Sources, Turntables
Well Tempered Amadeus 254 GT Turntable
Well Tempered Amadeus 254 GT Turntable
We have long been fans of the Well tempered range of decks and the Well tempered Amadeus 254 GT is no exception. The Amadeus 254 looks like a smaller version of the Royale 400. As good as the Royale 400 is, it is just too big for most people to accomodate into their listening environments. Well tempered (Bill Firebaugh) decided to make a new version that shares most of the design features. The 254 is much smaller in size and will now fit on most hi-fi rack top shelves.
The Amadeus 254 GT is typical well tempered construction. The plinth is made in two sections. Each consists of a slab of 10mm Aluminium and a sheet of Finland Birch ply. The Main bearing is point contact for minimum friction. When pushed in the wrong direction it wobbles. This is disconcerting the first time you see it but once listening begins it is forgotten. The art is an evolution of the design, it started as a paddle, then evolved into a golf ball and now is half a golf ball. This sits in damping fluid. This sits in damping fluid. The motor is isolated from the plinth to avoid the transmission of vibration. Drive to the platter is via a filament drive belt which is effective and inexpensive to replace. The power supply for the motor is in a separate box which also takes care of speed selection.
All of the features of the deck are beautifully machined and finished. If you are looking for a high end deck that is a little different then look no further.
http://www.the-ear.net/review-hardware/well-tempered-amadeus-254-gt-turntable-and-arm
http://www.pearaudio.com/welltemperedlab.html
For suitable cartridges look no further than Dynavector, Ortofon or Rega.
https://dnaaudio.co.uk/product_brand/dynavector-cartridges/
https://dnaaudio.co.uk/product_brand/ortofon/
Well tempered Amadeus 254 GT specification
– Dual multilayer plywood plinth encapsulated in Aluminium.
– Squash ball isolation between top and bottom plinth layers.
– LTD tonearm.
– CTRL Electronic Speed Control for 33 1/3 to 45 RPM switching.
– Balanced and Single Ended outputs isolated from plinth and motor.
– Well Tempered Lab unique bearing and polyester thread belt for vanishingly low wow and flutter.