Connected-Fidelity TT Hub turntable
There was a painstaking wait before I could get my hands on a TT Hub turntable to play with, having had my appetite well and truly whetted by the various prototypes shown to me by Connected-Fidelity’s Michael Osborn. I was very impressed by the excellent build quality and finish of those early iterations and the review sample, in fully fledged production spec, with its beautiful dark brown bamboo plywood finish, did not disappoint.
Connected-Fidelity also makes cables, RF filters, isolation products and a mains distribution block and balanced power supply that I recently reviewed. The company was established in 2003 and is the manufacturing arm of Air Audio, which imports Hana cartridges and Sorane tonearms from Japan.
At the recent Bristol Show, Connected-Fidelity unveiled a two-arm version of the TT Hub, which sells for £5,230 compared with £4,995 for the single-arm version, which is the one I am reviewing here. It can be supplied with arm board pre-cut for Sorane/Rega or Linn tonearms.
Connected-Fidelity will also introduce their own tonearm sometime later this year, details to be announced. But for now, the review turntable was supplied with a Sorane SA1.2 tonearm (on dark finish images) at a package price of just under £6,900.
Disbelief of suspension
Many turntables use a sprung subchassis to isolate the platter/arm/main bearing replay part of the deck from the plinth housing and drive motor, but Michael Osborn believes that an unsprung design delivers “better dynamics, speed and timing”.
And so, the TT Hub features three separate layers: a baseboard that sits on compliant silicon feet; then the sub-chassis above it has spiked feet that sit on composite metal/rubber inset pads, and above that the chassis bolts to the sub-chassis with solid spacers, and houses the main bearing and tonearm mount. This design is said to ensure a rigid and resonant-free relationship between the tonearm plate, bearing, drive pulley and platter.
I have a mildly bouncy wooden floor and I can attest that the TT Hub shrugged off any potential disturbances from my heavy-footed progress across the room, and so should give stable, jump-free performance in most situations.
The main bearing itself is a self-lubricating design with a thick-wall aluminium body. The spindle rotates on a sapphire thrust bearing supported by a PEEK (polyether ether ketone) base.
The 12-pole AC motor itself is supplied in its own separate, metal housing with isolating rubber feet and sits on the base board. The manual gives guidance on the correct spacing for this. The motor drives the acrylic platter via a rubber belt and the external motor controller is housed in a separate box and is designed to run the motor up to full speed and then ‘reduce power slightly to reduce cogging’. The controller also allows the user to choose between 33.33rpm and 45rpm.
The right-hand knob provides fine-speed adjustment and Connected-Fidelity suggests using a quartz-controlled battery-operated strobe, such as the KSB SpeedStrobe, if you feel you need to fine-adjust speed. Don’t worry if you mess it up, just hold that right-hand knob down for five seconds to restore the factory default. I personally never felt the need for such tinkering. One thing you need to get right, however, is to get the baseboard perfectly level, so that the belt runs in the right place on the pulley. Luckily, that is a simple procedure.
Disarmingly good
Air Audio is the sole UK importer for Sorane arms, which are made by IT Industry in Japan. The company was founded in 1974 and its arms are specifically designed to be a good match for low-compliance moving-coil cartridges.
The main arm girder is machined from a solid piece of aluminium and it pivots on axial-loaded thrust bearings. They have two tapered seats and self-align under load (gravity), acting like a unipivot but with more than one contact point, which Sorane says results in exceptionally low friction.
Unusually, the Sorane SA1.2 has a detachable headshell, which is handy if you have more than one cartridge; maybe one for mono recordings. Setting up is easy. The large counterweight sets the equilibrium point and the captive weight inside the girder slides back and forth to set the tracking force. Not only was it beautifully made and finished, but it was also a joy to use.
A great mover
After such a long wait to get my hands on one, I was very keen to hear what the TT Hub could do. I hooked the TT Hub up to my system, comprising an Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister integrated amp driving Russell K Red 150Se speakers. I used a Gold Note PH-5 phono stage as I would be using the deck with a moving-coil cartridge, the Goldring Eroica. I had a second Eroica fitted to a well-respected rival deck at a similar price to help me assess the TT Hub’s value for money.
I wanted to kick off my listening with a track that I knew would put the deck through its paces with its driving rhythms and sheer dynamics – Minute by Minute from guitarist Larry Carlton’s Discovery album. The TT Hub really conveyed the urgent, fast-moving bass line that drives the track along. Carlton’s guitar was well voiced and I could hear how each note was shaped. The rival deck was slower, did not convey the pace and impetus of the track or allow me to appreciate the twists and turns of John Peña’s superb bass line as well as the TT Hub did.
A nice female vocal is a stiff test for any piece of hi-fi and a favourite test track of mine is Lo Siento Mi Vida from Linda Ronstadt’s superb Hasten Down the Wind album. It is her standout album for me and is an exceptional recording for the Seventies, which could be so variable. The two guitars on the intro were nicely conveyed with the differences in their sound confidently handled. Linda Ronstadt’s voice had power, authority, sensuality and emotion and the TT Hub certainly managed to convey that more convincingly than its rival; being more natural and expressive. And, when she really unleashed full power, the TT Hub took it in its stride with no harshness or shouting. The bass line was tight and nimble and I felt it was simply too heavy and overblown on the rival deck. The TT Hub retained the character, power and nuances of her vocal style and was able to show its rival a clean pair of heels.
I could not end this review without spinning up something from jazz piano player/singer/songwriter Ben Sidran, and chose Broad Daylight from his The Doctor Is In album. Here, the TT Hub was open on his vocals with plenty of inner detail and nuances, while his piano had good body and weight. And when his fingers really flew along the keys, the TT Hub had no trouble keeping up. It also handled the bassline well, which had great weight and was agile and tuneful, helping the track to move well rhythmically.
Turning heads
It proved to be well worth the wait for the review sample of the Connected-Fidelity TT Hub. The build quality and finish were excellent and the Sorane arm a delight to use.
Musically, the TT Hub is rhythmically fast and agile, conveying the twists and turns of my favourite tracks very well. It has great dynamics, allowing you to enjoy the energy and drive of percussion and drum kit without losing subtle cymbal or hi-hat lines, while underpinning it all with a rock-solid bassline that keeps your foot tapping and your body moving.
Equally at home with the subtle nuances of Miles Davis’s trumpet or the raunchy, driving rhythms of ZZ Top, the TT Hub offers excellent performance at the price and I recommend it most highly.