I believe the debut of a high-end audio manufacturer’s benchmark product is usually a reason for celebration. A turntable is doubly so, especially from a leading manufacturer like Vancouver’s Pure Fidelity Turntables.

Owner/designer John Stratton asked me to judge his prototype turntable some years back. It was an excellent debut turntable, full of sonic goodness, great looks and exceptional value. Over the years, Stratton has continued to add to his line and improve upon each model with a Mk2 designation as developments warranted. As such, I purchased the review unit of his previous top turntable, the Harmony (as did several other professional reviewers). My Harmony, upgraded to its Mk2 iteration, became my speed-stable, superb-sounding reference turntable when my much-loved Bergmann Audio Magne’s speed controller gave up the ghost. For the third time!

There were a few excited phone calls when Stratton developed and built his new Symphony Turntable this year. I decided to debut the good news (with Stratton’s permission, of course) on my Everything Classical Music Livestream. Even though the accompanying photos on the show were only iPhone quality (pro shots, here), the audience reacted positively. The Symphony is much larger and weightier than the Harmony Mk2 and continues with the gorgeous plinths, this one in Burl Walnut. You can also order the Symphony in Quilted Maple and the new matte finish, Karelian Birch.

For the Symphony’s tonearm, Stratton decided to go his way rather than supplying OEM tonearms. As such, he designed his 12” “Savant Ti Tonearm” in titanium. He makes the arm boards by hand, and the Symphony gets a new one made of stainless steel rather than aluminum found on his other tables.

The new Symphony has been designed to accommodate one 12” tonearm. The price of the Symphony with a 12” Pure Fidelity Savant Ti Tonearm installed is USD 22,000 (including an upgraded Conductor speed controller and upgraded Pure Fidelity SS LP turntable record weight—with ruby ball bearings instead of steel). Stratton can provide the Symphony with a 12” Origin Live Enterprise MK4 Tonearm installed (9” version reviewed here). MSRP for that combination is USD 24,000 (also including the upgraded Conductor and record weight). The review unit shipped with the Savant Ti installed.

The Symphony debuted at Pacific Audio Fest in Seattle, WA (Sept 6 through 8, 2024).

At my first live viewing in Seattle, I quickly realized that no photograph or video could do this magnificent-looking turntable justice. The size, finish, and gloss of the Burl Walnut’s gravitas must be experienced with the naked eye. Playing in a large room with Alta Audio Aphrodite Speakers (USD 50,000/pair—review published today) and Infigo Audio pre/power/phono, it sounded superb with detail and many of the attributes I ascribe to Stratton’s family of turntables. It was a grand debut for the Symphony, and I was eager to get it into my listening room for further investigation.

John Stratton of Pure Fidelity Turntables.

My Use

As with all Stratton’s turntables in for review I accompanied the new Symphony with outstanding ancillaries, including the Phasemation EA-350 Phono Amplifier (USD 6400), IKEDA IST-201 Step-Up Transformer (USD 5400), MBL N51 Integrated Amplifier (USD 17,600) and BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers (€47,000/pair, stands not included). Good company.

All cabling (including phono cable) was D2 level from Ansuz Acoustics (approx €50,000). I used an outstanding cartridge, also in for review, the IKEDA Sound Labs Kai MC Phono Cartridge (USD 9600). A review of the Kai will be up at a later date. The IKEDA cartridge has since become my new reference after many years with my Phasemation PP-2000 (USD 8000).

Setup

It was very kind of Stratton to deliver and set up the Symphony on the island (a 90-minute ferry ride from his home in Vancouver). As the Symphony is significantly larger and heavier than my Harmony Mk2, I was surprised that it fit on my stand. Just! We filmed a setup and interview video here. Unlike the three proprietary (superb) ISOAcoustics feet on the Harmony, the size and weight of the Symphony demand five. You can read Karl Sigman’s full Audiophilia review of the generic ISOAcoustics’ Gaia Series footers here.

Everything about the Symphony is larger and weightier: platter, plinth, sub platter and the 6061 aircraft aluminum isolation platform.

Specifications

Dimensions: 20” Wide x 16.5 Deep, x 9” High.

Weight: 70 lbs

Sound

Stratton describes the Symphony as “a Harmony on steroids”! That’s a broad brush description, but he’s not far from the truth. The massive plinth and 6061 aircraft aluminum isolation platform are very imposing, and on my adjacent stand, the Pure Fidelity Harmony Mk. 2 looks significantly smaller. We all know bigger is not always better, and some turntables look more like orbiting space stations in their zeal for mass and damping, but here, Stratton is on to something.

Whereas steroids in popular culture invoke bulk, mass and a somewhat crude implementation (compared to working out and a healthy diet), Stratton’s new bigger turntable is elegant in design like his other turntables. Suffice it to say that the Symphony will make a grand statement in your listening room. Some in the room will be sold before the stylus drops on the first record.

After setup, I threw on one of my Best of the Best series from the Audiophilia Dream List, the top Firebird in performance and recording (LSO/Dorati/Watford Town Hall/Classic Records 33 RPM reissue). I’d say it’s the best Bob Fine and Wilma Cozart Fine recording from their many Mercury classical releases.

I expected to hear some great things, but what I heard more than surprised me and exceeded my expectations. For the next hour, I had the same goose bump and deep emotional reaction when I heard the other superstar component I reviewed for the first time, my BØRRESEN Acoustics 01 Silver Supreme Edition Loudspeakers.

And much like writing that review, my most challenging to date, I want to tell you what and how I was hearing. I was not only hearing the attack and transient decay of the notes and the articulation of the player, but I could hear/feel how the player approached the impending note or phrase; how he (the LSO in the late ‘50s was all male) set himself up to articulate. “Pre-articulation”, if you will. It’s how we players get the embouchure ready, intake a breath with diaphragm support or how a string player prepares the bow. I’m not sure how the Symphony achieved this (very low noise floor, perhaps?), but the ambient information was getting through beyond notes and phrases.

This “pre-information” led to a super immersive listening session—I was incredibly attentive to the players’ musical intent. So, preparation, breath intake, articulation, attack, and decay were all crystal clear in the famous Watford Town Hall acoustic.

Next up, a favourite Blues album by Philadelphia Jerry Ricks: Empty Bottle Blues, was recorded for Hungarian Radio in 1986 and released on Radioton.

The ambient information around the guitar, his gravelly baritone, the smooth guitar response, and the bass are better defined than I’ve heard previously. So many cues from the Symphony made my ears perk up. Nothing, even Ricks’ most subtle guitar playing, escapes. And that old audiophile axiom “Rhythm, Pace and Dynamics“ was highlighted in “Ain’t No Fool” and then focused specifically on accelerated rhythm in “Frisco Whistle Blues.” The guitar timbre is outstanding, and his strumming was made especially beautiful. The coda of “Down Delta” will convince you of Ricks’ virtuosity and the Symphony’s superior playback.

One of my favourites for equipment testing is Tea for the Tillerman by Cat Stevens, specifically, the 1980 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab reissue cut by Stan Ricker. Ricker’s remastering allows the very wide dynamic swings to be heard compared to my Canadian original. Rarely have I heard a pop record recut manage crescendos like this superb 44-year-old MoFi.

The opening of “Where Do The Children Play,” with its delicate but firm guitar underpinnings, was very beautiful and tactile, but with an emphasis on bass, drums and piano. But it’s the guitars of Cat Stevens and Alun Davies that steal the show. Much like the guitar of Philadelphia Jerry Ricks, the sounds of both guitars are very beautiful. And Ricker’s cut is glorious, with the few instruments placed perfectly in a natural soundstage. Even the usually quiet string arrangements and the great Jack Rothstein’s violin solo are heard clearly—Del Newman’s subtle but effective string arrangements are more in the foreground, so the quiet pizzicato that emphasizes the rhythm in the coda of “Sad Lisa” is heard better than on other ‘tables. Finally, Stevens’ gravelly, fragile, vulnerable baritone sounds perfectly centred in the soundstage, making for a wonderful musical whole. Ricker’s dynamics are delicate and very punchy. No problem for the Symphony.

Let’s use the next classical LPs as fodder for descriptions in more general audiophile terms.

The Symphony also played one of my favourite Classic Records reissues better than I’ve ever heard it, Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 1, conducted by Jean Martinon and played by the LSO from Kingsway (1957). If the imaging, tonal fluency and spatial effect of Dennis Clift’s little trumpet phrase (to his top Ab, quiet and played with flawless artistry) don’t convince you of this ‘table’s worth, nothing will. Sometimes, it only takes four notes!

Very tricky minor 6th leap trumpet solo, pick up into 5 bars after figure 2. Imagine the pressure, and it is the best I've heard played, recorded or played back through the speakers. He's all alone, rear of Kingsway, Martinon cues you, and off you go. Clift's amazing! Remember that "pre-information"? Another perfect Symphony "tell."

Other favourites, such as music by Varése, Arcana / Intégrales / Ionisation (LA Phil/ Decca/Mehta) and Massenet’s Le Cid (CBSO/EMI/Fremaux), were used to test the Symphony.

Soundstage and imaging, important on every classical album, are both beautiful and precise on the Shostakovich and Varése albums. On the Mehta, each of the four percussionists playing a myriad of tuned and untuned percussion in Varése‘s Intégrales (each from a specific location indicated in the score) was pinpoint and spread across Royce Hall’s wide and deep stage. I experienced this exceptional and very familiar Decca recording better than ever before. Not only was the soundstage and imaging spot on, but the timbral accuracy the Symphony delivered was truth-telling in the best acoustic sense. So the fundamental difference between the gong and tam-tam that I heard amazingly well with my Harmony/Origin Live/Phasemation combo was in even clearer relief. And imaged more specifically, too. The piccolo clarinet, which states the opening theme in a very declarative style, was smoothed out somewhat, a more accurate reflection of this difficult-to-record instrument; the player’s sound was accurate enough that I could appreciate his/her beautiful phrasing. Oftentimes, the overly bright timbre interferes with the associated acoustic around his/her seat.

Massenet’s Le Cid is an exceptional piece and receives a superb performance on the famous EMI, but it is recorded in the bathroom acoustics of Birmingham Town Hall. Engineer Stuart Eltham makes a gallant effort to control the reverb, but the Symphony gives you the skinny on just how problematic the acoustics were. That said, you won’t hear the flutes and castanets, an audiophile favourite moment, at the opening sound as focused with as accurate a timbre as I heard from the Symphony. Further, the castanets (a small bowl with a cord that loosely binds a pair of facing bowls together) were heard with their “clicking and clacking” indeterminate pitch but with the bowls’ resonance perfectly captured.

The opening two flute soli accompanied (below) by castanets.

On an interesting note, you’ll hear superb piccolo playing on this album. Anthony Moroney, the CBSO’s principal flute, was a bit of a thorn in the side of MD Louis Fremaux. Frustrated, Fremaux “demoted” him to picc for this recording, expecting Moroney to have great difficulty with the challenging instrument and part. No such luck for Fremaux. Moroney was equally brilliant on the flute’s baby brother!

I feel the Symphony’s performance is up there with the very best I’ve heard, and some of those ‘tables cost twice or three times as much as the Symphony. Stratton follows simple, tried and true design principles, using quality materials and eschewing a lot of fancy bells and whistles, which can complicate and diminish the sound of a turntable. So audiophile cues such as the weight of piano keys, the sound the resin makes on bows, and cymbal crashes are especially satisfying. The famous cymbal crash at 98 in The Firebird (see photo below; “piatti” = “cymbal”), I’ve never heard so vibrant, so dynamic, and so layered as it fades into the Watford acoustic. Such a simple cue and so endlessly fascinating aurally because of the frequency range, attack, decay, shimmer, splash, and sheer visceral energy.

Conclusions

These recordings were indicative of the many I auditioned that included deep, accurate bass, whisper dynamics up to huge, with clarity of soundstage, pinpoint imaging and a refined, superior timbral accuracy. I’ve heard turntables cost twice as much and could not deliver half the performance of the Symphony. As musical sound is a highly complex waveform, I found its ability to extract information remarkable. I had to dig deep into the musical weeds to bring you an approximation of just how wonderfully this turntable performed.

I’m sure the absolute control and low-noise floor had something to do with the outstanding Savant Ti arm and knockout Kai cartridge. If you purchase a Symphony, the included Savant Ti is outstanding (look for a full review of this Ball Race Gimbal Tonearm soon), and I’m enjoying it as much as my 9” Origin Live Enterprise MK4. Discuss with Stratton, but maybe save yourself a couple of grand and go with the included Savant Ti. It’s a brilliant tonearm.

Stratton sent this along:

Our Savant Ti is a gimballed design. It is held in place by a Race Bearing.

A race bearing is essentially a bearing within a bearing. These are extremely high-quality.

Our bearings are handmade in Japan.

Also, I’m positive any purchaser will match it with a commensurate cartridge. Additionally, Stratton’s Conductor speed controller is a wonderful upgrade over his already-good Maestro controller. Speed controllers are very important and add a sense of well-being to the sound as well as adding to all the precepts you expect as a passionate vinylphile.

At USD 22,000, the Symphony is an expensive turntable option. But if you are up on turntables these days, you’ll see and hear others charging far more for less. In the very best sense for vinyl enthusiasts, the Symphony may well turn out to be a real value. I’m buying mine. It’s so good, if it left my music room, I’d be mooning every listening session wishing it was still here, so I purchased it. Once you hear one, I’d posit you’d feel the same.

Thus, Stratton continues his journey, producing value-added, stunning-looking turntables that sound exquisite. Very highly recommended.

Further information: Pure Fidelity Turntables