The Harmony Mk2 is the latest version of Pure Fidelity’s top-of-the-line turntable. It retails for $9995/incl. tonearm (all prices USD). The Mk2 is made by hand in Vancouver, BC and features a boutique design and artisanal workmanship.

I did a video about the Mk2 here. Also, reading my review of the Harmony Mk1 would be informative.

My original Mk1 came with the highly regarded Acoustic Signature TA-1000 Tonearm. It’s a remarkably assured arm with such good performance that I used the same arm on the Mk2. Recently, designer/owner John Stratton had difficulty getting TA-1000 shipments from Acoustic Signature in Germany for the same pandemic/post-pandemic logistical reasons every other high-end company has fulfilling orders. The UK’s Origin Live to the rescue—the wonderful British maker of superior tonearms. The Origin Live Encounter Tonearm MK4 Stratton chose for his turntable is at least as good as the Acoustic Signature TA-1000. Word is customers are delighted. In fact, Stratton can supply any Origin Live tonearm in their range. He’s also added the choice of the highly-regarded Japanese Glanz Tonearms. Your tonearm choice will affect the final price.

The Harmony Mk2 with Origin Live Tonearm.

My Use

Accompanying the Mk2 was most of my 2023 reference system, including Phasemation EA-350 Phono Amplifier, Aavik R-280 Phono Stage, Phasemation PP-2000 Phono Cartridge, MBL N51 Integrated Amplifier, BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Signature Loudspeakers, Mainz C2 Power Distributor, with cabling—power cords, interconnects and phono cable D2 level Ansuz Acoustics (the D2 power cord reviewed in this issue).

Upgrades to the Harmony Mk1

I hesitate to call them upgrades as the Mk2 maintains much of the superb sonic signature of the original, just the way I would have wanted it—the original is such a refined, beautiful-sounding turntable. Stratton has added a few sound-improving modifications and one visual improvement. One of the sound mods also improves the looks.

All the attributes and technical refinements that make the Harmony about the best sub 10K turntable on the market are still there: the magnificent intermediate mass ultra-MDF plinth (mine in quilted maple, now with a slight aesthetic modification), a massive, 48-mm Delrin® platter, the machined stainless steel sub plinth with two rounded cross-section drive belts, the 6061 aircraft aluminum isolation platform and the ruby bearing in a low-friction bronze shaft.

My Pure Fidelity Harmony Mk2 with sunken Delrin platter and Acoustic Signature TA-1000 Tonearm.

Changes

The plinth now has a 5 mm cavity to sink the platter allowing it to appear completely flush. It is a small change but improves the look of the platter especially when spinning (see the video below for the super tight tolerances). Stratton uses a 3mm acrylic plate to cover the bottom of the hollow.

The new, modified plinth with 5 mm hollow. A 3 mm thick acrylic plate fills in the bottom of the hollow.

Short video of spinning platter on new plinth with 5mm hollow. Please enlarge video for best viewing. Thanks.

Visuals

Retrofits to the Mk1? Only the new feet and speed controller can be upgraded from the original. ISO Acoustics’ Gaia IV feet specially modified for the Mk2 may be purchased for $350. More on the new speed controller below.

Both the ISO feet and new plinth make big visual statements with the gorgeous ISO feet bringing sound enhancements over Stratton’s original design. If you have ISOAcoustics Gaia feet under your loudspeakers or components, you know the benefits. Karl Sigman liked them so much in his review, he purchased the set. They were so good, they made our 2021 Products of the Year list.

The new plinth cutout is an ingenious solution to a non-problem. Stratton had the platter on the Mk1 as low as possible and it made a great impact. The new plinth allows the Delrin platter to sink 5 mm making it appear flush with no gap. Even better.

The ISO feet improve the bass and drop the already low noise floor even more. The Mk1 gave you inky blacks and the Mk2 an even lower noise floor. The effect is subtle, but if you only upgrade the feet, they will show their benefit over time.

The other upgrade is a stunner.

Sound

Whither the speed controller? Who knew? Not me. Well, I had an inkling—stability, focus and all that. And I should be an expert. Sadly, my beloved long-time reference turntable, the Bergmann Audio Magne had pitch stability problems x3 with its onboard speed controller board. I need a reference turntable that’s ready to go for a long, stable daily shift. The Mk2 fills that requirement. It’s a rock, now with added benefits (keep reading). So, the Mk2 moved left sideways on the rack to take stereo pride of place and I purchased a Technics SL-1200GR (review forthcoming) for mono duties.

The Pure Fidelity is a completely different beast than the sexy Bauhaus Magne (air bearing) but even more beautiful with the quilted maple plinth. The Pure Fidelity is a simpler design (no air pump, linear tracking tonearm, air bearing platter, etc) and at $3900 cheaper than the Magne, only about 5% to 10% shy of the Bergmann’s amazing performance. Winner, winner.

But read on, there’s a twist.

The original and very effective Pure Fidelity “Maestro” Speed Controller. A little metal nugget with toggle switches that give a satisfying “clunk”!

The new “Conductor” Speed Controller. A very special sound upgrade. $2500 if purchased separately. Tactile indent buttons, blue LEDs, gorgeous faceplate and significant weight. The speed is very stable and quartz locked. If you ever feel the need, there are fine speed adjustments on the rear panel.

Stratton brought over the modified plinth and his new Conductor Speed Controller ($2500 and the replacement to the Maestro) to the island for a personal install. As the four of us (me, Stratton, Jan Kershaw and new staffer Ian Kershaw) listened (first on was Coltrane’s vinyl reissue of Lush Life), we could tell immediately the improvements in instrumental separation, explosive dynamics and jet black backgrounds. In audiophile vinyl terms, the new speed controller is a major upgrade.

Other newly pressed, remastered records such as Blue Room with Chet Baker sounding as good as ever and Vacant World by Jack, a Japanese psychedelic and folk rock group from the ‘60s, sounding anywhere from nutty to deeply beautiful. Each record was enjoyed under the new spirit of the Mk2. The bass is really deep and the iron grip speed control opens up all sorts of aural possibilities, genre dependent. So the quiet, effective string opening of Sibelius’ Symphony No. 2 with Karajan and the Philharmonia was more detailed than I remember—it’s an odd time entrance for the violins and you could feel the concentrated bow arms working hard to be in sync. The Harmony Mk2 gives the listener that window without losing the essence of the instrument’s timbre.

The good news, buying a new Harmony Mk2 today gets you the new plinth, feet and speed controller for $9995/incl. Origin Live Encounter MK4 Tonearm.

In my naïveté, and knowing next to nothing about speed controllers and their importance, I was quite shocked at the cost of the Conductor—$2500 if added separately (and a half-size, 11-pound component compared to the diminutive Maestro). After five minutes of listening with the new Conductor, you’d have to pry it from…yes, it’s that good.

Stratton tells us: “…the Conductor is 100% designed and built in Vancouver. A microprocessor (computer) sends the exact frequency to the AC motor for precise speeds of 33.3 and 45. Secondly, you can adjust the speed without opening the unit as you did with the Maestro. Now in one chassis eliminating a set of connecting cables.”

Controller and power supply in one hefty box.

Austin Mayo, our new “Advisory Council”, answered my questions as to why the Conductor is such an important sound upgrade: “I can understand that. Aside from the foundation of the turntable itself, that speed controller is the second most important part, followed by the tonearm, preamp, and not surprisingly dead last…the phono cartridge.”

Consider me educated.

The Mk1 and Maestro were no slouches, but compared with the Magne, inner lines were not as revealed and timbres were not always as vibrant. The Conductor improved the Mk2 to slightly above Magne levels. There were four happy, satiated audiophiles feeding off this rich, very detailed sound. On Lush Life, rim shots and fills were explosive in Rudy Van Gelder’s acoustic, but very controlled. We were listening, sitting quietly in the New Jersey studio with the red light on. Uncanny.

We had played this LP the day before, Maestro-led. What a difference under the Conductor. These differences are what get audiophiles excited.

But much like the ISO’s effect, micro dynamics did not go amiss. Playing this turntable sotto voce is an immersive hoot. Late-night listening never had it so good.

To add one more good thing, the Mk2 still includes the Pure Fidelity SS-10 stainless steel record isolator (this record weight may be purchased separately for $350), a 750-gram brute on cute, tiny ball bearings that stabilizes the record and improves the sound even more.

Summary

Outstanding high-end audio engineers are not always good businessmen. Stratton is an exception. A very fine turntable designer and directs his growing business in concrete, logical ways. As such, he’s in the business for the long term, has developed four fine turntables, and when ready to make changes, they are thoughtful and demonstrate improvements in the sound. If you own a Mk1, you already know how much you enjoy the sound. I’d say go ahead and upgrade to the ISO feet but be sure to hear a Conductor with the Mk1. In high-end terms, I’d say an easy $2500 upgrade. And if you are in a fortunate position researching your final solution turntable, you cannot do better under 10K than the wonderful Pure Fidelity Harmony Mk2 Turntable. Very highly recommended.

Further information: Pure Fidelity