The Lumley Stratosphere

On it's original conception some 12 years ago, suspension was the prime factor in the Stratosphere's launch onto the market. The Air Pod (now manufactured by Clear Audio) was designed to virtually levitate the whole turntable onto a bed of air and to that effect the current Stratosphere is supported in the same way. The latest version from Clear Audio, the 'Magix' are a refined and perfected version of the original Air Pod and their performance now allows complete suspension of the Stratosphere without any contact whatsoever between itself and the supporting stand or shelf, This truly is a Floating' turntable without the necessity of pumps or pipes and also along with the whole Stratosphere, this enables us to offer a lifetime's guarantee with the whole unit.

The latest design has however, taken things considerably further. Isolation is one of the key factors that contribute to the Stratosphere's ability to separate the music from the vinyl. The only vibration that can now affect the performance is through the air; which is virtually impossible to stop. This means that the noise floor is extremely low and there is virtually no extraneous noise created from the workings of the turntable finally reaching the arm and stylus. Not only have improvements been made to the suspension but also there are other significant properties that elevate the performance of the latest Stratosphere from the original design.

As mentioned above, materials are a key factor. Throughout the latest design, new and highly innovative methods of combining the finest deadening materials with accuracy of function were the goals of the latest design philosophy. The new bearing uses a titanium nitride plated spindle operating in a non metal cavity supported via a special top plate again fixed in the same material which is as silent in operation as can possibly be achieved using a permanent contact method. The supporting ball is also not metallic and the centre spindle is in two sections and two materials, there being a gap between these two parts facilitating more isolation of any bearing noise reaching the stylus. The main flywheel is also considerably different from the original. New materials are used here and it is internally damped and balanced adding to the stability
of revolution required by just such a play back medium. Then we have the top platters. Two more damped acrylic platters take isolation to the extreme allowing the final contact of a vinyl record to be as isolated as possible from all the workings beneath. The 'puck' remains the same as experiments have failed to improve on the original there also being a number of other propriety products on the market from which enthusiasts may wish to experiment with. The arm pod has been updated, again with substantial damping and solidity taking precedence and different versions are available to facilitate the fitting of most pick-up arms available on the open market today. Finally, a new and far more substantial motor assembly complements the whole set up, using a new mains powered motor allowing the best performance in its standard version. A new power supply will shortly be available to take the speed control and resultant sound even further.

The Stratosphere MK 2 is once again, one of the very best turntables available today. Available at a very reasonable extra cost in various different colour finishes with Gold furnishings - black and polished chrome being the standard. The original stand remains the same as here again, improvements at amodest cost were deemed unnecessary.

Other added extras can be ordered on request:

Stand

Spare Arm Pod

Extra Gold Finish

Extra Colour Variation