Back when AVID introduced their Ingenium turntable, it was a huge hit. I was even lucky enough to snag one of the two arm versions. (they are collector’s items now) Creator Conrad Mas built a table offering tremendous performance and simplicity for the price asked, and now he’s back with the Ingenium Plug and Play. Reviewed here, his new take on the Ingenium now only has provision for a single tonearm, which is now supplied, with a pre-mounted cartridge. Hence the name. At $1,799, it’s a performance benchmark for an analog front end.
But as with anything, there is only so much that can be done at a certain price, and hence always room for improvement. The Ingenium’s only real weak spot, is the MDF platter. The brilliance in the design is its use of the same bearing/spindle of the higher end AVID tables. Now, those craving more performance from their Ingenium are only 30 seconds away from a major performance upgrade.
The new aluminum platter fits all Ingenium tables, and only requires you removing your current platter, and lining up the four small indents on the bottom of the new platter so it fits down snugly. Dimensionally, it is the same as the original MDF platter, but you’ll notice when you lift it out of the box, much heavier and much more dense.
30 seconds to hear the difference
The difference is instantaneous. Everything you enjoy with your Ingenium is expressed more fully with the new platter. The extra mass of the platter helps with speed consistency, (everyone making an MDF platter for their turntable battles this issue) giving acoustic instruments more body. If the first track you play with the upgraded platter is in this vein, this is what you’ll notice first.
The first thing up in my test, was the famous live recording of Al DiMeola, Paco DeLucia, and John McLaughlin, Friday Night in San Francisco. Lesser turntables are unable to resolve the tonal differences between the three players, as if the recording is merely three overdubbed guitars. The Ingenium with MDF platter does better than most, but still not delivering everything it is capable of. The upgraded platter is an entirely different world – now all three have their distinct sound, but their own space in the musical presentation. This is not a subtle change, be prepared to be impressed and excited.
Those enjoying more dynamic music will notice the extra heft to the overall presentation and the increased solidity in the lower frequencies as well. The lower end of the frequency spectrum now carries more weight, and the overall stereo image feels larger and more stable. Cruising through a series of Blue Note discs, the same effect as noted in the above paragraph is there in full force, yet the drums and horns take on a bigger, more immediate effect. The recordings are much more lifelike and powerful.
Finally moving to some bass heavy tracks from Massive Attack, Pink Floyd, and Thievery Corporation seals the deal. It sounds and feels like I’ve spent a lot more than $400 on an upgrade, it really makes the Ingenium sound like I’ve moved solidly up the range. You can read our review on the original Ingenium table here, and our more recent review of the new Ingenium Plug and Play here.
Award winning excellence
We don’t normally hand out awards for accessories, but AVID’s aluminum platter update for the Ingenium is highly deserving of one of our Exceptional Value Awards for 2020. And bravo to the AVID team for letting you do this incrementally. Some days you just don’t have the extra $400 in your wallet – no shame in that. But knowing that there’s a massive improvement waiting for you when you do is a great thing. It works with all models of Ingenium.
Sign me up.
