September 2016


Best Of 2016 Blue Note Equipment Awards

Kronos Sparta 0.5 Turntable And Upgrade To Full Sparta
Price: Sparta 0.5 is $15,000
Upgrade kits to full Sparta status adds $7500
Full Sparta: $21,500
Helena Tonearm is $6500
Click here to read the complete review.

  The review was ostensibly of the Kronos Sparta 0.5, a single platter turntable that could later be upgraded to the full Sparta model. As good as the 0.5 is, having the opportunity to listen to the full Sparta upgrade revealed the greatness of the dual, counter-rotating platter concept. With the full Sparta, unlike the flagship Pro, it is relatively easy to disengage the lower platter to experience and compare the contribution made by the second platter. While this is not the first time the counter-rotating concept has been brought to market, Louis Desjardins has combined his design, engineering, production and marketing skills to make the Kronos turntable an instant classic. Everything, down to the smallest screw is fully thought out.

The result is music that comes not from two-dimensional musicians pinpointed on a soundscape, but three dimensional musicians blowing notes from a horn that have physicality and depth you never suspected was in the grooves. While the Kronos Pro takes the concept up a level with more advanced engineering, the Sparta, combined with the very fine Helena carbon fiber ball-pivot tonearm, comes in at a price that is appropriate for a wider spectrum of the very finest systems. It is no coincidence that Kronos turntables are paired with the finest equipment at shows throughout the world. Quality begets quality.

Two days after Louis Desjardins and Bill Parish delivered the Sparta 0.5 and the upgrade parts to make it a full blown Sparta with counter-rotating platters, a good friend notified me of the tragic death of Bobby Palkovic of Merlin Music Systems. Bobby was more of an acquaintance than a good friend of mine. Friendships happen. And as a journalist I get to facilitate that happening and even make some friends of my own – both buyers and sellers – which brings me back to the Kronos turntable and its creator, Louis Desjardins.

I don't usually read other reviews of equipment that I'm in the process of reviewing myself but I was pretty much done with this one and I had a slow hour near the closing time at work. In his review in The Absolute Sound (Jan. 2016, Issue 259) Greg Weaver reached a very positive tipping point with the full Sparta when he installed it on the Formula shelf of his Grand Prix stand. At Louis' request, I had abstained from trying the 0.5 and full Sparta on any special footers, but Greg's review pushed my curiosity button. After midnight following a Christmas party with the rig warmed up and the turntable spinning silently to warm up the oil, I ran one last test. After listening to ZZ Top's "Deguello" I slipped Sound Damped Steel IsoFeet (a sandwich of viscoelastic polymer between two layers of stainless steel) under each pillar. The result was ear opening with sharper attacks and noticeably improved focus.

I engaged the lower platter bringing it up to full Sparta form and repeated side two. Adding the counter rotating platter produced the expected benefits of even greater focus and hence, more ambient detail. I then pulled out Louie, Louie once again and felt like I could almost hear the Calypso lyrics they claim are actually in the song. It would take repeated listening with the printed lyrics in hand to find them, I think, but something wasn't quite right. I was hearing more detail but enjoying the music less. I popped on Jackson Brown and listened to The Load-Out and Stay. Again, more detail, nuance and ambience from this live recording, but harder edges and a more tiring treble. I removed the IsoFeet and listened again. Ahhhh. This is where I want my music to be! The song relaxed and the treble extended inconspicuously into thin air, as if the room had no ceiling.

Louis Desjardins of Kronos has thoroughly researched and refined this turntable. He knows of what he speaks. There might be a small degree of margin for you to tweak its performance to your personal preference, but most likely that will fall to your choice of tonearm and cartridge. I could have researched other tweaks if I had more time, but the FBI is at my door demanding to hear Louie, Louie. The Sparta is really two amazing turntables. I could happily live with the 0.5 for the rest of my life, but the full Sparta, there's the lust.

Click here to read the complete review.

Previous Annual Blue Note Awards

Product of the Year Awards 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, and 2001.