Groove's in the heart
Hi-Fi Choice|September 2022
Based on Vertere's flagship RG-1 Reference Groove turntable, there's a host of innovation in the brand's new SG-1 Super Groove
Groove's in the heart

Anyone who has followed Vertere's founder Touraj Moghaddam, all the way back to the early days of Roksan, cannot fail to have been impressed with his iconoclasm. A lifetime later, he's still making cutting-edge turntables from out of left field. We knew that he hadn't mellowed as soon as he dissuaded us from using a clamp or a weight on the LP, before removing the spindle with a flourish. This is our introduction to the SG-1 Super Groove, one model below the flagship RG-1 Reference Groove.

In its Clear finish, seen here, the SG-1 retails for £16,000, while £18,250 pays for Black, Pearlescent, or Champagne. All are elegant, the two levels of 30mm-thick cast acrylic for top and bottom strata of the plinth, with a 15mm intermediate level of acrylic, creating a futuristic see-through look. To the deck are added the SG-1 PTA HB tonearm (£3,500), the middle of three models, with Verum tonearm cable (£2,700), and Motor Drive Imperium PSU (£7,950), also the middle of three, along with Redline Mains and Motor Link cables, for a heady package price of £30,150.

DETAILS

PRODUCT Vertere SG-1/SG-1 PTA HB ORIGIN UK TYPE Belt-driven turntable/arm with electronic speed control WEIGHT 20kg (turntable) DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) 490 x 240 x 400mm FEATURES 33 and 45rpm •SG-1 PTA HB carbon fibre tonearm • Motor Drive Imperium PSU DISTRIBUTOR Vertere Ltd WEBSITE vertereacoustics.com

Break with convention

With most high-end vinyl spinners being massive, often of all-metal construction and fearsome weight, the use of cast acrylic is another of those clues that Touraj marches to the beat of a very different drum, the deck weighing a 'manageable' 20kg. As he explains, cast - rather than machined - acrylic was chosen for its inherent damping properties, while the three-tier design offers isolation from both airborne and structural interference.

This story is from the September 2022 edition of Hi-Fi Choice.

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This story is from the September 2022 edition of Hi-Fi Choice.

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