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REVIEW: Nottingham Analogue 294 Turntables

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Model: 294
Category: Turntables
Suggested Retail Price: $4000.00
Description: 294 turntable and 294 arm
Manufacturer URL: Not Available

Review by Langdell on July 27, 2011 at 12:50:51
IP Address: 64.129.157.130
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As I start this review, I have had the Nottingham Analogue Space 294 turntable for just under a week. The cartridge I’m using on it is also brand new, and I was planning to wait until it had broken in before writing this review, but I have already been able to form definite impressions of this table, arm, and cartridge combo, and maybe this review—which is intended to be mainly about the table and does not include an A/B comparison with my old cartridge—will actually give a more meaningful idea of what the table itself is doing given that the fact that the cart is not yet broken in. I now have about 15-20 hours of listening on the 294.

To cut to the chase: to my ears, the combination I’m using—Space 294 turntable, Nottingham Analogue 12” Space Arm, and Benz Micro Wood SH cartridge—sounds amazing right out of the box. Bottom line, barring disaster, I’m confident the 294 will be my last turntable purchase. Unless maybe I win the lottery, but maybe not even then. This is after a lifetime (so far) of listening to vinyl, beginning with a plastic turntable with a handle (with stock arm, steel stylus, and built-in amplification and speaker) and stopping most recently, for seven years, with my first Nottingham purchase—the entry-level Nottingham Horizon with RB250 arm, used with a Benz Micro MC Silver cartridge.

I regard the 294 as a no-apologies stopping-point turntable. I will apologize for some of the limitations of this review. As said, there’s no A/B comparison with carts. An A/B comparison with arms wouldn’t be possible because the 294 requires a 12” arm. I also have not compared the 294 rig with any other rig at the same price point. After my extremely satisfactory experience with the Horizon, I knew my next (and probably last) turntable would be a higher-level Nottingham. I know what I like, and I like the Nottingham sound (and the design philosophy behind it, and the aesthetics it results in). So, any comparisons here are between the mid-level 294/Space Arm/Benz Wood combo—which I’ll just refer to as “the 294” from now on—and the entry-level Horizon/RB250/Benz MC Silver combo, all of which will be included when I say “the Horizon.” Oh, I am also using a Boston Audio Mat 1, which I used on the Horizon with good results and now have on the 294. To keep this simple: my recommendations are, (1) for excellent sound at an entry-level price point, get my Horizon combo, and (2) for even excellenter sound at a mid-level price point, get my 294 combo. (And if you’re not getting the desired results, upgrade your downstream gear and, if necessary, move to a home with a listening room appropriately matched to your selected Nottingham turntable.)

In case it’s not obvious by now, I’m a huge Nottingham fan. (My wife says I’m a real Notthead! But I’m not sure that’s how she’s spelling it.) That’s because their turntables have won me over by what they do. If you’re familiar with Nottingham turntables, you know that they all employ basic design principles—a non-suspended, belt-driven table; with a heavy platter of some mysterious alloy; run by a low-power AC motor that is always left on and requires you to push the platter by hand to start it (there is no on/off switch). And, if you’re familiar with Notts, you did not need to read the preceding sentence. The turntables are not built into a conventional plinth; Nottingham supplies a “plinth” platform that you can set the turntable on, but it’s optional. They say that any solid surface will do fine. The “dustcover” is just a piece of plastic the size and shape of a record that covers only the platter. The Notts are not audio jewelry—they look like what they are, purposefully designed machines that lift music from records. To me, a Nott table looks like an extension of the record itself. I love the way they look, and a visitor to my home commenting on the Horizon unintentionally summed up why when he remarked: “That’s either really old or really new.” Of course, these things are a matter of taste. Some people like what I like; others have poor taste. Anyway, the 294 is basically an extension of the long-running Spacedeck (in its current Ace Space incarnation), which is specially designed to use a 12” arm and has a 14” platter that’s supposed to improve rotational stability (and, I guess, play all those 14” records you have). I have not heard a Spacedeck but have been told that, while the Spacedeck sounds wonderful, the 294 is a meaningful improvement, which I hope is true given the price difference.

Another point about the Notts is that they are very well built and low maintenance. Once set up, a Nott table will stay set up. I value this as I’d rather listen to music than constantly tweak around with my turntable.

Sooooo, how does the 294 sound? To my ears, the short answer is amazing. I believe that music is ultimately a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts, and this table just flat out makes music. To be more specific about the parts, I think the 294 excels in all the important areas, including PRAT, soundstage, imaging, detail, dynamics, and quiet background. My Horizon did all these things extremely well for its price point, and the 294 just takes these good things to a dramatically higher level, as it should for the price difference. (Again, I haven’t compared the 294 to other tables in the price range, so when I say the 294 is great, I make no claim that there’s not something greater out there.)

I have very eclectic musical tastes—including most types of rock, jazz, and classical—and often switch between dramatically different record sides in a single listening session. So it’s important to me that a turntable be able to handle all kinds of music equally well, and the 294 does not disappoint. Whatever I throw at it—from Pink Floyd, to Spoon, to early Yes (great for cartridge break-in and testing tracking!), to Wes Montgomery, to John Williams, to Charlie Haden, to Miles Davis, to Chick Corea/Return to Forever (also a great break-in/tracking test), to chamber music, to Phase 4 Stereo’s 1812 Overture, to, etc., etc.—has sounded great—at least as great as the particular recording allowed it to sound.
I have Naim amps and speakers because “flat earth” characteristics like PRAT are important to me, but I don’t mind a bit if a component that has good PRAT also has good “round earth” qualities like soundstage, air, depth, and imaging. The 294 works on all those levels.

PRAT: Timing seems just right to me. The 294 can carry a tune.

Soundstage, etc.: “Space” is not just a name! The space created by the 294 is what strikes me the most about it’s presentation. Soundstage is wide and expansive, and there is air around the instruments. A sense of the recording venue is created. The sequence of clocks striking on side 1 of Dark Side of the Moon is one of my favorite test passages for how my system is doing on soundstage (and imaging)—and it’s fantastic on the 294—those clocks are hanging and striking 20-feet above my head and to either side. (On the whole, DSOTM just blows my mind on the 294.) Orchestral music is convincing. (Orchestral is much better on the 294 than the Horizon. On the Horizon, it was very pleasant but not big enough to be convincing.) Spoon is rocking in my house (and, apparently, hanging out beyond the walls of my second-floor listening room).

Imaging: Rock solid, stable, and real, at least as far as the particular recording allows. Charlie Haden is plucking and slapping his bass right there, just ahead of me and to the left a bit. Miles Davis’s horn is right there, floating above and in front of my head. Christopher Parkening is sitting plucking his guitar right in front of me. One track on Return to Forever’s Hymn of the Seventh Galaxy has some instrument (finger cymbals?) “tinging” every couple of beats for an extended period—the finger cymbals (or whatever) just stay right there, up and aways to the right, invisibly tinging away from that same spot in the air. Magical and musical!

Dynamics: Maybe second only to space and soundstage, the 294’s dynamics really strike me. Again, this is an area where the Horizon is good and the 294 noticeably betters it. The crescendo finale of 1812 Overture just brings down the house (almost literally, need to get the plaster checked).

Quiet: The music I hear is always more important to me than the silence I don’t, but I appreciate that the 294 seems to be at least as quiet as the vinyl that’s placed on it will allow. On records with average amounts of surface noise, I immediately noticed a quieter noise floor than on the Horizon (which was itself pretty quiet). On some noisy dollar-bin records, the surface noise is still there, but reduced and relegated to the edges of the soundstage, allowing the music to flow through and overpower it. On a couple $1 Errol Garner mono 6-eyes, I’m so engrossed with that piano playing away smack between and above my speakers that I barely mind the slight sound of bacon sizzling off to the sides. On Jeff Buckley’s Grace—a vinyl reissue that I bought new and was always disappointed with because the surface noise is high and the volume level low—I was less disappointed than before. It’s still noisier than it should be, but more listenable on the 294.

O.K., this has already run way too long, so I’m going to stop. In conclusion, I love and recommend the Nottingham Analogue Space 294.


Product Weakness: I don't get paid to listen to music on it.
Product Strengths: Makes music! Has a low-torque motor and no on/off switch, so you get to start the platter by hand.


Associated Equipment for this Review:

Amplifier: Naim NAP 200
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): Naim NAC 202, Naim Stageline (MM) phono stage
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Nottingham Analogue Space 294, 12
Speakers: Naim Ariva
Cables/Interconnects: Naim NACA5
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Rock, jazz, classical
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Nottingham Analogue 294 Turntables - Langdell 12:50:51 07/27/11 ( 42)