BRINKMANN Bardo

UK Shipping: 

We use DHL as a result of their careful and reliable service. Their customer communications and tracking are reliable. 

 

Europe, EC, and abroad: 

For every despatch we use a professional broker to organize the fastest and highest quality shippers, and we normally use DHL or Fed Ex depending on territory. Our broker monitors the documentation and Customs Clearance carried out by these two reliable carriers.

 

Above 30kg: 

For UK and overseas we use pallet shipping which is a professional service and avoids risks of mishandling and loss. It is not expensive under our contractors and worth a quote.

The Music Room enjoys a 40-year tradition of customer care and at time of writing, full 5-star Google reviews. In addition UK customers enjoy the legal rights of mail order and distant selling. 

We have exported happily for many years and most probably have happy customers in your country who will confirm our reliability and refund in the event of mishaps. 

Refunds can only be made by the same payment form and to the same account to avoid possible fraud or money laundering.

The Music Room price matching...

We are an official Brinkmann dealer and offer the best UK prices. If you have seen this product cheaper elsewhere, Let us know; we will match or beat any price.

History  

After long years of interest, research and development, Helmut Brinkmann constructed the magnetic direct drive turntable »Oasis«. Since this project was well received by music lovers all over the world, we decided to release a second model that features the magnetic direct drive motor and is inspired by the design of our top-of-the-line models »Balance« and »LaGrange«.  

 

Interesting details and upgrades  

The picture shows the standard model »Bardo« with the magnetic motor drive. The »Bardo performance« features the metal cased power supply that is used for the »Balance« and »LaGrange« turntables instead of the standard power supply. The result is a more defined bass response and a wider room imaging.  

The tonearm base of the »Bardo« can be rotated and fixed without play to allow a simple and precise tonearm adjustment for all tonearms between 9” and 12”. We drill the base according to the tonearm that the customer chooses.  

The output sockets can be found on the back of the turntable, they can be equipped with RCA or XLR sockets, and it is also possible to install tonearms with DIN connectors or fixed cables.  

The two possible speeds, 33 1/3 and 45 rpm, are selectable by a switch at the front of the turntable and can be fine adjusted via two screwdriver holes that are located next to the switch.  

 

Magnetic drive  

The »Bardo« has a magnetic direct drive motor that was developed by Helmut Brinkmann and is produced in our factory. There is only one bearing for the motor and the platter, a circular magnet is mounted into the bearing of the platter and is concentrically driven into rotation via coils on the circuit board under the magnet. An electronic circuit drives the coils via two magnetic sensitive resistors that react to the magnetic fields into a highly constant and slow circular movement.  

Many of the known direct drive turntables were constructed for studios and radio stations where it was necessary to have very quick start-up times of less than a second which was achieved with high torque motors that speed up and stop the motor very rapidly. This caused heavy cogging effects accompanied by high wow & flutter numbers. To avoid this, we worked long on a proprietary motor control that transfers just enough energy to the motor for it to remain at constant speed. The motor’s stator consists of four specially designed field coils, which are mounted concentrically with high precision around the platter bearing. Based on listening sessions we decided to forgo the typical 90-degree mounting angle in favor of a non-standard 22.5-degree roster, which, due to the magnetic fields overlapping, further reduced cogging. The motor’s rotor also acts as the sub-platter and carries a magnetic ring with eight poles on its underside. Inside the motor, the rpm of a speedometer disc is measured and turned into variable voltage that is fed into a control circuit where the rpm is compared to the reference voltage that is adjustable via the trim pots. A separate heater for the bearing, as included with the »Balance« and »LaGrange« bearings, is not necessary. The motor circuit is kept under current all the time, just the speed is switched to zero or 33 resp. 45. In this way, the bearing is kept warm by the quiescent current of the motor drive.  

For those who are interested, there is more information about the magnetic direct drive motor of our turntables »Oasis« and »Bardo« in a white paper about the »Oasis«.  

 

The RöNt II tubed power supply is the ideal completion for the »Bardo«  

Brinkmann Bardo	Specifications
Drive	Platter driven directly by magnetic field; soft proportional control
Power supply	External power supply in solid state technology
Bearing	Lubricated precision (hydrodynamic) journal bearing, quiet and maintenance-free
Platter	Resonance-optimized special aluminum alloy; surface planar polished crystal glass
Chassis	15 mm Duralumin with resonance-optimized geometry
Arm board	Movable (rotating) without play for simple and precise tonearm adjustment,
	with quick release. Accepts all tonearms between 9 and 12" as well as several
	linear tracking tonearms
Connectors	RCA, XLR or feed-through for tonearms with 5-pin DIN connectors;
	DIN connector (3 pin) for umbilical cord of external power supply;
	2 mm connector for ground wire
RPM	33 1/3 and 45, selectable by a switch; LED indicator for speed (33 1/3 = green, 45 = red)
Deviation from nominal speed	0.0% (adjustable)
Fine adjustment of speed	± 10% with trim pot
Wow & Flutter	0.07% linear, 0.035% weighted DIN 45507
Speed-up time	12 / 16 seconds (33 1/3 / 45 rpm)
Rumble (noise)	-64 dB (test record DIN 45544); -68 dB (measuring adapter)
Dimensions	420 x 320 x 100 mm (w x d x h)
Weight	Total 14.8 kg (Chassis 5 kg, Platter 9.8 kg); Power Supply 0.5 kg
Accessories	Granite platform 440 x 310 x 30 mm, HRS platform