Galder Gold Edition

4-arm turntable with airbearing design

The Galder turntable from Bergmann Audio is Bergmann’s approach to a highly versatile turntable design.

• Galder accepts up to 4 tonearms, including radial and linear tracking arms.
• Output for an airbearing tonearm.
• Motorbase separated from the plinth.
• Vacuum hold-down or clamp.

The advantages of air bearings

The platter is centred by a steel spindle running in a low-friction, low-noise and hard-wearing polymeric bearing material. It floats on a thin air cushion, reducing mechanical bearing noise to an absolute minimum. A traditional bearing, which centres the platter and supports its weight, produces a higher level of mechanical bearing noise because the contact point between the spindle top and platter generates very high pressure.

Floating on an air cushion also gives the platter effective isolation from its surroundings, in the same way as air-supported shelves used in many high-end audio systems.

The air-supported platter also benefits speed stability. The musical flow is not necessarily measurable, but it is audible.

Galder

In Nordic mythology, Galder means to enchant. It refers to a craft consisting of magic songs and spells.

A master of the Galder craft was said to be able to raise storms, sink distant ships, make swords blunt, and determine victory or defeat in battle. Odin, a master of magic, was a god with great abilities to “Galdre”.

Plinth, Galder turntable

The plinth and motorbase are each made from a single piece of CNC-machined die-cast aluminium. Both have a powder-coated finish. The plinth is securely tightened to a 10mm aluminium bottom plate, which stands on 3 adjustable feet.

Each foot uses an aluminium and ceramic ball construction. 3 smaller upper ceramic balls, arranged in a triangle, stand on 1 larger lower ceramic ball. Regardless of the foot position, the 3 upper ceramic balls maintain full contact with the lower ceramic ball.

The motorbase stands on the aluminium bottom plate, but is decoupled from it. It remains aligned with the plinth regardless of the foot position.

The back panel is mounted on the rear of the plinth. It includes grounding, air input, vacuum input, an output for an airbearing tonearm, and air adjustment valves for the platter and tonearm.

Motorbase, Galder turntable

The Galder motorbase is equipped with a DC tacho motor. Communication between the tacho and the high-precision motor control electronics maintains accurate platter speed. Measured speed variation is 0.0027%.

The power supply for the motor control electronics is built into the air supply box, keeping high voltage away from the delicate signal transmission in the interconnects. Connection is via a 5 metre shielded cable with LEMO connectors.

The air supply is controlled remotely from the motorbase. When either 33 or 45 rpm is selected, the first press switches the air supply on and the second press starts the platter spinning. When the selected speed is switched off, the air supply switches off automatically after 2 minutes.

Air supply, Galder turntable

Particular attention has been given to the air supply. The aim is to provide a quiet unit that can be placed in the listening room and deliver an even, clean and dry airflow.

The pump is an oil-free, long-life unit that requires little maintenance.

Impulses from the pump are absorbed in an encapsulated reservoir, producing an even airflow to the air bearing. The air supply includes a filter that prevents dust particles from entering the system. This filter is replaceable when necessary.

Vacuum hold-down, Galder turntable

There are several ways to flatten a record and ensure good contact with the record mat or platter. A clamp covering the record label keeps only the centre of the record perfectly flat. A metal ring around the outer edge keeps only the outer part of the record flat. Complete flattening is achieved by creating a vacuum between the record and the mat or platter.

Bergmann Audio’s vacuum hold-down system uses a vacuum pump housed in the air supply box. The pump does not need to be switched off when changing records. Remove the vacuum clamp covering the centre spindle to release the vacuum, then change the record while the platter is still spinning. Replace the vacuum clamp and the record is automatically flattened by the vacuum hold-down system.

Armboard, Galder turntable

Galder accepts up to 4 tonearms, including radial and linear tracking tonearms. As standard, it is supplied with a main armboard designed to fit almost any tonearm brand, including 9”, 10” and 12” tonearms.

Bergmann can customise additional armboards for the tonearm brand to be fitted to the Galder turntable.