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AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm)

Turntable

Relative price

above typical

Among the 40 turntables in the catalogue, this one is above typical.

A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.

What it is

Reference flagship — every other AVID model derived from Acutus design philosophy.

Conrad Mas: "challenge of designing a turntable is like a jigsaw puzzle — each piece must be perfect and work perfectly together."

AVID also does engineering work for other audio firms and the medical field, exports to 36 countries.

Competition record

Assessed against 9 rivals across the sixty systems: 4 head-to-heads won, 44 lost.

Where it gives ground

The dimension the engine names as the weakest link, counted across every head-to-head it lost.

  • mechanical hush ×38
  • speed stability ×2

Who it comes up against

Vertere DG-X Sabre Lite Pack

17 lost · Anchored, Artisan, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Characterful, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path

Against the Anchored brief, the Vertere DG-X Sabre Lite Pack keeps the slot decisively.

With the Vertere Groove Runner X, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Vertere Groove Runner X gives up mechanical hush under the Anchored weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

Acutus retrieves massive amounts of data from discAVID Acutus Reference SP + VintageSonics LP12 comparison

Technics SL-1200G

15 lost· 2 won · Anchored, BBC Sound, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path, Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) takes the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

Acutus retrieves massive amounts of data from discAVID Acutus Reference SP + VintageSonics LP12 comparison

Michell Gyro 2025

7 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, PRaT, Reference, Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Michell Gyro 2025 keeps the slot by a whisker.

With the Michell TecnoArm 2, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Michell TecnoArm 2 gives up mechanical hush under the Silent Path weighting.

Acutus retrieves massive amounts of data from discAVID Acutus Reference SP + VintageSonics LP12 comparison

Origin Live Calypso Mk5 (no arm)

2 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Calypso Mk5 (no arm) keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

Origin Live Resolution Mk5 (no arm)

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Resolution Mk5 (no arm) keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

Origin Live Sovereign Mk5 (no arm)

1 lost · Silent Path

Against the Silent Path brief, the Origin Live Sovereign Mk5 (no arm) keeps the slot by a whisker.

With the Origin Live Encounter Mk5, the pairing gives up most on mechanical hush.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Origin Live Encounter Mk5 gives up mechanical hush under the Silent Path weighting.

Acutus retrieves massive amounts of data from discAVID Acutus Reference SP + VintageSonics LP12 comparison

Origin Live Aurora Mk5 (no arm)

1 lost · Twin Arms

Against the Twin Arms brief, the Origin Live Aurora Mk5 (no arm) keeps the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck — but it loses here on fit: the way it sits with the rest of this system under the Twin Arms weighting.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

AVID Volvere SP (no arm)

0 lost· 1 won · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) takes the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

Technics SL-1500CS (with cart)

0 lost· 1 won · Vocals-First

Against the Vocals-First brief, the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) takes the slot by a whisker.

On its own merits the AVID Acutus Reference SP (no arm) is the stronger record deck for that brief.

It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the record deck position.

What the reviewers said

Acutus retrieves massive amounts of data from disc AVID Acutus Reference SP + VintageSonics LP12 comparison· Mechanical noise floor
ultra-low noise floor... music up out of nowhere TONEAudio (Dorgay) 2012· Mechanical noise floor
tonal images in true three-dimensional space TONEAudio (Dorgay) 2012· Spatial naturalness
rock-solid pitch stability TONEAudio (Dorgay) 2012· Timing precision
suspension tuned to 2.5Hz... isolating the stylus TONEAudio (Dorgay) 2012· Acoustic isolation

How it scores

Clarity

  • Mechanical noise floor 82 from listening evidence

Voice

  • Spatial naturalness 82 from listening evidence

Rhythm

  • Timing precision 82 from listening evidence

LowerVolume

  • Acoustic isolation 76 from listening evidence

Specifications

drive typebelt
motor type24V AC SP-grade
speeds rpm33.33/45
platter materialmirror-finished alloy
platter mass kg10.0
plinth materialcast aluminium W-shape
suspension typeprecisely-wound coil suspension
bearing typeflagship sapphire
weight kg36.0
psu typeexternal SP-grade
notes