Acoustic Signature Storm Mk2 made in Germany Funk Firm F5

Gently used mint Acoustic Signature Storm Mk2 belt drive turntable made in Germany Serial #A74 07 078 packaged with Funk Firm F5 9" length tonearm (Rega Std. Mount).  Purchased new by original owner, roughly 10-11 months old and housed in a dedicated listening environment.  Entirely crafted from pure aluminum alloy and brass.  AC Synchronous motor (120v/60Hz) is housed in a mass loaded dedicated outboard pod which connects to a separate aluminum speed selector module allowing for rapid change from 33 rpm to 45 rpm.  High level of German machining quality found throughout the Storm Mk2’s design with a beautiful, flowing and expressive musical character.  Leather platter mat included.  Additionally, this model is expandable up to (3ea.) 9"-12" length tonearms for future upgrade ability.  Present tonearm platform/aluminum disc pre-cut for Rega style bases, for added convenience.  Operational Condition 10/10 and Physical Condition conservatively rated 9/10 (tiny imperfection on underside, not visible from top).  Outboard power supply included along with all original factory boxes, packing and owners manuals. 

Credit Card, PayPal, Check and Bank Wire accepted. 

Please call 219.933.8115 or email [email protected] directly for ordering information.       

Analog Planet Review - http://www.analogplanet.com/content/acoustic-signature-storm-mk2-turntable-produces-clear-sonic-skies

HiFi World review UK: This is a highly capable deck, which sits at the price point comfortably…it is sonically pleasing.    Excellent 5 Stars


Christopher Thornton
Artisan Fidelity
www.artisanfidelity.com
[email protected]
219.933.8115

The new STORM Mk2 turntable weighs in at 28kg and provides all the advantages that true high mass turntables can deliver. STORM Mk2 offers rock solid and tuneful bass, a stable and focused midrange, clear and detailed high frequency reproduction – producing a sound-stage that has both natural delicate musicality and great authority. The new STORM Mk2 design replaces one of our best selling turntables, improving on the design with wider feet spacing offering greater stability; improved platter resonance damping and heavier platter; quality design to improve sound quality, not for its own sake - something Acoustic Signature is known for worldwide. Of course, STORM MK2 also has very low mechanical noise courtesy of our unique Tidorfolon bearing design, and an externally sited motor, run by our BetaDIG regenerative power supply ensure perfect rotation of the new platter. We think it looks pretty cool as well!

•A 50mm solid turntable platter made of aluminium, a very soft alloy to optimize its periodic resonance. There are 8 Silencer inserts fitted in the platter, to further reduce resonance and the bottom face is coated with resonance-reducing material.
•The bearing is the heart of every turntable. Through fundamental research and development, we have invented a bearing with the ideal performance characteristics of exact fit, extremely low noise, very low friction and long term stability. The platter bearing component is manufactured from special hardened and polished steel, with an extremely hard tungsten carbide ball at its base. The bearing housing uses perfectly matched and ‘aged’ sinter bronze inserts which are self-lubricating; and therefore maintenance free. At the base of the bearing, we use our specially developed ‘high-tech’ material TIDORFOLON. Our bearing runs dry - without oil.
•The external drive motor of the turntable is run by its own electronic controller, called the Beta DIG. The AC mains voltage is converted to DC current and a integrated Controller generates the necessary sine wave for the motor fully digital. The frequency is Quartz looked and because of the digital design not heat is created. Frequency stability and power are increased to the former analog Version.The Beta DIG is impervious to the negative effects of mains voltage fluctuations and household appliances that produce ‘noisy’ mains that can have a very great detrimental effect on AC motors and therefore the turntable performance and ultimately the sound. The Beta DIG control is the perfect design solution.
Facts:
•A 45mm solid aluminium chassis forms the base of the turntable, on which all arm attachments are fitted.
• The tone arm mounting plates are adjustable. The mounting of any desired tone arm is possible, with a maximum of 3 tone arm mounting plates for either 9” or 12” on one turntable. • The three widely spaced adjustable feet offer simple macro and micro adjustments to level the turntable. The high mass platter (with its inertia) is an integral part of the turntable concept. Very low bearing friction, perfect motor drive control and large platter inertia guarantee perfect synchronization and the best sound. Highest precision manufacturing in Germany guarantees reliability of this turntable. To make sure that every STORM Mk2 is exactly the same we produce nearly every part on high precision computer controlled machines.

Drive unit Synchron motor, electronically regulated, Power-decoupled, adjustable
Bearing Highly precise roller burnished Tidorfolon bearing Chassis Resonance-optimised 45mm mass chassis with 3 adjustable feet, very soft alloy for low resonance. Platter High precision machined 12 kg alloy platter 50mm thick incorporating 8 Silencers. Resonance absorbing coating to bottom face. Speed Range Synchronous motor, electronically regulated, Power-decoupled through a S-Alpha supply, switch for speed adjustment. Power Suply 230 or 115 V depending of your country, Alpha-S motor electronic Dimensions 440 mm depth, 440 mm width
ca. 31-35 kg depending on extras odered


Funk Firm F5

Design Features

F5 is a ground up design which helps it deliver technically, which then works to get more music from the groove.

Variable Mass:

Immediately noticeable is the contrasting sliding weight on the arm itself. On the one hand, this makes setting the tracking weight very straightforward. It does, however, have a more cunning benefit. Moving coil cartridges tend to be low compliance designs, which track at slightly elevated tracking forces and benefit from higher mass arms. The sliding weight moves further forward thereby increasing the effective mass.
Conversely, moving magnet cartridges are higher compliance. They track at lower weights and need lower mass arms. With F5, the sliding weight doesn’t go as for forward and the effective mass is lower.

Bias.

The stylus is THE business end of the analogue chain.
If it breaks, you ruin your records.
If it is worn, reproduction is poor at best and again you can wear your records as well.
Worst of all is that it is oh, so-o tiny. There is no way we can tell how much wear there is (or even if it is there at all!). Add to that most of us are pretty lazy / impoverished; certainly we can’t recall how many records we’ve played and so on.
All this adds up to potential problems down the line.
The trouble is that once trouble has occurred, there is no going back.

So, doesn’t it make sense to protect your stylus from day one? And one of the easiest and most important things you can do after setting the tracking weight is to correctly set the bias.

The trouble is that bias is one of those things that very few people give much thought to. If a design says "adjust it ’so’", then surely that’s good enough.
Sadly, that’s not the case. Bias is an insidiously important part of the setup. It works unseen to affect tracking, distortion and most damaging of all, the wear of your precious stylus.
For any given cartridge, there is a correct amount of bias to be applied at the start of the record and this then needs to diminish gently towards the end.

Magnetic systems are by their very nature non-linear and bias systems based on them will vary quite dramatically and incorrectly, hence why we have chosen not to use them here but instead returned to the tried and tested thread and weight.

In this day of super cool black box wizardry that is the computer, it might look tweakish - we actually think it looks pretty funky but that’s our opinion. The important thing is that they do a really good job of keeping the stylus evenly balanced in the groove, preventing it from forcing its attention on one groove wall or other.

having said that, historically, thread and weights have been fiddly. We have looked at it long and hard and come up with a solution we think is pretty neat.
Instead of fighting with moving the thread along a rod (as per the previous norm), we fix the thread to the rod and move that instead.
Problem solved.

 

Specification

Mounting Distance: 222mm
Mounting: Standard Rega 3-point - Holes at 20mm radius
Effective Length: 239mm
Effective Mass: Medium, Variable, depending on Tracking weight
Bearings: High performance, very low friction.
Cartridge Suitability: Suitable for cartridges low and high compliance