The Soulines story

In mid-2009 we decided to finally start doing for living something that we really like and enjoy. Being discerning music lovers and trained musicians with solid experience in recording, mixing, production and sound restoration on the one side and trained mechanical engineers on the other, we decided to commercialize our long-time hobby and passion, turntable tweaking/upgrading/redesign/building.
We started the “tt recycled” company (turntable recycled), www.ttrecycled.com, with the main intention of offering turntable upgrade/tweaking services along with turntable recycling and redesign. In a short period of time we established ourselves as local turntable specialists, successfully recycling, redesigning and upgrading turntables for local clients. Along with commissioned projects, we produced a number of turntables successfully employing our own design ideas. Soon, these models gained popularity among local audiophiles, winning “The Best sound award” at the Belgrade Hi-Files Show 2010.
 

The idea

Building on the idea of our own turntable design, we wanted to create a high quality record player that would be exceptional. The idea was to combine musicality and beauty in an electro-mechanical object that plays vinyl records.  At the same time, our focus was on “easy of use and set-up”.
The result is Hermes DCX turntable.
After extensive listening tests and great success at the 2011 Belgrade Hi-Files show, we decided to offer the Hermes DCX turntable worldwide.

And so, the soulines company was born.

kubrick DCX

This is our most advanced turntable to date. Building around our inverted main bearing and Acrylic platter, developed for the Hermes DCX model, we designed a highly rigid aluminum plinth and sub-plinth, built from differently shaped layers-blocks, coupled together and strategically damped.

Design (dimensions, shape and arrangement of different openings/holes) of plinth and sub-plinth aluminum blocks employs Golden Ratio and Fibonacci sequence, thus gaining uniform vibration damping and the reduction of the Moment of inertia in all three planes (along all three axes) to the Center of mass.Even though Kubrick DCX looks asymmetrical or unbalanced, it is in perfect balance, providing smooth platter rotation and steady tracking.

Drive mechanism utilizes high quality DC motor optimized for turntable use. Along with an easy operation and fine speed adjustment feature, an electronically controlled power supply provides stable current for smooth motor rotation.

Inverted main bearing, machined from solid brass and stainless steel to extremely high precision, and solid aluminum arm-board are mounted directly on the sub plinth which is in turn 3-point coupled to the main plinth in order to maximize performance and minimize acoustic break through. The motor assembly is mounted on the main plinth. 

The platter, 40mm thick and weighing 3.2kg, is machined from Acrylic to very high accuracy. The use of mat is completely up to the user preferences, thankfully to the 1.0mm deep recess carved into the top plane of the platter in the middle (for the record paper label) and to the fact that Acrylic proved itself as a great turntable mat “material”.
The turntable is supported by three adjustable cones machined from solid aluminum to allow leveling and provide optimum coupling to the surface that it sits on. Supporting cones are coupled to the main plinth by means of rubber-cork washers of different diameters, providing better vibration transmitting control.

 

Specifications

Drive:
 electronically controlled high quality DC motor
Speeds:
 33.33 and 45.00 RPM with fine speed adjustment feature
Bearing:
 inverted solid brass/stainless steel; Derlin thrust plate
Platter:
 40mm thick 3.2kg weighing, machined from laminated Acrylic
Construction:
 multi layered aluminum main plinth with the 3-point coupled aluminum sub-plinth
Finish:
 silver anodized aluminum

Extras:

 

 3 user exchangeable arm-boards for 9″ SME, Jelco and Rega/Origin Live/Audio Note tone-arms; SA cover – Acrylic made dust cover; rubber-cork mat; Protractor LP – a cartridge alignment tool
Power:
 AC 230V/50Hz; DC input 12V/300mA
Dimensions:
 470x350x160mm (WxDxH) overall; 400x350mm (WxD) footprint
Net weight:
 14kg
Packaging:
 530x400x260mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight:
 15kg

elgar DCX

 

Desire to design a turntable that is advanced by performance, as well as elegant and compact by dimensions, brought us to Elgar DCX. We named it after English composer Edward Elgar, who was the first composer of classical music to take the gramophone seriously, as well as the composer of our favorite cello concerto – the Cello Concerto in E minor.
 
Highly rigid main plinth is constructed of two massive blocks machined from solid aluminum, bolted together and damped accordingly, and a 50/10mm diameter aluminum pipe, forming together a T-shaped structure. Employing this kind of design provides perfect balance for the plinth itself, by reducing the Moment of inertia in all three planes (along all three axes) to the Center of mass, thus gaining uniform vibration damping.
  
Inverted main bearing (identical to one employed in our flagship model, Kubrick DCX) is mounted directly onto the aluminum sub-plinth which is in turn 3-point coupled to the main plinth (by means of rubber-cork washers of different diameter) in order to maximize performance and minimize acoustic break through.

The platter, 40mm thick and weighing 3.2kg, is machined from Acrylic to very high accuracy. The use of mat is completely up to the user preferences, thankfully to the 1.0mm deep recess carved into the top plane of the platter in the middle (for the record paper label) and to the fact that Acrylic proved itself as a great turntable mat “material”.

The motor assembly, consisting of electronically controlled high quality DC motor optimized for turntable use is mounted onto the main plinth.

The aluminum sub-plinth is designed to accept any tone-arm utilizing SME mounting scheme standard, and two additional (user) exchangeable Acrylic arm boards for Jelco/Linn and Rega/Origin Live type arms are included, thus almost any 9″ tonearm available could be employed.
There are no obvious switches/on-off buttons and/or marks/symbols, yet the left part of the aluminum pipe is actually an on/off and speed selection switch/knob, utilizing the rotary switch with 3 positions, off/33/45. Fine speed adjustment is possible by rotating two small trimmers (one for 33rpm and one for 45rpm) positioned close to the motor and pulley.

 

Specifications

Drive:
 electronically controlled high quality DC motor
Speeds:
 33.33 and 45.00 RPM with fine speed adjustment feature
Bearing:
 inverted; solid brass/stainless steel; Derlin thrust plate
Platter:
 40mm thick 3.2kg weighing, machined from Acrylic
Construction:
 T-shaped aluminum main plinth with the 3-point coupled aluminum sub-plinth
Finish:
 silver anodized aluminum

Extras:

 

 2 exchangeable Acrylic arm-boards for 9″ Jelco and Rega/Origin Live/Audio Note tone arms; SA cover – Acrylic made dust cover; rubber-cork mat; Protractor LP – a cartridge alignment tool
Power:
 AC 230V/50Hz; DC input 12V/300mA
Dimensions:
 430x350x160mm (WxDxH) overall
Net weight:
 13kg
Packaging:
 530x400x260mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight:
 14kg

 

 

dostoyevsky DCX

 

 Dostoyevsky DCX was conceived as a “classic” turntable, wooden rectangular box with platter and tone-arm on the top.

The idea was to build around “classical turntable look” while incorporating design and engineering required for great sounding turntable.
 
After three years in production with some minor improvements over the time, our “classical looking” model Dostoyevsky DCX has been substantially upgraded now.
 
The main chassis/plinth is still made of three 18mm thick layers of Baltic Birch plywood, bonded together. Baltic Birch plywood is chosen to its “right” strength/mass ratio and “sound” character.
Please bear in mind that Baltic Birch plywood is made of real wood Baltic Birch ply, and as such is subject to certain inconsistencies like visible knotholes, grain/color/shade inconsistency, etc.
 
It is not two box design (separated motor box) anymore; the upgraded Dostoyevsky DCX is a proper plinth/sub-plinth design now, with the sub-plinth/chassis made of sandwiched aluminum and Acrylic, and it is 3-point coupled to the main plinth/chassis by means of rubber-cork washers of different diameters and shapes, providing better vibration transmitting control, maximizing performance and minimizing acoustic break through.
 

The bearing is the heart of every turntable, “everything spins around bearing”, and Dostoyevsky DCX incorporate the same type of inverted main bearing made from solid brass and stainless steel, as is used in our more advanced models, Elgar DCX and Kubrick DCX. It is extremely high precision machined and employs Derlin thrust plate.

 
The platter, 30mm thick and weighing 2.6kg is machined from Acrylic to very high accuracy and ensures good speed stability. The use of mat is completely up to the user preferences, thankfully to the 1.0mm deep recess carved into the top plane of the platter in the middle (for the record paper label) and to the fact that Acrylic proved itself as a great turntable mat “material”.
 
Drive mechanism utilizes high quality DC motor optimized for turntable use, electronically controlled, thus providing an easy operation and fine speed adjustment feature.
 
The turntable is supported by three adjustable cones machined from solid aluminum to allow leveling and provide optimum coupling to the surface that it sits on.
 
While looking “square” and simple from the outside, the main plinth employs advanced vibration control design, by means of different curved triangular openings in the two lower plywood layers.

 

Specifications

 

Drive:
 electronically controlled quality DC motor
Speeds:
 33.33 and 45.00 RPM with fine speed adjustment feature
Bearing:
 inverted solid brass/stainless steel; Derlin thrust plate
Platter:
 30mm thick 2.6kg weighing, machined from Acrylic

Construction:

 

 main plinth made of three 18mm thick layers of Baltic Birch plywood, bonded together with the 3 point coupled Acrylic/aluminum sandwiched made sub-plinth
Finish:
 natural Baltic Birch plywood satin finish

Extras:

 

 3 exchangeable arm-boards for 9″ SME, Jelco and Rega/Origin Live/Audio Note tone-arms; SA cover – Acrylic made dust cover; rubber-cork mat; Protractor LP – a cartridge alignment tool
Power:
 AC 230V/50Hz; DC input 12V/300mA
Dimensions:
 460x350x150mm (WxDxH)
Net weight:
 11.6kg
Packaging:
 530x400x260mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight:
 13kg

  

satie DCX

Idea to design a simple but versatile, compact but elegant, high performance yet affordable turntable, resulted in form of the Satie DCX turntable.
 
Inspiration was found in the music of Eric Satie, stripped of any pretentiousness and sentimentality, thereby revealing an austere essence.
Like Satie’s music, the Satie DCX is striped to the bare essence, concentrating on the design and the execution of the performance wise most critical turntable parts; highly rigid aluminum sub-plinth supporting substantial main bearing with the massive platter and arm board(s) accepting almost every kind of the 9″ tone-arm available today and minimal skeletal-like main chassis bearing electronically controlled DC motor.
 
Mass distribution is carefully calculated, placing the Center of mass on the central vertical axe of the main bearing, in the sub-plinth horizontal plane.
Further on, the dimensions, shape and arrangement of different openings/holes of the aluminum sub-plinth were optimized employing Golden Ratio and Fibonacci sequence, thus gaining uniform vibration damping and the reduction of the Moment of inertia in all three planes (along all three axes) to the Center of mass. Even though stripped to the bare essence, turntable wise, the Satie DCX provide an outstanding performance in compact and extremely user friendly package.
 
Main plinth is made from the three 20mm thick layers of MDF bonded together and coated in durable graphite gray color, containing fine aluminum dust participles improving damping. Main chassis is supported by two silicone rubber grommets. Wing shaped, one piece sub-plinth is machined from solid aluminum, and it is 4-point coupled to the main plinth by means of rubber-cork washers of different dimensions and diameters, providing a good vibration and damping control.
 
The sub-plinth is designed to accept any 9″ tone-arm utilizing SME mounting scheme standard, and additional, user exchangeable Acrylic arm boards for Jelco/Linn and Rega/Origin Live/Audio Note type arms are included, thus almost any user desirable 9″ tone arm available today could be mount on. Our recommendation is to use at least Rega RB202/RB303 or Jelco 250 series tone-arms, and when/if upgraded needed in form of higher quality tone-arm, the Satie DCX is ready.
 
The massive third leg, a big adjustable cone machined from solid aluminum provide leveling and support the sub-plinth, yet it is 3-point coupled to the sub-plinth by means of rubber-cork washers of different dimensions and diameters, stopping any adverse outer vibrations to reach the sub-plinth and to disturb the delicate system of bearing/platter/record – cartridge – tone-arm.
 
The drive system is built around the same high quality DC motor used in our more advanced models, electronically controlled, providing an easy operation and fine speed(s) adjustment feature. Speed changing and start/stop function are simple, just flipping the on/off and 33/45 switches.
 
The platter, 30mm thick and weighing 2.6kg is machined from Acrylic to very high accuracy and together with the massive inverted main bearing employing Derlin trust plate (same like in our more advanced models) ensures good speed stability. The use of mat is completely up to the user preferences, thankfully to the 1.0mm deep recess carved into the top plane of the platter in the middle (for the record paper label) and to the fact that Acrylic proved itself as a great turntable mat “material”.

 

Specification

 

Drive:
 electronically controlled quality DC motor
Speeds:
 33.33 and 45.00 RPM with fine speed adjustment feature
Bearing:
 inverted solid brass/stainless steel; Derlin thrust plate
Platter:
 30mm thick 2.6kg weighing, machined from Acrylic
Construction:
 multi layered MDF main plinth with the 4-point coupled aluminum sub-plinth

Finish:

 

 main plinth – graphite gray color
sub-plinth – anodized silver aluminum

Extras:

 

 2 exchangeable Acrylic arm-boards for 9″ Jelco and Rega/Origin Live/Audio Note tone arms; SA cover – Acrylic made dust cover; rubber-cork mat; Protractor LP – a cartridge alignment tool
Power:
 AC 230V/50Hz; DC input 12V/300mA
Dimensions:
 430x350x160mm (WxDxH) overall
Net weight:
 7.6kg
Packaging:
 530x400x260mm (WxDxH)
Shipping weight:
 9.0kg

 

the loop

The Loop phono pre-amplifier is based around pair of NOS ECF80 tubes, employed in the RIAA equalization and MM gain stage, utilizing unique passive RIAA curve equalization, thus providing very neutral sound along with the natural tonal colors of the voices and instruments. The Loop is essentially hand made product, utilizing only components which are carefully selected and matched.
 
MC step up gain section is done with J-fets in SMD technology, providing a high MC gain suitable for wide range of MC cartridges, along with MC input impedance (MC load) set-up feature for three most common loads, 50ohm, 100ohm and 200ohm, select-able by micro-switches at the back panel of the unit.
 
NOS ECF80 tubes and all the parts and elements are rigorously hand selected and matched, after extensive measuring and listening tests, in order to provide a great performance. ECF80 tube sets should last for more than 5000 hours, and matched pairs of NOS ECF80 tube sets are available as spare parts.
 
When designing the all aluminum case-enclosure, we employed our extensive experience from the turntable design and construction, utilizing 10mm thick aluminum panels, strategically damped and solid aluminum cones-feet damped by rubber-cork washers, doing everything in order to provide a stable mechanical base for the electronics and tubes to work.
 
Along with the standard 230VAC power supply version, 115VAC power supply version is available as well, differing from the standard version only by the different values of mains transformer and fuse used.
 
Features and characteristics:
– Hybrid tube design with ECF80 tubes
– MM & MC capability
– RIAA accuracy – 0,5dB/20Hz-20kHz
– MM gain – 38dB
– MC gain – 64dB
– Input impedance MM – 47kohm
– Input impedance MC – 50,100,200 ohm
– Output impedance – 3kohm (load over 20kohm)
– Power supply – 230VAC 50-60Hz or 115VAC 50-60Hz
– dimensions WxDxH – 310x280x125mm
– total weight – 6.95kg

tt clamp

 

Turntable clamp, hence tt clamp, or record clamp can be a very useful accessory, especially when playing slightly warped records. Instead of adding weight and excessive wear to the main bearing and the turntable drive system, it’s apply force to the spindle and platter only, clamping securely the record to the platter, thus stabilizing the record and providing ‘lifting’ to the performance, tightening frequencies across the spectrum and subduing any resonance that may occur as the needle tracks the groove of an unsecured record.
 
Beside capabilities of fulfilling it’s obvious task to secure and stabilize the record, when designing Soulines clamp our intentions were to create an optimal mechanical connections-bonds between the clamp, spindle, record and platter by employing appropriate materials for the task according to their mechanical characteristics, hardness, stiffness, softness, damping properties, etc.
Thus, the clamping disk is made of POM (polyacetal), stiff plastic material, with excellent damping characteristics; collet chuck or the clamping sleeve is made from brass which is softer than aluminum, stainless steel and other hard materials usually used for the turntable spindle, allowing a good grip to spindle; locking nut is made of aluminum, stiffer than brass, so ideal for the locking nut tightening task.
 
Depending on the platter/mat design and particular record thickness and warp state, Soulines clamp requires user to place a washer around spindle before placing a record onto the platter and before securing the clamp, thus two pairs of washers of 17mm and 23mm diameters, made from cork and rubber-cork are included, allowing user to experiment and use the right one (or a combination of a two) for the best results.

u-base

Universal isolation platform is intended mainly for the isolation of the source components such as turntables, CD players, DACs, streamers and tube and solid state pre-amplifiers, but it will improve the performance of integrated and power amplifiers as well.
 
Structure borne vibrations from surrounding environment affects virtually every piece of audio equipment, but its effects are most damaging to the performance of the source components such as turntables, CD players, tube equipment, etc., thus they should be prevented from entering the audio components as much as possible. Further, vibrations induced in the transformers, motors, bearings, spindles, etc., also affect the final performance, so it is advisable to direct them out of the equipment as soon as possible and quickly damp/absorb them by the stand/rack/shelf/platform on which the equipment is mounted on.
 
Both type of the described vibrations, those induced in the equipment itself and those coming from the surrounding environment reduce clarity of the reproduced sound, smear music details and distort frequency response.
 
In order to tackle both type of described vibrations same time, we designed a universal equipment platform in such way to damp the vibration induced in the equipment itself and in the same time to isolate the equipment from the vibrations coming from the surrounding environment.
 
Our experience from the turntable design and production taught us that any large plates being used to form the audio equipment case-enclosure inevitably radiate some unwanted vibrations, no matter how rigid and securely they are executed (mounted).
Thus the platform base plate is rigid design machined from solid 10mm thick aluminum, strategically drilled with the holes of different diameters and with triangular openings, where the dimensions,shape and plan of openings and holes follow the Fibonacci sequence and Golden Section ratio rules in order to damp all the equipment born vibrations evenly across the wide frequency range.
Sections where the equipment feet rests on the base plate are further damped employing the rubber-cork washers bonded to the base plate underneath in the areas of these sections. Finally, the platform base plate is of medium weight relative to its size, thus energy storage is optimal.
 
Structure born vibrations coming from the surrounding environment are prevent from entering the platform base plate by employment of isolation cones-feet, which are in contact with the base plate only over the rubber-cork washers of different diameter, kind of a “soft” coupling. Cones are made of solid aluminum and have a small silicone pucks on the bottom providing further isolation from the shelf/rack/stand on which the platform is rest on. Cones are height adjustable allowing easy leveling of the platform.
 
Maximum loading weight is up to 50kg.
 
Dimensions:
– overall platform dimensions – WxDxH – 490x385x45mm
– usable space for the equipment placement is 470x385mm
– total weight – 6.5kg

e-base

Acrylic made isolation platform, e-base, is tailor designed for the Elgar DCX turntable exclusively.
 It provides a good base for the turntable, preventing structure born vibrations coming from the surrounding environment to enter the turntable itself and allows easy leveling of the Elgar DCX.
Incorporating curved cut-out at the left-front corner its allows easy access to the turntable OFF/33/45 switch at the left side of the massive horizontal aluminum tube, it contributes to the interesting look of the whole set, improving its elegant visual appearance even further.
 
Platform base plate is made of solid 10mm thick Acrylic with polished edges and strategically drilled with the holes of different diameters, where the plan and size of holes follow the Fibonacci sequence and Golden Section ratio rules in order to damp all the turntable born surplus vibrations evenly, across the wide frequency range.
Platform base plate is of medium weight relative to its size, thus energy storage is optimal.
 
Structure born vibrations coming from the surrounding environment are prevented from entering the platform base plate and the turntable itself employing three isolation cones-feet, which are in contact with the base plate only over the rubber-cork washers of different diameter, kind of a “soft” coupling.
 
Cones are made of solid aluminum and have a small silicone pucks on the bottom providing further isolation from the shelf/rack/stand on which the platform is rest on. Cones are height adjustable, allowing easy leveling of the platform.
 
Overall platform dimensions are – WxDxH – 430x355x45mm

the SX2LP set

The SX2LP set contain high performance rubber-cork mat and the Protractor LP, which are supplied with all of our turntables as a standard.
 
Mat and protractor are packed same way as our turntable user manuals, in a LP carton cover with some hints and tips printed on the back, and it is intended to be stored within your record collection, thus always having it closely for upgrade/set-up/adjustment reference.
 
The rubber-cork mat is made from crushed rubber and cork mixed together in a ratio of 50-50. It is 2mm thick, 292mm in diameter, and contain precisely punched center hole of 7mm diameter, fitting almost any turntable platter and spindle.
Like any other turntable upgrade, the rubber-cork mat is a matter of trial/taste.
We like what it “does” to the turntable sound! Maybe you will like it too!
 
The protractor LP is an essential tool for every vinyl lover. It is a CAD designed tool to help for proper/fine cartridge adjustment in the head shell, including Baerwald, Loefgren and Stevenson protractors. You just have to chose one, or try to make an approximation between three. Detailed user manual is printed next to the protractors for easy set-up.
With precisely punched center hole and accurately printed on heavy paper, laminated on both sides, it should provide an excellent tool to any discerning turntable user.

sa cover

High quality dust cover made of 4mm thick transparent Acrylic. It is precisely CNC machined with hand-polished edges.
 
SA cover can be specified and delivered with any SOULINES turntable.
 
Also available separately as accessory, if fit your turntable. Diameter of central hole, where spindle goes, is 7.4mm and overall dimensions are 430x330x54mm (WxDxH).
Please click here for drawings and exact dimension (in mm) of SA cover.

record cover holder

Soulines LP record cover holder is an elegant solution to display (put-off) the record cover while the record spins on your turntable.

Made of the transparent Acrylic (3mm thick) , the Soulines LP record cover holder would hold one standard gate-fold LP cover or two standard (slim) LP covers.

Please click here for the PDF drawing of record cover holder with its dimensions in mm, so you can decide if you have enough space to place it next to your turntable/ on records shelf/……