AVID Acutus
A high-end turntable built around a heavy platter and proprietary vibration control. It was AVID's first product.
Overview
The AVID Acutus is a turntable from AVID HiFi, and it was the company's first product. Conrad Mas designed it. He got there through his own obsession with turntable performance, starting with a Connoisseur BD1 kit. The idea was to build the best turntable possible and work downward from that. It has a heavy platter and a heavy, sprung sub-chassis, which gives a stable platform that resists vibration. The motor is a synchronous 24V unit, hand made by AVID, and it runs from an external power supply. The tonearm mount is SME-compatible, so other arms need adapters.
Specifications
| Motor | Synchronous 24V unit, hand made by Avid. |
| Power supply | External power supply. |
| Platter | Heavy platter. |
| Sub-chassis | Heavy, sprung sub-chassis. |
| Tonearm compatibility | Tonearm support cut for SME; adapters required for other arms. |
Design
The Acutus is built around a proprietary vibration control method, central to how it sounds. Platter and clamp upgrades are optional. AVID started with the goal of the best turntable possible, then refined from there. The construction is all mass and isolation: a heavy, sprung sub-chassis carries the platter and tonearm assembly.
Context
AVID HiFi began in 1995, and the Acutus was its first product. Conrad Mas, the designer and owner, developed it out of his deep personal interest in turntable engineering. The Acutus is second from the top in AVID's lineup of five turntable models: Diva II, Volvere, Sequel, Acutus, and Reference. The Sequel, Volvere, and Diva came later, derived by simplifying or adapting elements of the Acutus design.
Reception
A reviewer who owned the Avid Acutus called it "the best turntable I had at home" and said it remains one of the top turntables in the world. He described the sound as incredibly saturated, full, slightly warm and illuminating, and distinctly less bright than other turntables. During the review period, the reviewer played almost nothing but vinyl and avoided CDs entirely.
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