BRINKMANN
Brinkmann Balance 2
Hi Fi News 01 October 2014 Full Review
Germany’s Brinkmann Audio introduces its new ? agship turntable, the Balance 2, featuring a wealth of innovative technology to extract the very best from your vinyl.
British visitors to the acompanies with products on display plan to export them to the UK, which makes buying the components complicated. One company that does not fall into this category is Brinkmann Audio, whose new ?agship turntable, the Balance 2 – a masterpiece of stylish understatement – is available in the UK via importers Symmetry.
The Balance actually dates back to 1984 and has remained the company’s ? agship despite the arrival of the Oasis and Bardo models that utilise Brinkmann’s in-house designed direct-drive motor. You might have thought it logical for the company to use this system again for a new top model, but Helmut Brinkmann decided it was better to use his Sinus motor and a belt-drive system as a way to update the Balance. The result is a brand new model aimed at customers who had requested a two tonearm option (a gap created by the discontinuation of the company’s LaGrange model).
Although not physically larger than the Balance, the Balance 2 takes up rather more space when fully loaded. The plinth is CNC machined from aluminium and supports both arm bases plus the bearing. It sits on three spiked feet that are adjustable for levelling, and the screw closest to the bearing has a copper insert that helps dissipate unwanted resonances from the bearing into the plinth.
The bearing is made of hardened stainless steel and rotates in sintered brass bushings. It is ? xed into its housing, is non-removable and is maintenance free, but it’s unusual in that the bearing assembly is heated in order to ensure the bearing operates at a steady temperature independent of the owner’s room conditions. This is achieved by a power MOSFET device located in the chassis that dissipates a steady 15W when active.