The excellent ReMusic article that you find here analyzes the behavior of vibrations in the High Fidelity field. Strongly desired by the Director and realized with great informative skills by Ing. Muriano , he offers me an excellent hook to present an accessory that, in most cases, is born to be used in the management of the same.

The object in question is produced by the Korean Nasotec, a company brilliantly involved in the design of ancillary items to analogue sets. It is a turntable clamp, ambitiously named Nasotec VEM, or Vibration Extinction Mechanism. Notably, the turntable, just by virtue of the variety and combination of components, active or inert, is a place where they concentrate, cross, intersect, mix and overlap enormous quantities of vibrations, characterizing each flow with resonant frequencies of different intensity. To the vibrations generated by the mechanical apparatus in motion - engine, transmission, rotating unit, pin, arm - in harmony with the static body - base, feet, support - we add those coming from the air, which are not less for presence and vigor. We must also pay attention to the fact that the reading work is performed by a detector with extraordinary capacities for capturing, but that does not present, alas, no dowry of discernment between good impulses - the signal etched in the grooves of the disc - and bad resonances and noises generated by the machine and the environment. The latter have the tendency to creep, by transmission between materials in contact, in the same grooves of the vinyl, to get to be "read" as a musical signal and consequently amplified and reproduced, immune to any filtering or isolation intent, through the speakers.

Given that I consider utopian the idea of ​​being able to extinguish harmful vibrations, the streets to mitigate the contaminating effect on the electrical signal are basically three, to be covered contextually: use noble construction materials, or naturally low resonant, decouple and, where they do not present the conditions, harmonize them with a real tuning. There is also my fourth way, somewhat heretical and difficult to achieve industrially, which I do not intend to spread, being a source of amusing experimentation and, virtually, design matter.

Synthetically, the whole can be summarized in the theory of canceling any contact between the disk and the two immediately integral elements, ie the rotating plate and the central pin. It would also be ideal to think of isolating the arm, but here we enter complicated territory.

Now we need to try to understand how a clamp works. I have no memory of such objects that were an integral part of turntables built in the '60s / 70s, or pre-digital era. The professional turntables, EMT on all, are not an exception , however, which denote a constructive level really at the top. Currently, with an unprecedented production of turntables, attention has also progressed to accessories, among which the clamp assumes a primary position, going to place in a point where converge three fundamental dynamic subjects, pin, plate and disk.

There are many forms, dimensions, substances and characteristics. It seems impossible to find one that is universal, due to the variety of the masses, the rotation systems (pulley, belt, direct drive), the design philosophy (rigid, suspended) and the construction material of turntables. It is evident, for example, that it would be detrimental to use a very heavy clamp on a suspended turntable, because it would alter its elasticity and therefore its nature. Equally contradictory would be the adoption of a pressing clamp when the plate appeared equipped with a decoupling mat. But also the specific function of the clamp itself will determine the choice, depending on whether it is designed as a flattening weight of wavy disks, as a collector and resonance damper, or as a clamping vice.JA Michell , to name a brand, adopts a very light clamp, which by means of a screw tightening, develops a strong pressure on the central part of the disc, so as to flatten it in total adherence with the rotating plate. Some brands prefer the simple support, of high or low mass, in metal, wood, graphite, hybrid, others still do not recommend its use.

On my DaVinciAudio Unison One turntable , which has a 23 kg rotating plate on a magnetic pin, use different medium-low weight clamps - Audio Tekne, ART, Silent Audio - mainly in high density graphite, universally known for its dissipating qualities of vibrations.

With these premises I have therefore experimented with great interest the Nasotec VEM, which presents itself guasconamente with the title of fire extinguisher of the same. Let's start by saying that it is a beautiful object, aesthetically the most beautiful clamp that I know, very pleasant to the touch, with its shiny black surface. Vaguely remembers a mushroom with a Hi-Tech line. It is not, in spite of the majority, a monoblock, but a composite metal object, the result of a very interesting engineering. The base / pivot module is opposed by an inverted cap, with a screw-locked cap, decoupled by a ceramic sphere located at the apex of the pin itself, so as to be able to rotate independently of the base resting on the disc.

Inside, a cavity formed by two compartments was created, separated by a steel diaphragm fixed with a copper bolt, designed to transfer resonances. Each of the compartments contains two types of damping material. If you shake the clamp you can hear the sound, as if there were a grit, much like a small maracas. The total weight is 430 g. A silicone o-ring is also offered, to be placed between the base and the disc surface, in order to protect it.

The company proudly exhibits the graphics that witness the effectiveness of the element. In the absence of the clamp, the polluting harmfulness of the low frequencies is emphasized, represented by a series of very high peaks and lack of balance, which, with the same regime, however, are significantly reduced and brought back to a balancing condition.

The effects attested by the measures are widely found to be heard, in proportion to the degree of resolution that is able to express its turntable. The first character that emerges is transparency. Music acquires vitality and freshness. The improvementsound is general, does not concern particular portions. There is a tangible reduction in harshness and small distortions. There are many perceptions: inertia, stability, harmony, measure, proportion. Of course, most of the work of DaVinci, but everything is refined by the excellent work of Nasotec VEM, which acts in harmony with the mechanical apparatus of turntables in the guise of compendium, silent support, but effective, luxury shoulder, ready to intervene where the protagonist reveals some slight defection. However it contributes to the progress of the focus for the benefit of tracking intelligibility. Each passage becomes more alive and realistic. The soundstage is phenomenal and the details emerge with stunning clarity. The sound appears bodily. The voices spread relaxed, relaxed, but richer in details, modulation and timbre. Our action manifests itself in a clear and unequivocal manner. The increased solidity of the bass, the best definition, the airiness, the overall musicality are evident effects, embellished by the fact that there are no alterations of the essential sonic profile of the turntable.

I really enjoyed the Nasotec clamp. He demonstrated in the field that all record players, even those of the highest level, have very wide room for improvement. I was very encouraged to note that, if it is true that there are many companies, the Nasotec in the front row, which invest resources in research and projects of this kind, the analog is alive, healthy and solid. Beware of those who tell it as a relic. It remains the most authentic and rewarding system to listen to music and also offers those who are outside the audiophile circle a stimulating and dynamic approach to music reproduction.

Features declared by the manufacturer

VEM - Vibration Extinction Mechanism integrated system designed to absorb unwanted vibrations associated with playing vinyl records

Weight: 430g

Dimensions: base plate diameter 80mm, height 62mm

Accessory: silicone o-ring support

Official distributor at the date of the review : to the Highend City site , English version of the Nasotec website  

Price per review : 260.00 USD

System used : at the Giuseppe Trotto plant

REPLICATION LAW | THE WORD TO THE MANUFACTURER

LP and suppress the vibration. Our record clamp has one more additional function. It is vibration elimination like a vacuum cleaner. Vibration is also the frequency of strong energy. The best way is eliminating vibration. Nasotec VEM is can do it effectively.

Dong-chan Son, 17/04/2018