Hello!
Last Thursday night Audiovisionaires LL C hosted the official release event of the new Cambridge Audio Alva turntable. Bob Scranton, Cambridge Audio Regional Sales Director, received all of us with beer, wine, and other goodies!!!
The Alva is a direct drive turntable equipped with a famous British-sourced single piece tonearm (you may guess by the pictures!) tweaked to Cambridge Audio parameters, a high output moving coil phono cartridge with elliptical stylus, integrated phono preamplifier, 33.3 rpm and 45 rpm speeds, and lo and behold, a 24bit/48Khz aptX HD standard Bluetooth transmitter, which makes it the world’s first turntable manufacture to do so.
The turntable is elegantly designed, with an appealing metal grey color. It is built and assembled in England at Cambridge Audio facilities.
Bob demoed the Bluetooth interface without us knowing, and to the surprise of ALL attendees it sounded really good!!! Yes, there is a difference but not as significant and most of us were expecting. The Bluetooth transmitter is ideal to connect Bluetooth headphones allowing you to listen your favorite LP in a wireless fashion, and in the middle of the night without disturbing you significant other.
The Alva is an excellent ‘all-in-one’ solution for those people looking for something simple to use, no-hassle setup and wireless connectivity. For USD $1,700.00 it is something that other turntable manufacturers in that price range should be worried about.
Enjoy!
Vic