Pure Fidelity Horizon Turntable
Michael Johnson—In March of 2021, I was at a very important crossroads in the life of any audiophile, I was preparing to pick out my first (and ostensibly last) truly “high-end” turntable. I had owned two very satisfying audiophile turntables up until this point, a VPI Scout 1.1, and a heavily modified Rega Planar 3. I liked different things about both tables, the Rega for its energy and percussive drive, and the VPI for its ability to plunge the depths of the frequency spectrum and track superbly with its uni pivot JMW tonearm. Eventually, though, in this line of work, you end up lusting after a table that can do it all without compromise, and that can stand up with confidence and bravado to all the various high-end components (including top-of-the-line cartridges) that one encounters as an audio reviewer.
I had a few options I was considering: The VPI Prime 21 I reviewed last year was certainly a top contender, squeezing a lot of the technology from the company’s statement line products into a very reasonable package. The Technics SL-1200G was also very enticing as a simple solution that punched far above its weight. The compact design was also appealing to me as an apartment dweller. As I was mulling over my options to my fellow Audiophilia writers, our publisher prodded me: “I’m surprised you aren’t considering one of the tables from John Stratton over at Pure Fidelity”. The thought of buying a table from a “smaller” manufacturer had crossed my mind, but going back and reading Anthony’s original review of both the Eclipse and the Harmony turntables planted the seed, fertilized by a mild obsession with their stunning wood finishes. Ok, so the turntables looked beautiful, and a set of ears I trust greatly loved their sound, but when we’re talking high-end turntable money, most of us need a little more than a pretty dress and a rave review. So I called up John Stratton in Vancouver, BC to learn more about his turntable design philosophy, and “what’s under the hood” so to speak.
What I discovered in talking to John, is a man with a passion for simple, robust design, and high-end sound that is “achievable”. Lots of smaller turntable manufacturers either outsource entire sections of their designs or engineer so much proprietary technology that they easily reach 5 digits without a second thought!
The actual turntables from Pure Fidelity are all made in-house, and utilize a tried and true selection of robust designs. The philosophy of Pure Fidelity is a “hybrid” design that sits somewhere in between the mass-loaded and low-mass worlds. All their turntables use dense MDF plinths, but complement them with Delrin platters that include “flywheel” weight distribution. The drive system is a simple but precise sub-platter of aluminum and stainless steel, supported by a ruby ball bearing and bronze bearing shaft. All of this is driven by an integrated stainless steel pully motor running two belts. The company technically makes four models, but in reality, they make just two: The “E” series (Encore and Eclipse), and the “H” series (Harmony and Horizon). Each series contains two different plinth shapes, curved and rectangular, but otherwise identical.
For a full explanation of each table’s technical specifications, I would encourage you to read Anthony’s full reviews of both the Eclipse and the Harmony (linked above). The purpose of this “follow-up” review is really to enlighten the reader as to what it’s like to purchase and own one of these tables. And yes, that means I did buy one!
After talking with John and hearing about his passion for good sound and robust design, I decided to take the plunge with the Horizon model in a beautiful gloss Santos Rosewood (now $7,995 without an arm as of 2022). Pure Fidelity offers a number of tonearms with their turntables. Traditionally the most recommended pairing has been the Acoustic Signature TA-1000 ($2,495), also labelled by Pure Fidelity as the PF-309 (the Pure Fidelity version includes upgraded wiring and bearings), that Anthony reviewed with the Eclipse model four years ago. Currently, due to the global supply chain squeeze, the Acoustic Signature arms are difficult to come by, so the company has begun offering a range of Origin Live tonearms to complement their designs, a combination I was lucky to hear at Axpona this year, and which impressed lots of attendees. Myself, I went with the Acoustic Signature, and just like that my “last” turntable was on its way to Arizona.
My Use
Setup was thankfully straightforward, and instructions out of the box were clear. The turntable came impeccably packed and with the arm board pre-mounted, meaning all I had to do was slide the tonearm into its socket and tighten the set screw (Allen keys included). The Horizon is one of the two top-level Pure Fidelity tables. Unlike the Harmony that Anthony reviewed previously, this table is rounded on the left side, giving it a visually pleasing mid-century aesthetic (perfect to pair with my knockoff Wegner Shell chair).
But just like the Harmony, the Horizon comes with a machined aluminum “isolation platform” that the veneered MDF plinth sits in, supported by three IsoAcoustic Gaia IV feet, to further isolate the table from vibrations. I’ve found in almost all turntables, three feet are ideal over four. Not only is the tripod setup usually more stable than the quad, but it makes levelling the table infinitely easier. Previous turntables on my rack have needed some type of isolation platform to prevent resonance bleed, the robust isolation base built into the turntable, coupled with the Gaia feet (a product I already knew generated impressive results), left me at ease to set up the table directly on my VTI rack.
One of the biggest sighs of relief for me in the design of the Horizon is the use of both an external speed controller and power supply for the table’s motor. Many belt drive tables, even high-end ones do not use any type of speed regulator, relying on the power from the wall to be consistent or hoping you have a suitable power regulator like a PS Audio Power Plant. Not so here: the Pure Fidelity Horizon includes the Maestro speed controller, which Stratton says he tunes and adjusts to each individual table, and a separate power supply box. This ensures not only that the table’s motor speed is accurate, but that changes from 33rpm to 45 do not involve “popping the hood” (i.e. trying to remove the table’s massive 48mm Delrin platter).
One tale of note in my acquisition of this table is that I was shocked at how it includes all the “accessories” out of the box. After I had placed my order (back before the Pure Fidelity website received its new look), I learned about the SS-10 stainless steel record isolator. An impressive ball-bearing infused record weight and stabilizer made by the company. I immediately emailed Stratton asking to add this weight to my order. He responded back a bit confused, as the Harmony and Horizon come with this weight standard! In fact, between the SS-10, the Maestro Speed controller, and the included Zavfino1877 phono cable, the Horizon includes virtually every accessory you could possibly need (aside from a dustcover, sadly necessary in the desert).
Over the course of my year and a half with the Horizon, I successfully mounted a number of cartridges on the TA-1000, including my trusty Dynavector 20x2, the Hana ML, and now the premium Hana Umami Red (review forthcoming). The arm-table combo passed the test of all of these cartridges with flying colours. For all combinations, I used my Allnic H-1202 phono preamp.
The TA-1000 tonearm comes with its own simple alignment jig, which seems to be set to the Stevenson geometry. I did try a setup with it but found the Dr. Feickert protractor to be a much more in-depth setup tool, especially when mounting a higher-end cart like the Umami Red. I kept the alignment in Stevenson to best match what the tonearm manufacturer intended.
Sound
Doing a review on a ‘table I’ve owned and lived with for 16 months is a bit different than taking in gear for a review period, mostly because I don’t have notes for the beginning of my journey with the Horizon, only memories. Thankfully, they are vivid and happy memories. I remember the first thing I noticed about this ‘table was its effortless clarity, across the frequency spectrum and throughout the soundstage of whatever I was listening to. Clearly, Stratton is onto something with his hybrid medium-mass design, as this is one of the most balanced and neutral tables I have ever spent time with. Bass is deep, but not overpowering or bloated. The midrange is open and clear, with stable imaging and a wide soundstage. Treble is sweet and extended, airy, and not mechanical.
Sounds good enough, right? No? Ok, let’s dig in.
I remember one of the first records I played on my new ‘table was my Japanese pressing of Pink Floyd’s The Wall (40AP 1750-1), which I gladly revisited for this writeup. The Pure Fidelity renders all of the bombast and impact necessary during the opening track “In The Flesh”, and projects an impressively deep soundstage behind my speakers. This helped immensely when the track collided into its conclusion, which includes the infamous airplane moment, which sounded more intimidating and horrific than I think I’ve ever heard before on any of my systems.
The rhythmic drive here is also excellent, fueling Water’s and Gilmore’s macabre disco on “Another Brick in the Wall”—drum sound and percussion, in general, is a dead giveaway for the ability of HiFi components to do transient response, impact, and dynamics. Well, it’s all here, and balanced properly in proportion with the rest of the arrangement. Some ‘table/system combos can give this recording a bloated, oversized kick drum sound, taking away from the biting guitars of David Gilmour, but not so with the Horizon/Acoustic Signature combo.
A true test of a turntable and its stability is classical chamber music, particularly piano recordings. I revisited my Impex reissue of Jascha Heifetz’s recording of the Beethoven Op. 1 Piano Trio with cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and pianist Jacob Lateiner. Not much needs to be said about these legendary Heifetz/Piatigorsky chamber recordings on RCA, pick the one you like, they are all definitive (the same could be said about anything Heifetz recorded), and the sound here by Impex is a vast improvement on the original compressed Dynagroove pressing (please Impex, give us more classical reissues!!).
In addition to the crystal clear imaging and shining transparency of both string masters, Lateiner’s piano has harmonic clarity and rock-solid pitch stability. Forget the wavering problems of lower-end belt drive tables, you need not worry here. While the direct drive Technics 1200G offers different sonic attributes and a slightly different presentation to the Pure Fidelity (having spent a lot of time listening to both tables), I can say with assuredness that Pure Fidelity does not give up anything in pitch stability to the Technics, an impressive achievement.
The Pure Fidelity does something else with this intimate chamber recording, it portrays colour changes with a vividness that surprised me. Hearing Heifetz go from exuberance to melancholy, or from sunny to “sotto voce” was transfixing. The whole package was here, sensitive musicians, a superb all-analog recording and cutting, and a table with the sure-footing to portray it all with grace and clarity. Even in the final Presto movement where the violin runs are lightning quick and delivered with bravado, I heard every bow stroke with complexity and depth.
I have a few “tracking test” records, one of them being the Reference Recordings 45rpm pressing of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with the Utah Symphony (RR-11). So much dynamic slam and bass impact is crammed into side 3 of this record that some turntable/arm combos turn it into either a complete mess or worse, the tonearm jumps the groove! Not here, where every wicked turn of the final witch's sabbath was delivered with composure.
Another record I like to play for these purposes is a compilation record by Japanese jazz-pop vocalist Taeko Ohnuki called Early Times 1976-77 (Panam GWP-1015) which compiles tracks off her first two studio albums. The reason is this album contains some very delicate inner groove tracks on both sides, and getting a setup to track the sweet, delicate soprano voice of Ohnuki all the way to the end without sibilance, is a task, fortunately, with careful setup, I was able to achieve this on the Pure Fidelity/Acoustic Signature combo with multiple cartridges, something that eluded my former Rega.
Summary
I could write for many more paragraphs about how this turntable let me shine a new light onto my record collection, but after owning this table for so long it almost feels passe. The Pure Fidelity Horizon is a table that brings clarity, neutrality, and finesse to any record I throw its way. From rock to metal, jazz, orchestral, and electronic, it doesn’t really have a flavour, just a de-fogging effect that allows you to see deeper into the essence of the recording. It’s a simple design built with robust components and housed in one of the most beautiful wood veneers I have ever seen on a turntable.
Any complaints? Only the expanding popularity of this turntable along with inflation and global supply chain issues has caused the cost to rise somewhat significantly over the past two years. Is it still a value of $10,000 for the arm and table together? Answering that question in any type of objective sense would require a sample size of turntables most people will never even encounter, let alone spend time with.
For me, the Pure Fidelity Horizon (USD $9995 incl. arm) fits the bill. It offers sonic clarity with an analog flow that only a good belt drive design can achieve. It showcases a beautiful and simple design with high-quality components, and it comes as a complete package that prevents the need to spend countless hours and dollars tweaking accessories and add-ons. Pair with one of the high quality 9” tonearms offered from either Origin Live or Acoustic Signature, and you have a turntable that can get you off the HiFi merry-go-round. For me, I’ve found my “last” turntable, and I couldn’t be happier.
Further information: Pure Fidelity
