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Oracle Paris MkV

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Belt-driven turntable with electronic speed controlMade by: Oracle Audio Technologies, Quebec, Canada

supplied by: Coherent Systems ltdTelephone: 08455191833

~ w,b. www.oracle-audlo.com: __ .coherent-svsterns.co.uk

Oracle Paris MkV (£4750)After the exotic Delphi MkVI comes Oracle's updated Paris, a no-fuss complete player,more conventional maybe, but still a beauty with its sculpted plinth shapeReview: Steve Harris Lab: Paul Miller.

One of the great analogue brands,Oracle got started in 1979 and.survived the American 'turntablewars', which were apparently

more vicious than anything we had here.Perhaps being in Canada helped. But aboveall, Oracle had a r;ally distinctive product.

It was the work of Marcel Riendeau, aphilosophy lecturer and musician who'dfound tlimself dissatisfied with existingturntables and decided to make his own.His Oracle Delphi became the turntable ofchoice for those who wanted a high-endsystem that looked qood.

Not everyone could afford a Delphi,which in the early days cost UK buyerstwice as much as a Linn or Pink Triangle[see p l l-s]. The Alexandria, introducedin 1983, looked more conventional butwas still quite expensive. But then Oraclecame up with a fundamentally simplerdesign, still with a suspended or decoupledsubchassis, but doing away with coilsprings. This turntable was named not afterParis, France or even Texas, but after theprince in Greek mythology who caused theTrojan War by abducting Helen. By then ithad become the Paris MkIV_

BUSINESS MATTERSThings got tougher for high-end turntablemakers in the early 1990s, and thebusiness went down in 1994_ But Marcel'sbrother Jacques Riendeau had worked withhim at Oracle since the beginning, and in1995, with some new business partners, here-started the company. That partnershipended less than happily, with Jacquesleaving in 2003_ After this, in 2005, Oraclewas acquired by Stephane Nadeau, ownerof the machine shop that made many partsfor the turntable, He kept in touch withJacques and in March 2009 Jacques boughtback into the company with a 49% holdinq.

With Jacques returning as chiefdesigner, product development started

RIGHT: Oracle's neatly-fitted silicone-fluiddamping trough can be seen following the curveof the ann base, A touch on one of the twobuttons will start or stop play at 33_3 or 45rpm

28 I www.hifinews.co.uk I SEPTEMBER2011

again, and the first result was the newDelphi MkVI. Work done on the Delphifed into the new Paris MkV turntable,

One of the main innovations for theDelphi MkVI [HFN Aug : 10] was a dampingsystem for the suspension. Silicone-fluiddashpots are fixed to the baseboardinboard of the three suspension towers.Adjustable Delrin plungers attached to thesubchassis dip into the fluid, damping themovement of the suspension.

Revisions to the Paris suspension alsoaimed at better lateral stability. Here the'semi-floating' subchassis is supported noton metal springs but on two fibreglassrods which terminate in Sorbothane rings.The new design provides better control byusing additional Sorbothane rings, and canbe adjusted from below for levelling.

The new Paris main bearing is simplerthan that of the Delphi MkVl, but usesa similar high-tech material. Its 8mmdiameter stainless steel shaft runs in twoplain bushings of a high-temperature

engineered thermoplastic call PEEK, whichis also used for the thrust pad.

PLATTER MATTERSMachined from acrylic, the platter has acentral depression which, unlike manyothers, is actually large enough to clearrecord labels which stand proud. It fitssnugly onto the shaft, on top of the150mm diameter aluminium subplatteraround which the drive belt runs.

With built-in control electronics and ACmotor identical to the Delphi MkVl, speedswitching is by a neat pair of push buttonswhich simply toggle on and off, showingblue-lit indicators for 33.3 or 45, and thereare fine speed adjusters at the back, TheParis comes with a compact plug-top 24Vpower supply, but users can upgrade to theTurbo power supply created for the MkVI.

Supplied with the Paris is a neatscrew-down record clamp, a two-partdevice in Delrin. Since the clampingelement does not turn with the screw

action, it won't mark or damage the recordlabels. It's a far less brutal device than theoriginal Oracle clamp, which was designedto force the outer part of the recorddownwards against the platter.

Despite the Oracle Audio namescreened on it, the Parisarm isrecognisable as a Pro-Ject 9cc (not the9cc Evolution, which has a beefier bearingyoke). The collaboration was a natural oneas Heinz Lichtenegger of Pro-Ject has alsobeen the Oracle distributor in Austria formany years, and lacques Riendeau says hewas really drawn to this arm by the high-tech look of the carbon fibre.

But it's a 9cc with a difference - youmight say with shades of SME_Work doneon the Delphi VI suspension, and the desireto control unwanted vibration within thesubchassis system, led to the concept ofapplying damping to the arm, not to thesuspension. As with the well-known SMEdamper, an adjustable paddle attachednear the back end of the arm tube dips intoa curved trough of silicone fluid. Oracle's'paddle' is a small hex grubscrew, and itspoint only needs to dip very slightly intothe shallow trough.

According to Riendeau, 'It takes a verysimple arm, and turns it into a stunningarm.' It also gives the user a chance totweak without damaging anythinq. You canstart from the 'zero' position, where thescrew 'paddle' doesn't quite touch the fluid

THE ORACLE SPEAKS

'Gorgeous stringtones sang inthe resonant

acoustic'

in the trough, then experiment by loweringit half a turn at a time.

Completing the package is thehigh-output Oracle Paris moving-coilcartridge. The magnesium-alloy body ismade by Oracle, but the source of thecartridge itself is not disclosed. Its ratedoutput of 1.6mV is sufficient for moving-magnet phono stage inputs.

TANGIBLE IMAGESListening started with the completeParis turntable/arm/cartridge package assupplied. When I kicked off with AlbertKing's Live Wire Blues Power [Stax 1002],the Oracle gave a great presentation ofthis classic live blues recording from theFillmore West.

King and his sadlyuncredited band memberswere tangibly placedon stage, and you couldmarvel at the way bass,drums, rhythm guitar andorgan almost whisperbehind King, as he worksthe big auditorium withhis mellow, foggy voice, then break outat full power behind him as he launcheshis impassioned guitar. On the uptempo'Please Leave Me' they produced a fantasticgroove, the drums sounding palpably live.

On one of the seminal direct-cuts,I Got The Music In Me [Sheffield Lab LAB-2]

'If we talk about the looks,' says Jacques Riendeau, 'we kept exactly the samedesign my brother chose back in 1985_ That's pretty well where it stops, thouqh.'In the current Paris, the suspension and bearing have been fundamentallyimproved, as has the drive. 'We're using 100% of the drive system of the DelphiMk VI - same board, same motor, same pulley,' adds Jacques, 'Now, my plan hadbeen to re-introduce the Paris and Alexandria, Originally, the Paris was the entrylevel, Alexandria was the mid, and the Delphi was the top model, But the waywe did this screwed up my plan!' Today the Paris sits only below the Delphi inprice and performance, and it's understood that a new Alexandria will becomethe entry-leveL Meanwhile, a range of visually-matching Paris electronics ispromised, a phono stage being first to appear,

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ABOVE: Constructed of board in three layers,the plinth comes in red, white, silver or black-A hinged cover is available and custom finishescan also be ordered at extra cost

with Thelma Houston and Pressure Cooker,the Oracle gave a convincing and punchysound. In the title track it was as if thecombination was giving more presencethan many players do to the singer's sound,so that now you could really admire theway she held her own in the thick of thebusy arrangement. For me, the Oraclerevived this album as a 'sonic spectacular'.

Moving on from the 1970s to thelate 1980s with Tracy Chapman [Elektra960774-2] and 'Fast Car', the Oraclecombination gave a generally bright and

open sound, revealingthe subtle studioenhancement of thesinger's voice and thelively echo sound thatseems to energise thedrums. The bass was free-

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sounding and powerful,underpinning the music

well. All this contributed to making thedynamic contrasts effective, particularlythe eloquent way this track ends just asquietly as begins.

Turning inevitably to Eric Clapton, Iput on Backless [RSODeluxe RSD5001]from 1978. When the solid slow rock of'Walk Out In The Rain' was followed bythe uptempo 'Watch Out For Lucy' it reallyseemed that the great rhythm team ofRadle and Oldaker had changed up a gearand produced a really tremendous beat,with the basssound coherent and even andthe drums full of life.

Midrange detail in the mix was good,with Dick Sims' far-back piano more easilydistinguishable than usual from the rhythmguitars. Clapton's vocal, half-buried asalways, at least managed to surface withsome real character and urgency, whilehis guitar had all the fire and authority youcould wish for. G>

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ABOVE: Signal output is via ph ono sockets, seen left, DIN connector is for the 24Vpower supply, Speed trim screws are just visible to the right under the plinth

With Christine Collister's Love[Rega ENS 002) the opening 'TimeIn A Bottle' seemed to take on aslightly too-close perspective, thesinger's voice a little forward as ifthe balance was tilted up a little,though the background vocals werestrikingly tanqible. I think it's fairto say that the Oracle combinationhighlighted the oddities of this track,and I found myself enjoying thefollowing 'Mad, Mad Me' more. Herethe Oracle seemed to get everythingin balance.

With Barbirolli and Elgar, thegreat English String Music recordingof 1967 [EMI ASD 521), it wasobvious from the first chord ofthe Introduction And Allegro thatthe Oracle could produce a verysatisfying orchestral sound. Themusic emanated from a convincingacoustic space that had backcorners as well as depth in themiddle. You could really feel andhear the contribution of the double-basses, and the work's central fuguewas very well served by the clearpositioning of the opposing strinqs.

ANOTHER CARTRIDGENaturally I tried other cartridgeswith the Paris turntable and arm,and got the expected good resultswith the Benz Micro Glider SL

With the Sheffield Lab I Cot TheMusic In Me, the Benz didn't give thevocal presence exhibited by the Pariscartridge, but still coped well withthe often overcrowded soundstage:the brass bright and clean, thebackground vocals clear and joyful.

On Tracy Chapman's 'Fast Car',there was still a great sense ofstereo spread, the accompanyinginstruments set tangibly around thevocal, which was placed firmly andquite deep into the soundstage,while Chapman's melismatic vocalmanner was portrayed with warmth.

The overall effect was smooth andeffortless, if perhaps too smoothed.

On Clapton's Watch Out ForLucy, it seemed that the Benz hadeverything well under control. Itwas compulsively easy to follow CarlRadle's brilliant, lithe bass line, andthe way it's complemented by thedriving offbeat laid down by JamieOldaker, Once again, the treblequality was smooth and almostself-effacing, and in this instance Irealised that a tweak of the damperwas called tor,

Barbirolli's Eng/ish String Musicshowed once again the Oracle'sability to give a fine sense of musicheard in a real space, In the ElgarIntroduction And Allegro the stringsof the main group were heard in alltheir grandeur, with a good feelingof the acoustic, particularly in thedepth perspectives.

To be critical, I felt that with theBenz cartridge a little more bassweight would have been welcome,to give an even better sense ofscale to the recording venue. ButElgar's lighter Serenade was simplydelightful: gorgeous string tonessinging in the resonant acoustic. o

When supplied with arm andcartridge set up at the factory,the Paris combination is a greatplug-and-play solution, yet onethat also cleverly allows youto tweak to taste by meansof the arm damper. Superblyfinished, the Paris looks asdesirable as Oracle intended, andsounds very good indeed, withexcellent stereo imaging and apresentation that's unfatiguingand musically involvinq.

ORACLE PARIS lVll{V(£4750)Free of the ±60Hz wow that we detected in Oracle's largerDelphi MkVI [HFN Aug '10], the revamped Paris MkV offersa similar peak-weighted W&F of some 0_09% - comprisingslightly higher wow, but less nutter, And this despite using thesame speed control electronics as the costlier Delphi, and thesame low voltage synchronous AC motor, The acrylic platteroffers a good termination for LPs,as evidenced by the slightimprovement in through-groove rumble from -66_6dB to-67 _OdBwith the clamp in place. Jhe bearing is a quality partand yields a superior -68.5dB DIN B-weighted rumble, some1.5dB ahead of the Delphi MkVI but still a few dB short of thestate-of-the-art delivered by top decks from SME. Pro-Ject andClearaudio. Start-up time is a slick 4 seconds.

Oracle's addition to Pro-Ject's carbon-tubed tonearm - aclamp around the top of the tube connected to a paddledipped into a silicone oil bath - brings tremendous benefits.This cannot hold the cartridge itself in such splendid isolationas the headshell-mounted paddle employed all these yearsby Townshend, but it does rather successfully dampen-outmany of those high-Q resonances that accompany the 9cclEvolution tube and its attachments [HFN Jun '10]_ Now vastly'cleaned-up', the main tube resonance is revealed at -270Hzfollowed by the same -560Hz and -1.02kHz harmonics on thewaterfall plot [see Graph 2, below], All higher frequency andmid-bass frequency modes are all but eliminated - a fantasticresult. Readers are invited to view a full QC Suite report for theOracle Paris MkV turntable and tonearm by navigating to www.hifinews.com and clicking on the red 'down load' button. PM

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ABOVE: Wow and flutter re_ 3150Hz tone at 5cm I sec(plotted ±150Hz, 5Hz per minor division]. Note themild, discrete wow at ±5Hz ~.~

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ABOVE: Cumulative tonearm resonant decayspectrum, illustrating various bearing, pillar and tubevibration modes spanning 1OOHz-1OkHz over 40msec

HI-FI NEWS SPECIFICATIONSTurntable speed error at 33.33rpm 33.26rpm (-0.22%)

Time to audible stabilisation 4sec

Peak Wow/Flutter 0.06% / 0.03%

Rumble (silent groove, DIN B wt_d_l_-+_-_67_.0_d_B _

Rumble (through bearing. DIN B_w_td_l-+_-_68_._Sd_B _

Hum & Noise (unwtd. reI. to scmjsec) -S3.4dB

Power Consumption SW+---------------Dimensions (WHDl 490x200x370mm

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