As Vinyl enthusiasts, we know the thrill when a turntable makes music feel truly alive.

Last week I shared my thoughts on why vinyl delivers better transients here. Because vinyl playback generates new electricity as it plays, the resulting signal doesn’t suffer the same electrical interference as digital playback. It does, however, suffer mechanical interference as the turntable’s platter rotates and the cartridge interprets vibration.

The best turntables handle vibration and friction to minimise mechanical interference, and let the cartridge produce transients that feel separated in three dimensions.

This week, we’re pleased to share the full English translation of the new in-depth review from Germany’s prestigious image hifi magazine of two of our greatest designs: The Mk5 Sovereign-S turntable with Enterprise tonearm

The reviewer, Josef Bruckmoser, spent weeks with the Sovereign and Enterprise and came away convinced that this turntable truly lives up to the Origin Live name. In the full article below, Bruckmoser describes how the OL design combines the best of mass-effective stability with the airy, expressive freedom of a sophisticated decoupling in the subchassis — resulting in music that feels startlingly present, dynamic, and live.

Key Quotes

“I had never heard my Benz LP, mounted in the Enterprise tonearm sound so full of energy. All credit to Origin Live – this was a proper upgrade compared with how the Benz sounds on my Kuzma Stabi Reference. While on the 40 kg Kuzma it lets itself be carried along by the turntable’s sluggish mass, on the Mk5 Sovereign-S with Enterprise tonearm it was as if awakened from Sleeping Beauty’s slumber and shone with refreshing playing joy.”

“The combination of Mk5 Sovereign-S, Enterprise tonearm and Umami Red followed every tiniest transient… with the highest attention.” “It presented every recording in a huge soundstage — keyword cinemascope.”

Full Review:

Image Hi Fi

Author: Josef Bruckmoser

Photography: Rolf Winter

Here the Music Plays LIVE

“Nomen ist omen” – the name says it all. If this applies to any turntable, it is the Origin Live Sovereign S MK5. There is a great deal of “origin” and “live” in it. But how does its subchassis actually work when it appears to sit completely fixed and rigid on its heavy plinth?

Many things about the Origin Live Sovereign S MK5 are surprising at first glance. For example, the nylon screws that hold the top layer of the sandwich platter are not supposed to be tightened firmly. Little by little, however, such peculiarities become perfectly understandable from the overall concept of this turntable: the priority here is not mass and rigidity, but airiness and delicacy. That is why the platter screws are not made of metal and are left slightly loosened. The platter bearing continues this basic idea with a unique combination of two concepts. On the one hand, the platter almost floats as if on a magnetic bearing. On the other hand, the platter spindle and bearing house have only a minimal point of contact. The British achieve floating the spindle with a precisely defined oil film that completely envelops the shaft inside the bearing house, reducing mechanical friction to an absolute minimum. At the same time, a very small tungsten-carbide ball bearing resting on the hardened thrust plate of the bearing house creates a minimal mechanical contact. This provides a kind of grounding for the energy coming from the platter. The crucial question – whether a platter should float purely like a magnetic bearing or have a minimal mechanical contact with the chassis – is answered by Origin Live in a “very sophisticated” way: “We combine the best of both worlds with our hydrodynamic Ultra-low Friction Bearing.”

Anyone who thinks the technical special features of the Sovereign S MK5 are exhausted at this point is very much mistaken. “The name says it all”: Origin’s turntable is bursting with its own “origin” -al ideas. The subchassis sits on a high mass plinth that accounts for the lion’s share of the 28.4 kg total weight. This sandwich construction of two acrylic plates with a steel plate in between is designed to give the turntable almost the same stability as a pure high-inertia turntable. At the same time, the different materials dissipate different vibrations – a fundamental principle of the high-end workshop run by Mark Baker in Southampton. The same principle applies to the three feet. Only the rear foot has a height-adjustable metal body that makes contact with the supporting surface. The two front feet consist of polyoxymethylene (POM), a dimensionally stable plastic that absorbs vibrations particularly effectively. Just as with the sandwich construction of the drive base, different materials are used on the feet to combat different types of vibration.

The real highlight is the subchassis, which has nothing in common with a conventional subchassis using springs or similar. It is actually a kind of seesaw that is fixed centrally at a single point on the heavy plinth and carries the tonearm base and platter bearing on its two cantilever arms. At the fixing point, a small ring of damping material is intended to absorb any vibrations. Here, too, the aim – just as with the platter bearing – is to combine the best of two worlds. On the one hand it really is a subchassis, giving the platter bearing and tonearm a certain freedom of movement. On the other hand, that freedom is extremely limited compared with conventional turntables of this type. At the same time the subchassis is firmly bolted to the plinth at its decoupling and contact point – not “bomb-proof”, but securely enough that it almost forms a single unit with the heavy plinth. So it can be described as a subchassis that simultaneously tries to exploit the advantages of high mass designs.

The idea of minimal coupling and contact points at the platter bearing and subchassis is continued in the tonearm. In the test version this was the Enterprise MK5, which incorporates many design features of the next model up, the Agile. The tonearm bearing for vertical movement is a two-point bearing with minimal mechanical contact surfaces. On the left and right of the yoke, a tungsten-carbide spike rests on a hardened and polished surface. Their tip profile grants the tonearm optimal vertical freedom of movement with the least possible friction. The pivot points of this dual-pivot bearing self-centre in the cups. According to Origin Live, this “pointed” two-point bearing comes very close to a single-point bearing, with the advantage that there is no instability whatsoever. Azimuth can be finely adjusted via the two tungsten-carbide tips. Horizontal rotation is handled by an extremely low-friction ceramic ball bearing. Exact VTA adjustment is made via a rotary dial with markings, each representing a height difference of 0.1 mm. This means the vertical tracking angle can be reproduced exactly even for individual records. A hex set screw provides locking. For counterweight adjustment the British offer a very practical solution. The coarse setting is achieved by sliding and locking the large weight directly on the tonearm shaft. A small additional weight is used for fine adjustment. Anti-skating is implemented with a metal ball on a thread.

The exciting question was therefore how much does the subchassis actually contribute in the Origin Live Sovereign S MK5 and how much does the foundation and structure of the high mass three-layer plinth contribute. So the player from Southampton was first put through the “foundation test” with concert grand piano and large orchestra. On the record Destination Rachmaninow – Departure (Piano Concertos 2 & 4) (DG 483 5362, D 2018, 2-LP) with Daniil Trifonov and the Philadelphia Orchestra under Yannick Nézet-Séguin, who had conducted the New Year’s Concert of the Vienna Philharmonic with great success this year. In the first movement of the second piano concerto, after dramatic chords from the solo instrument, a powerful melodic stream develops in interplay with the orchestra. This requires power, transparency and highly precise timing from the replay chain. The Origin Live met this challenge with exceptional composure, especially in the low registers of the piano and the deep strings of the orchestra. There was the familiar deep growl at the beginning of the first movement, but it never sounded indefinable or blurred – instead it was illuminated right down to the last detail. Equally impressive were the clearly perceptible timpani strokes, which set a powerful accent especially at the end of the first movement. With singularly audible strikes on the skin. At the other end of the spectrum the piano playing by the right hand popped brilliantly and with lively airiness from the loudspeakers. I had never heard my Benz LP, mounted in the headshell of the Enterprise tonearm during this first test phase, sound so full of energy. All credit to Origin Live – this was a proper upgrade compared with how the Benz sounds on my Kuzma Stabi Reference. While on the 40 kg Kuzma it lets itself be carried along by the turntable’s sluggish mass, on the Sovereign S MK5 with Enterprise tonearm it was as if awakened from Sleeping Beauty’s slumber and shone with refreshing joy in playing. This subchassis turntable with single-point suspension and minimal two-point coupling tonearm is obviously capable of extracting many vibrant nuances from a cartridge. Pleasingly, the Benz LP lost none of its calm poise and convincing midrange despite this wake-up call. This was evident in the calm accompaniment in the left hand, clearly set apart from the swirling runs. Equally faithful, full bodied, fine and balanced, with a wonderfully homogeneous blend of piano and winds, the Origin Live presented the second movement, the Adagio Sostenuto, which Daniil Trifonov shapes in epic breadth. Every single note had weight and meaning, of which the Briton, thanks to its fine-dynamic precision, let absolutely nothing escape.

The calm gliding of the second movement through the wide Russian landscape was even more impressive once the Hana Umami Red had been allowed to show its qualities in the Enterprise headshell after the necessary running-in period. Above all, this highly regarded Japanese product put the finishing touch on the already excellent timing of turntable and tonearm. The combination of Sovereign S MK5, Enterprise tonearm and Umami Red followed every tiniest transient, every tiniest pause that the pianist only hinted at for half a moment, with forensic insight. Therefore, for the remainder of the test, the Umami Red stayed mounted.

The British turntable demonstrated its sense of passion and tragedy with the sombre B-minor of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6 Pathétique (Sony 88985404351, US & EU 2017, LP), recorded by Teodor Currentzis with his MusicAeterna in the Funkhaus Nalepastraße in Berlin. Black as night, the Origin Live created a backdrop of abyssal calm and stability. In the following slow movement, it let the string section fade out completely pianissimo in Andante tempo before the development exploded in stormy fugato and radiant brass in great dynamic contrast. Overall the British turntable pulled out all the stops on this recording of the Pathétique: stoic calm and epic breadth, powerful drama and cinemascope-like images, grippy macro-dynamics where required, ever-present micro-dynamics and a LIVE-like flow of playing that is in its blood. “Con grazia” the Origin Live followed the “crooked” 5/4 time of the second movement and was fully involving – even in the slightly brightening sounds that take a little of the Pathétique’s heaviness away. With its sensitivity for the finest details, it let one hear how the timpani unobtrusively but clearly drove the rhythm. It succeeded so well not least because it presented every sound track in a large soundstage – keyword cinemascope. This was striking on side 6 of Don Giovanni under Ferenc Fricsay (DG, SLPM 138 050/52, Reissue D 1965 (1959) Boxset 3-LP), one of my standard benchmarks in every test. Like an accordion the Origin Live pulled the stereo stage apart. This made every step of Don Ottavio from the middle of the stage back left to front left traceable. It was such a defined 3D image that I repeated the passage several times doubting what I heard. In the end every misgiving was ruled out. The positioning of Don Ottavio in the room was so pinpoint accurate that it seemed measured with ruler and set square. The Commendatore came, as usual, from far right, but with the British turntable he came a perceived half-speaker-width further right. The Sovereign S MK5 followed the thunderous bass playing sovereignly into the deepest notes conceivable. As with the timpani, it relied on a clearly structured bass and consistently avoided any appearance of overblown low frequencies. Others may lay it on a touch more heavily, but more differentiated, transparent and clear is hardly possible. The same applied at the other end of the spectrum to the highest highs, in which Donna Anna shone completely relaxed and stress-free, with a voice that always remained “beautiful” in the best sense.

The Origin Live knows what it wants, and it carries this through homogeneously from the very bottom to the very top. The entire sonic spectrum benefits from the generous spatial presentation, as could also be heard on Patricia Barber on the B-side of Modern Cool (Premonition Records – 90761-1, Remastered, US 2014 (1998), 2-LP). “Light My Fire” is an earworm for relaxed evening sessions. Of course the very dark timbre of Barber’s voice must not be lost. The Sovereign S MK5 solved this task sovereignly and made every word intelligible. Quite incidentally it gave Dave Douglas’s trumpet a cosy warmth. On track 2 “Constantinople” the percussion started filigree, short strikes working on clearly distinguishable different skins. With the bass the turntable gave insight to each powerful bow stroke on the strings. Patricia Barber’s voice came across well separated, in a clearly defined space at the middle rear, independent of the accompanying instruments. On “Silent Partner” the shimmering of a cymbal entered the ear as a multi-layered sound event. The muted trumpet textured with a deep note at the end. The Origin Live followed the rhythmic drive of “Postmodern Blues” entirely in the spirit of “here I feel right at home”. This “home feeling” of the Sovereign S MK5 generally applied to female voices such as Patricia Barber, Cecilia Bartoli or Ella Fitzgerald, whose vibrato it reproduced with as much finesse and tenderness as energy and emphasis. On Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Song Book (His Master’s Voice, CLP 1213-14, Verve Series MGV4008, UK 1958, 2-LP Mono) there was so much vibrato and swing, so much playful and mischievous vivacity, so much emphasis and energy that wine connoisseurs would speak of a strong finish with intense and long-lasting impressions. The Origin Live extracts this added value from every voice. And while we are on the subject of vibrato: the solos of the various brass instruments on this double LP also fluttered and vibrated in a way that was pure joy.

That was an urgent invitation to lend the Briton an ear once again regarding pace, rhythm and timing. A friend had wished for Undercurrent by Bill Evans and Jim Hall for his birthday. Ordered twice, the classic finally also found its way into my own record collection (MOFI 1-031, Blue Note – 509997-04873-1-2, Reissue, US 2024 (1962), LP). On the first number “My Funny Valentine” the two jazz greats seemed to compete with each other as to who would have the better idea and how the other would react. Only a turntable that is razor-sharp on the smallest nuances of rhythm and timing can make this experienceable. On “I Hear A Rhapsody” the Origin Live excelled with a flow that let the notes float loosely and airily into the room. This number also benefited in particular from another feature of the Sovereign S MK5 that must be explicitly highlighted: the absolute quietness of the platter bearing, which is essential for such a calmly flowing piece.

The Origin Live Sovereign S MK5 spreads heart-warming satisfaction with refreshing “aha” moments. Its a great pleasure to listen to music with the grip, finesse and liveliness of this turntable. The British have packed as much high inertia turntable into the Sovereign S MK5 as necessary and placed the very best subchassis aspects on this foundation. The highlight is the unique, single-point mounted seesaw on which platter bearing and tonearm base find an airy, delicate, and wonderfully balanced equilibrium. The name says it all. With the original recording through Origin Live, the music really does play convincingly LIVE.

Upgrading turntables – why are they so responsive to modification?

This is the first of a series of articles on upgrading turntables. It’s a bit late in coming out due to an urgent order for our new Voyager super deck. Super decks are a great platform to develop new knowledge because the budget allows one to stretch the boundaries – the Voyager has proven exceptionally fruitful in this respect. More of this in future as there is one very interesting spin off that’s relevant for all turntables.

When it comes to upgrading your deck, even the most seemingly insignificant items are worthy of consideration. I often receive emails from clients saying how they really did not expect much change by ordering an item. The flip side of this is the astonishment and delight expressed in finding the improvement to be extraordinary. This is of course a shameless plug, but the real point is that it perfectly illustrates how the composition of a turntable is severely underestimated.

A typical comment on the fitting of our upgrade belt to an old budget deck (Dual CS515) was. “Yes it runs beautifully Mark – a dramatic sound improvement”  PETER O’BRIEN – South Africa

Before even starting on the numerous aspects that can improve your deck, I believe it’s important to understand why changes you make, have such a dramatic impact on the hidden world that lies behind turntable performance. Experimentation quickly convinces you by results, but I know from experience, that there is deep scepticism of some things being nothing more than snake oil. It’s easy to understand how changing a cartridge makes a difference but not so easy to understand how changing to a better belt at £29 can make even more difference than upgrading to the next cartridge model.

Perhaps one of the most common misconceptions about record player performance is that it’s related to isolation from vibration in the room. This is a natural conclusion. You can feel bass notes hit you. If you touch a sideboard with music playing you feel vibration with your fingers. It often comes as a surprise to learn that these things may only represent as little as 15% of the vibration influencing a deck. There are other sources  which are far more influential. Environmental room vibration is generally very low frequency stuff whilst these other sources emit vibration that affects everything.

This important truth is very easy to prove conclusively. Simply disconnect your speakers and listen to your record player through headphones.  Next transfer the deck from one surface to another e.g your equipment rack to the floor and listen again. You should notice a substantial difference. This difference obviously has nothing to do with isolation from the environment because the environment is virtually silent so why is it occurring?

The main sources of vibration, in order of importance are

• The cartridge needle itself as it tracks the record – this sends vibration into the record and the tonearm.
• The Motor which feeds vibration into the belt and the structure it’s mounted on.
• The platter bearing – any friction here translates into vibration

The vibration from these sources is so small that it’s easy to dismiss them as being incapable of exerting serious influence. The truth is that  a turntable is highly sensitive to these truly incredible levels of small vibration which we will look at later. Firstly, the important thing to consider is that any vibration has a ripple effect similar to explosive shock through an entire structure. Shock waves are extremely powerful – in water, they sink battleships – which is one reason why isolating a tonearm on a bed of silicon fluid is questionable.

When you play a record on a turntable, shock waves are occurring continuously at a microscopic level. These waves are transmitted at different speeds depending on their frequency and the material concerned. Some are reflected, some induce resonance into the structure, some are absorbed by friction, and some are transmitted into adjoining items. For the purposes of this article we will lump all this together under the term “micro-vibration” which as you may guess is an extremely complex phenomenon.

Micro-vibration in audio is incredibly quick and the effects are magnified beyond comprehension. One of the best illustrations of this is the human ear which stretches the bounds of credibility. On our website we quote a source which states “At the threshold of hearing the eardrum moves one tenth of the diameter of a hydrogen atom”. Let’s just pause at this point because it’s not easy to comprehend this sort of dimension. A physicist recently emailed me questioning this fact and asking for my sources – He asked “do you know how small a hydrogen atom is?”

Although he liked our products he suggested we remove this quote from our web site as it was ridiculous and would bring our credibility into question. We exchanged a few friendly emails in which I showed the maths behind the claim to be solid textbook stuff – See at very bottom of page for the equations if desired.

Let’s take a closer look at what it represents. The diameter of a hydrogen atom is 1.1 Å. For those of you unfamiliar with Angstroms (Å), one Angstrom is equivalent to 10^-7 mm. In other words if you lined up a row of hydrogen atoms next to one another, you would have 10,000,000 of them in the space of 1mm. An average human hair is approx 0.001mm so 10,000 hydrogen atoms would span it’s width. You can see from this that your eardrum is unbelievably sensitive to amplify such small movement and convert it into electrical impulses. In much the same way your cartridge senses almost immeasurably small movement and converts it into an electrical signal, which is then massively amplified.  An estimate for the threshold of audible movement on a stylus needle is going to be almost infinitesimally small because the movement is analogue.

It never ceases to amaze me what is audible in turntable design – we’ve found that even the difference between using 5mm or 6mm bolt at the same tension is clearly audible using the same material etc. In summary, all you need to know is that you will hear the differences if you have a half decent system.

We believe playing vinyl is much more than dragging a piece of coal through a vinyl groove. Part of my background in designing Mine-sweeper ships to withstand explosive shock has given me a great respect for the intricacies of design for shock and vibration which is even more complex in record players. We research this endlessly so you don’t have to.

Modify or Trade-in?

This is probably one of the most common questions we get asked. Modifying your turntable or tonearm is a sensible option if you want a significant improvement in sound quality and are restrained by budget. It’s also a preferred option if  you’ve grown attached to your equipment.

We will look at the modification approach next week. On the other hand, there are limits to how far you can take an older deck. Things have advanced massively in some quarters and once you get to investing around £1500, it’s better to carefully select a better deck rather modify older designs. On this path, there are many competent designs but only a small handful of manufacturers who really shine in demonstration. A letter we had last week illustrates the gains of a typical turntable change.

“Many thanks for the recently arrived Calypso and Illustrious. This is a shockingly good combination which is dramatically superior to my previous deck, a Linn LP12/Ittok. The Calypso/Illustrious has huge authority and solidity in the stereo image which is substantially deeper and wider than anything I have heard before. Complex orchestral passages widen out to reveal individual instrument timbres and their location in the sound scape. The dynamic range is also vastly superior and capable of both power and subtlety. Most importantly the whole experience is very musically engaging. All of this is with a week old deck and a £100 cartridge, which only confirms Origin Live’s design philosophy of the importance of the turntable and arm. I can’t praise this combination highly enough. Anyone wanting a taste of musical paradise at an extremely reasonable price should seriously consider Origin Live. It’s difficult to imagine a better musical experience than this.”

Liam – County Kildare – Ireland

We know from dealers and clients, that no matter how up to date Liam’s Linn could be – in other words, highest specification, latest LP12 and Ekos 2, this result would be the same. We’ve had hardened ex-Linn dealers who’ve been in total unbelief about this. To prove us wrong they’ve put it to the test, only to be shocked by the results and having to call their friends around to confirm what they’re hearing.

I would lastly add, to put things in perspective, that the Linn is still a great deck and surpasses many on the market today. As said previously, there are only a relatively small number of manufacturers where you can do much better.

Hope this helps

This article is to let you know how to dramatically boost the performance of your turntable, whether you own a budget or a high end deck. The way this is achieved was recently awarded a full five globes in Hi–Fi World, for yielding stunning improvements to all musical aspects of the sound. They say “a taste of the high-end at a rock bottom price.”

Upgrading to a high end turntable is costly. The good news is that you can achieve similar or better results and save yourself an awesome amount of money. This is especially true, in light of the fact that many high end decks are well off the pace compared to the real performance leaders.

A good place to start is the turntable power supply. Unsurprisingly, most people are highly sceptical of claims that an inexpensive power supply is far more rewarding in terms of sound quality than say, a £3000 cartridge upgrade.

 Not only are the latest Origin Live motor kits inexpensive but they are unique in terms of performance superiority, it is easy to spend 10 times the amount on other supplies and still not come close to those offered by Origin Live.

The NEW special supply for the Technics can power two Decks at the same time, so if you are a DJ with a pair of Technics, then ask for the twin supply version. As this supply costs the same as a single output version you make a tremendous saving.