When I scouted the J.Sikora website (footnote 1), I was attracted to the elemental beauty of designer Janusz Sikora’s lowest-priced model, the Initial. The more expensive two-motor Standard and the four-motor (!) Reference models feature thicker, wider composite bases, thicker composite platters, taller composite motor and tonearm towers, and, to my artist/sculptor eyes, a cluttered, disorienting appearance that seems to be de rigueur in today’s oligarch-priced turntables.
Setup
When my hands don’t shake and the light is bright enough, I can set up turntables at a level maybe a notch or two down from the pros. For this report, I just held the flashlight, watched, and asked dumb questions while Michael Trei opened the Initial’s heavy wood crate and assembled the table on my rack, next to my Dr. Feickert Blackbird.
“So, Michael, what is that plinth made of?”
“It’s solid aluminum with some concentric cutouts surrounding the bearing mount.”
“What are the cutouts for? To subvert standing waves or randomize vibrations?”
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