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The Funk Vector

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The Achromat

PT Upgrades

LP12 Vector Link

Lp12 (Pink Link2)

The Achroplat

Arm Modifications

The Funk Vector Link....... How does it work?

Evolution... Hear it, Buy it, Love it

The lucious piano black V-Link with Naim Aro

Complete Funk Vector Link Upgrade

The Vector Link is a state-of-the-art make over that transforms the LP12 into one of the finest transcription turntables ever - at any price, against all comers.

The Vector Link is an EVOLUTIONARY JUMP…
 
Through innovative design and the use of new technology in materials, motors and interfaces, it takes the recognised strengths of the LP12 design and improves them still further – the ability to follow the tune and its rhythm.
In addition, the Vector Link design offers you accurate pitch, world beating bass control, sweeter treble, and solid soundstages with depth and width. In the past you had to look elsewhere for these.

The unique combination of all these qualities in one deck is what makes the Vector Link LP12 a 21st century reference product.

The complete Vector Link kit is:

CHARM sub-chassis and armboard
CLARITY top plate
VECTOR 3-pullley drive and sub-chassis mounted K-drive DC motor

The full Vector Link upgrade is completed by the Achromat

Price of the full Vector Link upgrade: £1670.00*

Compare this to the cost of buying a new turntable with anything near comparable quality, and you’ll see what remarkable value the Vector Link is for LP12 music lovers!

*Please note that fitting is not included in the price

For information on getting your LP12 modified by us <please click here>

For information on fitting your own mods <please click here>

Money back guarantee.
All upgrades are entirely retro-fittable. No structural changes are made to the deck.
If you are not completely satisfied with any of our upgrades, we will refund your money on return.

The Component parts of the V_Link and what they do......

CHARM sub-chassis and armboard

The sub-chassis has an unenviable job. It must support the bearing, hold the arm and platter in a precise relationship, and provide a “virtual ground” for the heavy, rotating platter. So, on the one hand, the sub-chassis needs to be as rigid as possible. On the other, it needs to be able to damp energy and provide good compressive load resistance.

The CHARM’s sub-chassis and armboard are made from a composite sub-chassis material - a double skin of carbon fibre sandwiches a precise (optimal) density of end grain balsa. These are specifically manufactured for Funk by a world leading materials company. It is then precisely machined using CNC equipment to exacting tolerances.

The combination produces a final product with good compressive load resistance, rigidity and damping. CHARM’s design and mass distribution allows the platter to perform significantly better in its function as a “virtual ground”. The stiffness of carbon fibre holds the arm and platter in precise relationship. The specially selected dense balsa core is an extremely effective energy dump for arm vibrations, while simultaneously allowing the bearing to be very firmly attached. And the teardrop shape? This has been carefully designed to provide a smooth transition for surface waves.

These properties are not available in the original steel sub-chassis, or in rival sub-chasses that are made from metal or other conventional materials.
The armboard of the CHARM is made from the same composite material as the sub-chassis. This effectively terminates the energy coming down the arm, preventing it from entering the sub-chassis. The armboard and sub-chassis are very firmly coupled using three 5mm studs and nuts. This secure attachment allows armboard and sub-chassis to act as one.
As you can see in the picture, included with the CHARM is a “load distribution ring” that securely connects the bearing to sub-chassis. This reduces bearing sway.

The CHARM with Vector drive and motor mounted

The armboard has a mirror smooth black finish. It is the same finish used on the CLARITY top plate. Together they provide a distinctive, visually stunning finish to the Vector Link.

CHARM armboards are available cut for Linn, Naim, Rega, SME, or blank for you to have cut to your own requirements.
Price: £480.00

CLARITY top plate

Funk’s new Top Plate is made of hi-tech, aerospace specification carbon fibre. Its primary job is to filter vibration and at the same time more neutrally support the heavy platter, moving sub-chassis and motor.

The plinth is constantly being vibrated by the outside world – not least by the action of your speakers pushing air in the listening room. The lower the frequency, the more air is being pushed by the speakers. This sets up a nasty feedback between the deck and the speakers – particularly with low frequency bass energy.

The problem is made worse by the original top plate. The thin sheet of stainless steel flexes, sending low frequency energy to the sub-chassis and thereon to the cartridge.

Replacing the original top plate with the CLARITY results in a dramatic improvement in sound. By effectively filtering vibration, the CLARITY reduces colouration, improves dynamics and delivers a more rhythmic performance.

As you can see, the CLARITY is ready-cut for the VECTOR’s 3-Pulley drive system.

Price: £390.00

Note: for those wishing to upgrade in Stages, the CLARITY also accommodates AC / DC motors in the original position.

For more information on Upgrade Stages <click here>

VECTOR 3-pulley drive and K-Drive DC motor

The VECTOR is the ultimate solution to the problem of Motor Pull. Where the Pink Link 2 minimises the impact of Motor Pull on the cartridge, the VECTOR goes to the source of the problem and removes Motor Pull completely.

The improvements that are brought by the VECTOR is simply stunning! Once you’ve experienced a VECTOR’ed LP12, there’s no turning back. ‘Vectoring’ allows the cartridge to reproduce the most delicate of nuances, the blackest blacks. You will notice a higher output from your cartridge, a smoother, more detailed and more powerful bass performance. Simply stunning dynamics resulting from vice-like pitch control. With that comes the widest dynamics you will have ever heard.
We think it sublime...

The VECTOR contains 3 radical innovations for the LP12:

• 3-pullley drive
• Mounting the motor on the sub-chassis
• K-Drive DC motor and power supply unit

Price of VECTOR upgrade: £730.00

3-pullley drive

The patented asymmetric 3-pulley drive system is the most noticeable feature of the VECTOR (see picture).  The motor pulley drives the platter with the assistance of 2 passive pulleys - it’s from this that VECTOR LINK derives its name.
 

The three pulley Vector Drive system
The VECTOR balances and linearizes drive to the platter in a way never before achieved.

The advantages of ‘Vectoring’:

• The platter now rotates as a single point under the stylus – because the spindle is no longer being pulled against the bearing sleeve, audible rumble is removed and bearing wear significantly improved.
• A smoothly spinning platter means the motor has to do much less work - A very good thing.
• By balancing drive force about the bearing, the LP groove wanders far less, enabling the cartridge tip to cleanly delve into the most minute regions of the groove.

The difference is illustrated by the following diagram. With the conventional drive arrangement, the belt turns motor vibration into a directional force – ‘motor pull’. Because the belt it is also attached to the platter, this directional pull produces eccentric platter and bearing motion in one direction.

With the Vector, the analogy is with a ballerina who is being spun around her waist evenly and precisely by her partner.

Mounting the motor on the sub-chassis

Mounting a DC motor on the sub-chassis is integral to the success of the VECTOR. Working with the 3-pully drive, this removes motor pull entirely.                                                                                        
The results are dramatic gains in pitch accuracy and the retrieval of more information from the grove. This further improves Pace, Rhythm and Timing, dramatically improves detail of treble, mid, and bass, and delivers solid 3-dimensional soundstage with extended width and depth.

What is motor pull?
On the standard LP12 the platter is tied, via the belt, to a motor that is anchored to the top plate. Not only does this tie restrict the motion of the suspended platter, it causes the platter to bounce is a specific direction – in a direct plane from motor to platter to cartridge and back. This is the source of ‘motor pull’.
Because the centre of gravity and the centre of suspension are not at the same point on the LP12 (or nearly all turntables for that matter), motor pull leads to the platter moving in a different direction to the cartridge/arm perched on the armboard. The result is a slight but continual torsional forces - twisting movement - between the platter and the arm/cartridge.

The Ultimate Solution

Where the Pink Link 2<click> minimises the impact of motor pull vibration on the cartridge <click here>, the VECTOR completely solves the problem by removing it at source - once the motor is located on the sub-chassis, along with the platter, it cannot impart any independent direction to the platter’s movement. 

And there’s another advantage. Now the only link between the turntable's working parts and the outside world are the three suspension springs – this is the IDEAL isolation system.

K-Drive Power Supply Unit (Patented) and Ironless DC Motor

The Vector Link is completed by the K-Drive.

For the motor to be placed on the sub-chassis you need an incredibly smooth (i.e. non vibrating) motor. Otherwise any potential gains will be lost.
The K-Drive is the BEST DC motor and the BEST power supply unit that money can buy.
A lot of (patented) technology has gone into the K-Drive’s most critical of components, and testing has been thorough and rigorous. The resulting extraordinary image stability, delicacy, pace and pitch is a testament to its design.

• The ironless rotor within our DC motor guarantees a smooth feed to the drive system – vanishingly low vibration. 
• K-Drive Power Supply Unit uniquely applies Class A current feedback to the DC motor. Its sensitive, smooth servo action is undetectable in use.
• The principle circuits are isolated from mains interference. Run the turntable day and all night, its performance will not vary.
• Speed stability: Unconditional. Set the speed, lower the stylus into the groove, and re-check the speed. K-Drive’s unique patented design ensures the turntable’s speed, on and off load, remains the same. No other DC or AC design claims - never mind delivers - that!

K-Drive’s attractive black case dissipates heat from its Class A stage.
Note the large motor, pulley and long isolators.

Why have we designed the best quality power supply unit in the world?

Well, the solution to removing directional phase modulation is to mount the motor on the sub-chassis. The motor now becomes the one potential weak link. It must be free of vibration in the motor (and the power supply unit feeding it) because this would be transferred directly to the sub-chassis, platter, arm and cartridge.

The solution: an ironless DC motor, compliantly mounted on soft rubber supports, fed by a super-smooth (patented) PSU that uses current feedback servo technology.

Step 1.  Remove the AC motor (and its signature 100HZ vibration)

AC motors vibrate, it’s as simple as that. Yes, improving the power supply will reduce vibration by removing mains-borne noise but AC motors will STILL vibrate – even when driven with a pure sinewave! Why? Because it’s the rotor (+ pulley) that buzzes, and it’s the pulley that feeds the vibration to the belt.

This is clearly discussed by Art Dudley in ‘Stereophile’, May 2005. An AC motor driven by a pure sinewave will generate noise that is mathematically related to the frequency of that wave. Driven by UK current, a 24-pole AC motor will produce a noise signal at 4.1667Hz (using US current the noise signal is at 5Hz). What is more, this 4.1667Hz noise is just the fundamental of a 24-pole motor. Sidebands related to various motor characteristics—the number of poles, the varying size of the internal air gap, and so forth—will also occur. The most significant of these is that at 100Hz (4.1667Hz times 24 poles) in the UK (120Hz (5Hz times 24 poles) in turntables used in the US, or 99.98Hz in Europe).

So the problems of AC motors are inherent to its design – there’s no getting away from them. A modern DC motor, properly set up and fed, will exceed the performance of an AC motor in every meaningful way.

Step 2.  Build the best DC motor in the world

The demands of sub-chassis mounting means we need to build the best DC motor in the world. The K-Drive DC motor is an ironless design. It is a beautifully skew wound copper coil, like a loudspeaker voice coil. Having no heavy metal core, its servo response easily outclasses conventional (iron core) motors. Mounting the motor on its own isolating frame ensures that no mechanical interaction can occur. You simply cannot hear it!

K-Drive motor mounted on the CHARM sub-chassis.

Step 3.  Build the best power supply in the world:  the K-Drive Power Supply Unit

The best DC motor in the world must be fed by the best PSU in the world. Yes, the K-Drive Power Supply Unit is that good!
Uniquely, the K-Drive uses current feedback and not voltage feedback. Current is fedback is fed to the DC motor by a single-ended Class A output stage with servo action controlled to provide a gentle correction. The result is sensitive, smooth servo action that makes the DC motor undetectable in use. 

The K-Drive’s state-of-the-art features include:
• Current Derived Servo action
• Single-ended Class A output stage for ultra low distortion
• Frictional compensation
• Mains interference isolation
• Fine speed adjustment access from front of case

Put all of this together with the other radical innovations of the VECTOR upgrade,
and its price of just £645.00 represents a true hi-fi bargain!

Other sections (please read on).

How does it sound? | What is Vector Link?

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