nce upon a time, the world of vinyl replay consisted of record players and motor units. The former -- complete, integrated solutions -- were firmly intended for domestic use, while the latter were aimed at the broadcast market, designed to be built into studio consoles and used by radio stations. But hi-fi being what it is, it wasn’t long before enterprising audiophiles, in search of superior performance, were buying the likes of Garrard’s 301 and 401, or the Thorens TD124. Likewise, hi-fi being what it is, it wasn’t long before people were offering commercially available plinths for domestic use, saving you the bother of building your own to house a separate motor unit. It was a trend that continued for years, only dying out with the eventual demise of the Technics SP-10 Mk 3 in 1987.

How fitting, then, that the return of the SP-10 should also signal a rising trend in what could be described as motor units or, at the very least, plinthless designs. In Munich, Living Voice -- using a record player on active demonstration with the Vox Olympian for the first time -- opted to use the Grand Prix Audio Monaco 2.0 ($37,500), paired with a Kuzma 4Point tonearm and Fuuga cartridge, a Rigid Float/Ortofon SPU on hand as backup. Meanwhile, Grand Prix gave the Parabolica ($16,500) its European debut, alongside the Monaco 2.0, both also using the 4Point/Fuuga combination, generously allowing us to use their ‘tables for our record-replay EQ presentations.

Elsewhere, Acoustical Systems showed a modified Amari motor unit (itself a Micro-Seiki RX-5000 clone, albeit one using an 18mm ceramic-shaft main bearing) sporting their own vinyl platter, an arrangement that triples the platter inertia and totally decouples the spindle and platter surface from the main bearing. That, in turn, demands a raised armboard while Acoustical Systems also replaces the pots on the speed controller and modifies the separate power supply. The resulting package is priced at €8000 and looks to offer a serious slice of significantly updated yet still vintage-based performance.

But perhaps the most intriguing deck on offer was Franc Kuzma’s Stabi R, a solid block of aluminum milled into a compact chassis accommodating the DC drive system, push-button controls, inverted, ruby main bearing and platter from the Stabi M, along with the necessary power supply -- all within a 14" square footprint.

But what is really clever about this design is the versatile arm-mounting options it provides. You can order the Stabi R with a full-depth, bolt-on armboard (or one for each side if you wish), with a range of pivoting or simple right-angle tonearm mounts for anything up to four 'arms . . . ,

. . . or a really rather elegant wooden plinth that surrounds the motor unit and supports the 'arm itself -- with all single-arm-mount options priced at the same €7000 cost. That’s smart looking and smart thinking.