.The Blackstone Project
Blackstone Reference turntable
BLACKSTONE REFERENCE TURNTABLE
Blackstone – The turntables milestone
Blackstone is the result of the in-depth technical research carried out by Audiosilente, an Italian company with over 20 years of background in servicing, streamlining, developing and creating idler drive turntables.
Blackstone is the result of the in-depth technical research carried out by Audiosilente, an Italian company with over 20 years of background in servicing, streamlining, developing and creating idler drive turntables.
The project takes its cue from the constant quest for mechanical and electronic improvements and evolutions, aiming at bringing a high-end idler drive turntable at its best.
This is the origin of the new Blackstone turntable, arisen from countless and painstaking lab testing and simulations in order to reach perfection, designed to deliver an unrivalled turntable, built to last and perform at the highest level for a long time.
Made of stone, metal and blood
Graphite – The triangular shaped chassis is completely made out of isostatic graphite HDG (High Density Graphite), consisting of compacted microspheres with a resistance to temperatures exceeding 2500°C, excellent conductive properties and high damping factor (DF) of endogenous and exogenous vibrations. The isotropic features of this mineral make of it the top end solution for the turntable main frame. In addition the chassis is set up for the handy mounting of armboards: the installation of a 9" or 13" tonearm will be an easy and rapid operation. Leveling is quick and smooth due to the in-built spirit level and the 3 adjustable graphite feet. These may be replaced by rubber isolation feet to switch from a suspended to a non-suspended chassis deck (only available upon request)
Graphite – The triangular shaped chassis is completely made out of isostatic graphite HDG (High Density Graphite), consisting of compacted microspheres with a resistance to temperatures exceeding 2500°C, excellent conductive properties and high damping factor (DF) of endogenous and exogenous vibrations. The isotropic features of this mineral make of it the top end solution for the turntable main frame. In addition the chassis is set up for the handy mounting of armboards: the installation of a 9" or 13" tonearm will be an easy and rapid operation. Leveling is quick and smooth due to the in-built spirit level and the 3 adjustable graphite feet. These may be replaced by rubber isolation feet to switch from a suspended to a non-suspended chassis deck (only available upon request)
Steel
Every single mechanical wear component is made of ground and chrome plated casehardened steel, which is lastly hand polished (Spindle diameter 14mm - Stepped Pulley axis diameter 8mm).
Bronze
Every single bushing of the turntable is made of self-lubricating and oil prepreg sintered bronze (heated and pressed from metallic powder). Further effort has been devoted to the spindle: each sintered bushing has been finely milled cut in order to support the spindle constant lubrication within its housing. Such a groundbreaking and combined system, relying on very tight manufacturing tolerances (0.005mm), pretty much eliminates the wear of the bushings. An oil refill hole has been drilled at the top of the spindle. Everything can be inspected properly through the supplied level dipstick.
Cast Iron
The spindle housing is made out of cast iron, the most logical choice as for its null coefficient of thermal expansion when exposed to high temperatures.
Ceramics
All moving parts, as the spindle and the stepped pulley, are placed on ceramic ball bearings grade 3 - the best available grade (ruby ball bearings on request) - which in turn lean against self-lubricating material.
Alluminium
All rotating parts are made out of turned and balanced alluminium.
The sound in the shell
The platter
Nearly 8kg of brass and bronze casting turned and balanced, it comes coupled with an isostatic graphite HDG sub-platter 20mm thick. The supplied isostatic graphite 800g clamp is its ideal partner.
The motor
A Papst asynchronous motor made in Germany pumps blood in the drive system. Electronically controlled, it is uncoupled through made in Japan gel grommets.
The spindle
At the heart of the Blackstone. Once the speed has been set manually, the electronic control system performs a check of the platter speed through an optical encoder installed just under the spindle itself. It repeats this operation for 1.000 times at each rotation and it automatically and instantly adjusts the motor speed and torque to achieve and retain the perfect speed. Available speeds: 16 - 33 – 45 – 78 rpm.
Good is not enough
Quartz – The electronic control system is equipped with the quartz oscillator specifically designed by Audiosilente. Blackstone is in fact the first idler drive turntable totally quartz controlled (33 and 45 rpm). A highly advanced system bringing to the best ever torque performance to be found in any other existing turntable, with idler, belt or direct drive. Rotation accuracy is up to 99.9998% and a 50% reduction in motor speed and related potential vibrations is achieved. You will not detect the usual noises coming from idler drive turntables here!
That’s why the Blackstone is a milestone!
Entirely made with passion and love in Italy. We strive for perfection.
The Blackstone turntable comes upon request in 4 versions depending on the size of the chassis and the two different electronic control systems available.
The 13" high mass carbon and graphite tonearm BlackSilent is a match made in heaven.
Quartz – The electronic control system is equipped with the quartz oscillator specifically designed by Audiosilente. Blackstone is in fact the first idler drive turntable totally quartz controlled (33 and 45 rpm). A highly advanced system bringing to the best ever torque performance to be found in any other existing turntable, with idler, belt or direct drive. Rotation accuracy is up to 99.9998% and a 50% reduction in motor speed and related potential vibrations is achieved. You will not detect the usual noises coming from idler drive turntables here!
That’s why the Blackstone is a milestone!
Entirely made with passion and love in Italy. We strive for perfection.
The Blackstone turntable comes upon request in 4 versions depending on the size of the chassis and the two different electronic control systems available.
The 13" high mass carbon and graphite tonearm BlackSilent is a match made in heaven.
.
