Kuzma XL AIR turntable

None of the above would make sense without a high quality, correctly specified and executed air supply for the XL AIR bearing. After extensive experimentation, Kuzma decided to use a fairly large model from the renowned Italian manufacturer Sil-Air (Silent Air). To paraphrase ‘Sympathy for the Devil’, “it has a tank, of a generous rank” as the compressor (designed originally for high-precision airbrush work) has a large smoothing expansion air tank. When combined with proprietary additional air filters positioned relatively close to the turntable, the complete air supply package delivers a quiet supply of air at consistent and stable pressure into the bearing. The expansion tank means that when the platter is in rotation, the compressor powers itself up (to produce air) only for 20–30 seconds every three or so minutes. Needless to say, the compressor’s motor generates a certain amount of noise and it is essential that the compressor for the XL AIR turntable is positioned as far as possible from the listening area, preferably in another room (the same applies for the compressor feeding the Air Line tonearm, if used). The manufacturer supplies 25m of hose for the purpose which should suffice in most circumstances.

Kuzma XL turntables are supplied from the factory with one high-mass arm tower and the external electronic power supply unit. With the additional lower platter, the overall height of the turntable (compared to the mechanical bearing version) increases by 40mm, and suitable brass spacers for the arm tower(s) is/are provided. To make the use of the turntable even easier, a separate, very elegant controller unit (also machined out of brass) is supplied and is meant to be placed very near the turntable itself. This turns the deck on or off and controls speed, thus allowing the PSU to be left remote and permanently powered once the fine speed adjustment has been completed.

As the total weight of the XL AIR with a single arm tower (and tonearm) will be comfortably in excess of 100kg, due consideration when choosing a suitably strong (and, even more importantly, rigid) supporting surface is paramount. But, in the spirit of ‘go big or go home’, we could not resist a spot of absolute overkill – an XL AIR with two arm towers and two tonearms with a grand total of around 140kg (315lbs, 22.5st) of not completely symmetrical weight distribution all up. Clearly, this isn’t the kind of turntable for ‘plonking down on an Ikea LACK table’.

The Kuzma XL AIR was partnered with the company’s twin flagship tonearms: the 4Point14 and the latest vintage of Air Line. The former is a pivoted (or, perhaps, better say ‘pointed’), 14-inch long traditional (arc) design, while the latter is a tangential parallel tracking, air bearing design requiring its own air compressor.

Just like the XL AIR turntable, Kuzma’s Air Line has an extremely rigid, minimally resonating aluminium structure, is easy to adjust (especially for a parallel tracker) and supports accurate VTA and azimuth adjustments. The original Air Line was upgraded with a trough for silicone damping fluid, which helps damp lateral resonance and enhances the overall performance quite noticeably (lateral resonance damping helps a lot even with a parallel tracking arm).

Installation and setup of the XL AIR (and both tonearms) is fairly simple. Four large, high-tensile bolts hold (and release) the bearing housing within the brass main turntable base and, once replaced, the rest (new subplatter, additional bottom bronze platter and the arm tower spacers) followed. The drive belt for the motor went back onto the subplatter and motor pulleys, main platter on top in position and… that’s all there was to it. One must not forget to install and connect the airline (air supply hose) into the back of the bearing housing and, once the air supply is in motion, a tiny (but accurate) ‘boost’ (sorry, air pressure) gauge tells you there is rock-solid and stable 4 bar pressure of airflow ready to spin the platter. Special warnings all over the owner’s manual state, “never to contemplate starting the turntable motor before the airflow is open at the nearby valve, and never to disconnect the air supply until after the turntable came to a halt”. Fair point.

The final choice of cartridges required some head-scratching. Ultimately, we ended up with two best models from two different manufacturers. One was an obvious choice – the Kuzma CAR60 – the other was the excellent Hana Umami Red. Yes, their prices are wide apart, but they both have an enviable reputation within their own worlds, and also have almost identical outputs which mattered in practice. The turntable is a platform that can allow some truly monumental tributes to the cartridge-maker’s art, but alongside that, it’s often more of an acid test of a deck to see how it handles less esoteric – but still first-rate – cartridges. We also tried both cartridges in both tonearms to allow a more objective insight into their true abilities in conjunction with the arms, but the XL AIR never ceased to remain the main focus and interest of this project.

So, with the CAR60 moving-coil cartridge in the 4Point 14 and the Hana Umami Red in the Air Line, the concert was about to begin. That’s a pretentious-sounding way to introduce the sound of a turntable, but it fits perfectly here. There’s a sense of occasion surrounding the top of the Kuzma tree, whichever arm you go for. That’s not just because it’s a big turntable to scale, but because the performance on the record is replayed with such a deft touch and so much accuracy. Everything is played the way it should be played, without the remotest interference, error or sin of omission, commission or transmission.