Vertere’s Touraj Moghaddam caught everyone on the hop at CES with his cost no object Reference tonearm, now he has a turntable to go with it. The first record player from Vertere consists of a plinth around which two versions are built, the SG1 or Standard Groove 1 and Reference Groove 1. The difference between the two lies in the key component parts used. There is a Standard bearing and platter or a Reference bearing and platter, ditto power supply. Interestingly the power supply can also be used to upgrade a Roksan Xerxes. There will also be Standard and Reference platforms and covers. Unsurprisingly it has some similarities to the TMS that Touraj designed for Roksan, the three slab plinth being the most obvious, also the platter and arm are on a separate subchassis. But it differs significantly too, for a start it’s made of acrylic and its aluminium platter is bonded to an acrylic top plate (SG1). The SG1 can also be upgraded to RG1 status. Price including the as yet unfinalised Standard arm will be £12,750 with the Reference coming in at around twice this price. The picture shows the SG1 with Reference tonearm and Vertere’s finger tightened titanium cartridge bolts.
