpful. I cannot say
setting. The system works
much about the motor; it is so well
exeptionally well- despite its
integrated that I hardly felt like disimplicity- and it is astonishingly
sassembling the turntable until it be- quite as well. If one goes throughcame accessible. The aluminium
the hassle of putting one`s ear
platter carries the spindle on its
close to the operating unit, one canunderside- or to be more precisehear a slight hissing noise, butwhat is left of the spindle: The Sindre virtually nothing can be heard at
possesses an airbearing, however, the normal hearing distance. The
platter requires an additional guide in bearing performs its job, which is tothe horizontal plane. This is provided provide the platter with a close to
by a “spindle stub”- which is hardly a frictionless base, perfectly: I spun
The sleeve with the arm floats
centimeter in length and runs along a the platter with the belt removed to frictionless on the air cushion
plastic sleeve. In the light of so few
test how long it took to stop rotating.
frictional surfaces, there is hardly
The experiment yielded no results asreason to worry about bumps caused I grew tired of waiting and ended it.
by the system. Those who prefer anairbearing in which the horizontal
A sound proofing marvel:
The compressor is located in theplane is also uncoupled through an airlarge block, the other two act as
pillow, should consider the larger
filter capacitors for the compressed air“Sleipner” turntable model.
The airbearing is located beneath thesubplatter- and like all very goodsolutions- has a very simple mode ofoperation: A round aluminium plate of(sub)-platter diameter is rotated internally, which creates a “basin-like”
structure. A several centimetre wide
bridge remains on the outher ridge.
There is a drill hole through the baseof the basin, which is the entry point
for the compressed air. The subplatterlies on the aforementioned bridge until
the air pressure rises to the point
where it lifts the platter. The air
determines the breadth of the air gap:
The more pressure the broarder the
LP_6-200956 Test

Turntable Bergmann Audio SindreLet`s have a look at the
beautifully simplified
tonearm. It has atangential design ofcourse, which meansthat it reads therecord the way it
was cut- precisely
and on a straight
Simple and functionalline towards the
cartridge unit fixation.
Somewhat cumbersome
platter axis, without
when it comes to setting
tracking angle error.
Pivot bearings do notcome in every possible
variation, which is why the
positioning of such an arm is a highly system is not very sensitive. It is set
The motor is integrated
complex task: The only impulse
by sliding the counerweight which isand covered, which clearly adds
the simple elegance of the unit`smechanism for the entire tonearm is uncoupled with integrated rubber. The
appearance
nothing more than the force that the excentrically drilled component is also
groove sidewall exerts on therotatable, which is more of a nuisancediamomd needle stylus. This sounds than an advantage in this case; In any
worse than it is- provided one
case, one should always try to position
manages to position the arm in a
it vertically. Apart from such largely
close to frictionless manner. Johnnie
unimportant trivia, the ensemble
Bergmann solves this problem byworks excellently. Neither the arm nor
horizontally attaching a round metal the turntable showed any problems
tube to the turntable and furnishing it during the test period. All in all the unit
with numerous small holes. A sleeve of constitutes a very mature piece ofappropriate internal diameter isengineering- my compliments to thepushed over the tube and the actual designer. It would be good if he has atonearm is affixed to this sleeve.
few more in stock because the Sindre
When air flows through the aforemen- not only looks good and works
tioned holes an air pillow forms
smoothly, it plays records absolutely
between tube and sleeve- and voilà, brilliantly; I for one certainly count it
the sleeve and thus the arm hover. As among a handful of the best turntables
the tube and sleeve are both round,that I have hitherto encountered. It
the construct can be rotated as
quickly becomes apparent that therequired, which means there is noelaborate platter bearing is worth extra
need for a bearing for the verticaleffort: I have never heard a turntable
plane. The elegant tonearm itself is a with so little static noise.
sandwich construction made of carbon A lot of what i hitherto taken for
fibre and aluminium; The arm has agroove noise seems to actually havesmall peg on the front for cartridge
come from the bearing. The lower theunit fixation. The cartridge is pegged recorded level on the platter, the moreto the arm using a suitable shaped
impressive the result. The new 200-gclamp. This is a simple and elegant
by the fantastic Cowboy Junkies album“The Trinity Session” is a point in case:
There is a water separator solution- but also somewhat finicky;on the back of theIt takes a few deep breaths before one Nuances, which would otherwise
compressor; Moisturemanages to set the pieces at the right remain unnoticed, reveal themselves;
would not be conductive
The thus achieved spatial audiofor the unit`s functionality distance and achieve perpendicularneedle placement (the two adjustment representation adds an entirely newscrews only allow for limited adjustdimension to the church acoustics. Thement). The adjustment of the bearing Sindre is a master of differentiation instrength is somewhat tricky as theits dynamics; a superficial view of the
Nr_6-2009

Central piece:
The air cushion forms
between the ringplateau and thesubplatter underside

bass may lead one to think it is too weak- which is not true: It merely
renders very precisely, is light-footed without undue reinforcement. It
does not achieve the bench-vice-like power of my Transrotor Fat Bob,
but then again, there is no need for it to do so. The wonderfully extended
and free-breathing high range area creates a perfectly harmonious whole,which can be regulated to an extent through cartridge selection. I recommend that those who prefer the base to be more robust have a lookat the Jan Allaerts MC1B, and that those who prefer their units somewhat
more neutraltry out the new Benz LP-S. The Clearaudio Goldfinger phono
cartridge is unfortunately too heavy for the tonearm, a Denon DL-103R
audibly underchallenges this fantastic unit. It is amazing what can beachieved with a little bit of compressed air and sound engineering.
The Sindre is, without a doubt, a true highlight from the turntable craft.
Holger Barske

Bergmann Audio Sindre· Price· Distribution· Telephone· Internet
www.bergmannaudio.com· Guarantee· Turntable B x H x T 500 x 210 x 475 mm

The bottom line…
Exelent optical design, harmonious
concept, brilliantly implemented:
From now on, Denmark has something to say when it comes tohigh-class turntables.