BIGFOOT CAUGHT, ELVIS SIGHTED, SOL SHIPS

09/04/2019

Schiit FINALLY Releases Turntable In Development Since the Earth Cooled

September 4, 2019, Valencia, CA. Stepping away from other mythical beasts like the abominable snowman and gray aliens, Schiit’s seemingly-mythical Sol turntable finally began shipping today. The result of a 6-year development process at Schiit (during which, like idiots, they talked about the product), Sol offers a huge leap in performance compared to other entry-level turntables, while still retailing for $799.

“You can be comfortable putting a thousand-dollar cartridge in Sol, knowing the turntable won’t hold it back,” Mike Moffat, Schiit’s Co-Founder, and originator of the Sol, said. “But you can also get amazing performance from a $100-ish Nagaoka as well.”

Sol’s design and engineering is completely unlike any other affordable turntable. Featuring die-cast aluminum construction, an unconstrained 11” unipivot carbon-fiber arm, a completely separate motor pod, insanely overengineered 2.5” long inverted bearing, integrated cueing, on-the-fly VTA adjustment, and complete adjustability of all geometry, Sol offers features only found in turntables costing many times its price.

Compare Sol to typical affordable turntables:

Die-cast aluminum vs MDF and acrylic. Sol is made of large aluminum die-castings, which are heavy and dense when compared to the typical MDF and acrylic starter table.
Huge overengineered bearing, vs size-constrained bearing. Unless you’re talking cost-no-object turntable designs, the critical platter bearing is usually, well, somewhat anemic. Frequently based on the 0.28” record spindle, they may only have an effective 0.5-1” height. Sol’s is a ridiculously overdeveloped 0.5” diameter, 2.5” long inverted bearing with Igus bushings, for much higher performance.
Long arm vs short arm. In turntables, tonearm length is all-important. Sol’s 11” arm beats the living crap out of other entry turntables with 8.X-10” arms.
Easily swappable arm, vs arm that’s permanently attached. Sol allows you to swap affordable arms in seconds, allowing the easy use of multiple cartridges, versus going through the alignment and set-up process for a fixed arm.
True unconstrained unipivot vs other schemes. Sol offers a true unconstrained unipivot, versus other entry turntables that use constrained unipivots (obviating the advantages of a unipivot—namely, the uniquely freedom of motion it provides—or conventional designs, which don’t work like a unipivot)
Totally isolated motor, vs bolted to the plinth. Sol provides exceptional freedom from rumble, because the motor is completely separate, rather than bolted to the plinth.
On-the-fly adjustable VTA, versus nothing or offline VTA adjustment. Sol is the only turntable anywhere near its price to include this insanely high-end feature, allowing you to precisely dial in the performance—while listening.
Complete adjustability, vs limited adjustability. Since literally every parameter of the Sol turntable is adjustable, it can accommodate virtually any cartridge, including those that are thicker or thinner than usual.
5-year warranty. On a mechanical product? For $799? GTFOH.

“If you put the time into setting up Sol with your favorite cartridge, it will be a revelation,” Mike Moffat said. “And if you have more than one cartridge, the tonearm is easily swappable in seconds and very affordable, so you can just have multiple cartridges set up and ready to go.”

Sol was the result of 6 years of R&D that began with wood and Delrin prototypes, then progressed to cast aluminum. The unipivot arm, overengineered bearing, and completely separate motor pod were features retained throughout the development process. The last year has been dialing in the operational and cosmetic aspects of the turntable, and sourcing parts.

Unlike most inexpensive turntables, Sol is made almost entirely in the USA, including the castings, metal stampings, PC board, and subassembly, which are all done in California. Final assembly, adjustment, and testing of the Sol are done at Schiit’s Valencia, CA factory.

Sol is sold without a cartridge or phono preamp, like most high-end turntables. Schiit sells a versatile phono preamp, Mani, for $129, which is an ideal companion to Sol.

Sol is available for purchase today at schiit.com

About Schiit Audio 

Founded in June 2010 by Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, Schiit has grown into a leader in affordable high-end audio, with a wide range of products spanning DACs, headphone amplifiers, and preamplifiers, from $49 to $2399.

Press Contact

Denise Martin, [email protected]