Using plenty of smoke and mirrors there then....
It's amazing what video editing can do these days.
This got my spider senses tingling from when I read the title....
I'm curious how long will it take until someone from the company says something like "despite out best efforts to keep this project going, we are devastated to announce that we have to stop production of this because we now have enough money to buy a house on the Ivory Coast"
Idiotic, ridiculous design.
What's the point of super-isolating the platter from 'the outside world' when the tone arm is still firmly connected to it?
Idiotic, ridiculous design.
What's the point of super-isolating the platter from 'the outside world' when the tone arm is still firmly connected to it?
that will be covered in further development of the product - it will be an off the shelf turntable levitating on Marty McFly's hoverboard
i'm rather wondering how will it maintain it's stable speed.. servo drive is not possible with such a loose coupling... and to do it with inertia you would have to levitate some serious mass there (5kg or even more).
This question was asked in the comments, the platter has a mass of 1.6kg
Another likely scam... I do not believe they can levitate this object that cleanly and evenly, and rotate properly. For one, the power required will be much higher than needed. Turning the actual record is not going to be consistent. The heat induced in the plate will likely melt your record. Failure on ALL POSSIBLE ASPECTS even if they managed to get something "raised up".
Not to mention... a complete waste of engineering trying to solve something that doesn't need to be solved. Just stick a thick glass plate under your f*&king turntable surface, use something with an index of refraction that hides it or lights/mirrors and other special effects instead, so people will think your turntable is floating. Wow. Big deal.
I smell another money-sucking audiophoolery scam, sorry... calling it like I see it until proven otherwise. Remember Skarp? Where are they now?
They have shown prototype in Audio Show Hi-Fi Ljubljana:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/245727224/mag-lev-audio-the-first-levitating-turntable/posts/1707051
Well I guess they are on target to reach their goal, then we'll just have to wait and see what gets delivered or not....
That has got to be some video special effects. Notice how all the videos have a very smooth choreographed sequence of movement. Even the photo shoot picture at the top of this page (a few posts ago) show the camera on a special track/arm so they can repeat the same camera motion and once in Video software they can composite the frames and do some nice editing to create the illusion of the gap.
Why not slip a piece of string under the turn-table platter from one side to the other? Surely that won't affect the magnetic field at all? Why not remove the platter and balance it back on? What happens if there is a power failure? Your platter falls? All of these demonstrations could surely put all of our questions at ease, which their backers have been asking them on Kickstarter comments... yet they fail to deliver any demonstration on video other than a well-choreographed smooth sequence always showing the same angles.
How does this floating mass have absolutely NO wobble at all, despite the needle sitting on it (which would introduce some weight and drag) or when the needle is being moved from one track to the other? The center of the spindle is absolutely stationary on it's axis, and the record turns perfectly at a consistent speed.
If they managed to pull off such a feat, wasting this technology on playing records is the last thing they need to do! It could have applications in a huge number of much more important industries! However, at this point it is just too incredible to believe. I have to see if this thing is real and if they can actually deliver, it is definitely incredible but just too good to be true (you know the saying). Honestly I don't even care about playing a record on this... just having that kind of control and stability to spin a levitating platter is an accomplishment. I can use a regular turntable to play records just as well, without all this added audiophile visual porn.
Video was probably made with
steadicam... I had it on my wedding too...
I realy don't believe that this is a scam and they are using video special effects...
If they are this will be lifetime embarrassment for them and their families because Slovenia is so small (2 mio people) and everybody knows someone that knows them...
And all Slovenian newspapers are writing about it and the team behind it.
Too bad I did not attend this Hi-Fi show because I work in Ljubljana.
Some photos from media presentation for press:
I have also found a bit more info about this thing...
The rotation platform sits on 3 sticks when powered off. When you apply the power this "landing gear" retracts into the base.
And there is also a battery inside so that in case of power failure platform does not fall down.
ok seems somewhat believable... but still i would like to see someone to stick a sheet of paper underneath the levitating disc while it's in operation and also to see what happens when you gives it a bump (tone arm lifted up of course to not damage the record) - how it react and how quickly it stabilizes. in both videos they are showing the levitating disc against a white wall - so it would be hard to see if there is a transparent supporting column
If they had a transparent support for levitating disc, then there would be no need for "landing" gear which supports disc when device is powered off...
So I believe we can rule that out...
If they had a transparent support for levitating disc, then there would be no need for "landing" gear which supports disc when device is powered off...
So I believe we can rule that out...
if i would like to fake it, then i would implement a transparent column along with the "landing gear"
... so still would like to see someone to slide a nonmagnetic sheet under the disc (paper, pvc... whatever) while it's in operation and also see the reaction to bump.
Nice video, but show me a string loop going around the platform or someone disturbing or lifting it off the base. Or maybe the startup sequence when device is powered on and we are supposed to see the platform rise up and then the pins retract and it hovers. I'm still not convinced given the facts thus far... but if true, I will be the first to congratulate them, for making something look awesome but otherwise completely unnecessary (sorry, I grew up on LP's, cassettes, CD's, but have never looked back since my music was put on digital memory).
By the way, I found this on YouTube which seems to be trying to accomplish a similar task, although much simpler and purely passive with no need for power:
By the way, I found this on YouTube which seems to be trying to accomplish a similar task, although much simpler and purely passive with no need for power:
that's basically a "magnetic spring" to dampen vibrations - but the design allows that only in 1 axis...
I bet it does work, but they don't want to show you the startup because I bet it's incredibly fiddly. They don't want to show you that the first time you try to use it, it may throw throw the platter across the room.
I bet it does work, but they don't want to show you the startup because I bet it's incredibly fiddly. They don't want to show you that the first time you try to use it, it may throw throw the platter across the room.
My exact thought. This is why they need money, to solve these engineering challenges (maybe).
... Or maybe the startup sequence when device is powered on and we are supposed to see the platform rise up and then the pins retract and it hovers. ...
The levitation is by permanent magnets, just like the DeLorean model. The supports that rise up are to hold the platter in the "suspended" position while you change the record. Without them, you'd likely knock the platter out of its stable position, with great likelihood of damage. The power is just to generate a rotational field to rotate the platter. As the video showed, it's hard to get enough coupling to hold the rotational speed constant.
There are other toys / models that use the same principle. I once spent a frustrating afternoon playing with a model globe of the world over a base. It took me an average of 20 minutes to get a successful balance, and as you see in Dave's DeLorean video it comes down with some force as the magnets attract each other. I don't hold out much hope of the tonearm and cartridge surviving.
Two opposing forces here:
1. Trying to isolate vibration by levitating it.
2. Putting it in the same room as dual kilowatt linear motors designed to shift large amounts of air very quickly.
It may well look as stable as a frisbee, but it's going to bounce around within that spot - and since a vinyl record pick-up is measuring minute sideways movement, it's inevitably going to additively measure the delayed response of those speakers.
It's probably got a resonant frequency that's going to be audible too.
Looks cool though, if I were rich I'd buy three.