Galder

4-arm turntable with airbearing design

The Galder turntable from Bergmann Audio is designed to accommodate a wide range of tonearm configurations.

• 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.

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 a minimum. A traditional bearing centres and supports the platter through contact between the spindle top and platter, creating higher pressure and therefore more mechanical noise.

The air cushion also isolates the platter from its surroundings, in a similar way to air-supported shelves used in high-end audio systems.

The air-supported platter also benefits speed stability. The resulting musical flow is not necessarily measurable, but 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, blunt swords and influence 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, with a powder-coated finish. The plinth is securely attached to a 10mm aluminium bottom plate, which stands on 3 adjustable feet.

The feet use an aluminium and ceramic ball construction. 3 smaller upper ceramic balls are arranged in a triangle and stand on 1 larger lower ceramic ball. Regardless of the position of the feet, the 3 upper ceramic balls maintain 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 position of the feet.

The back panel is mounted on the rear of the plinth. It provides 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 made using a 5 metre shielded cable with LEMO connectors.

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

Air supply, Galder turntable

The air supply has been designed to provide a quiet source of even, clean and dry airflow that can be placed in the listening room.

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

Impulses from the pump are absorbed in an encapsulated reservoir, providing an even airflow to the air bearing. A filter prevents dust particles from entering the system and can be replaced when necessary.

Vacuum hold down, Galder turntable

There are several ways to flatten a record and maintain contact with the record mat or platter. A clamp covering the record label keeps only the centre of the record flat. A metal ring at the outer edge keeps only the outer part flat. Vacuum hold down flattens the record by creating a vacuum between the record and the mat or platter.

The Bergmann Audio 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. Removing the vacuum clamp covering the centre spindle releases the vacuum, allowing the record to be changed while the platter is still spinning. Replacing the vacuum clamp automatically flattens the record through the vacuum hold down system.

Armboard, Galder turntable

The 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 mounted on the Galder turntable.