Circle 25 Turntable Black Edition
In 2014, in celebration of the company’s 25th Silver Jubilee Anniversary, Wilson Benesch introduced the Circle 25 Turntable – A.C.T. 25 Tonearm White Edition. One year on, 2015, and the company’s longest established product line the Analogue Collection has the addition of a second Circle 25 in the shape of the Black Edition.
Advanced Technology meets Design Simplicity
The Circle 25 design references the classic Circle Turntable, a design which, alike to so many Wilson Benesch products, has stood the test of time. The success of the original Circle was, in part, due to the simplicity of the system which can be setup in less than one hour and will remain stable and reliable indefinitely.
The solidarity and consistency of the Circle 25 design is attained from three uni-directional, high modulus, carbon fibre cantilevers that reduce structural born resonance. The key changes to the Circle 25 design, which elevate its performance beyond that of its predecessor come in the redesigned bearing and the materials used in the Circle 25 plinth.
Circle 25 Plinth
Weighing in at a little over 3kg more than its predecessor, the Circle 25 features a materially superior plinth. Manufactured entirely in-house from a high-grade engineering homopolymer, the new plinth is stiffer, more dense and has a superior damping coefficient to its predecessor. The result is lower signal-to-noise ratio, which improves sound-staging, imaging and the clarity of the audio presentation.
Circle 25 Bearing
The Circle 25 bearing design looks to the past to redefine the future. The original Circle bearing, is a time proven, low noise design that was at the heart of the world famous Wilson Benesch Turntable.
In the new Circle 25 bearing, the principle elements of phosphor bronze and hardened steel remain. The steel sub-platter meets with a hardened steel shaft, which in turn holds captive, a hardened steel ball bearing in the base of the bearing hub. The bearing hub is machined from phosphor bronze, which comprises the shaft and the end cap, which forms the critical meeting point with the captive ball bearing. This component is phenomenally resistant to wear and has been highly polished to legislate for the lowest level of friction and noise within the bearing. Machined and finished in house on State-of-the-Art CNC machinery, these critical components are produced to exacting tolerances to guarantee the bearing at the heart of the highly sensitive analogue replay system is perfectly aligned and accurate every time.
Furthermore, the two metals have been carefully chosen to ensure that the bearing will continue to function consistently at a wide range of ambient temperatures, a critical concern where hot, humid conditions prevail.
British Built and Manufactured
Of the 50+ individual components that form the Circle 25 and the new A.C.T. 25 Tonearm, a staggering 90% are manufactured in-house at Wilson Benesch from raw materials. Built from a broad range of alloys, polymers and aerospace carbon fibre, the result is a quintessentially British, hand-built turntable.
