Origin Live Sovereign MKV Turntable (Excluding Tonearm)

Sovereign Turntable Performance

The Sovereign MKV now features the Multi-Layer Platter Upgrade as standard. 

The Sovereign deck is a true high-end design. Extremely well specified, it looks and sounds fantastic – simply a near ultimate deck. The award-winning Sovereign Turntable is a favourite of many audio experts – and is owned by Hi-Fi magazine editors and reviewers alike

Sovereign MKV  & Sovereign Special – Features

The “Sovereign Special” Platter

The Sovereign Special differs from the Sovereign MKV by virtue of its remarkably upgraded multi-layer platter. As a rule, the closer a part is to the cartridge the more it affects the performance. You can’t get much closer to the cartridge than the platter and this is where a lot of the magic happens in the highest performing decks. This particular version of the Multilayer platter features some of the key components present in the top of the range Voyager turntables. The result is a huge increase in detail, dynamics and clarity. Music comes alive in a way rarely heard even among the highest end decks. This version of the Sovereign is a highly worthwhile acquisition over the standard Sovereign.

Plinth

The plinth is high mass and uses systematic decoupling design throughout.

Drive System

Sovereign’s load-compensating power supply is the culmination of work carried out over decades, and is designed to feed clean power to the motor across a wide range of temperatures.

Sovereign is hand-built in Britain to extremely high standards.

Superlative Style

Sovereign is a visually arresting turntable. Its unique styling is purposeful yet elegant, beautifully hand finished with a polished black plinth and chrome suspension pods and accenting.

High Grade Parts

• High mass plinth using low resonance sandwich construction increases bass performance and overall definition
• Triple plinth decoupling helps isolate the deck from its surroundings
• Low resonance, high inertia platter is deeper than lower range models
• Platter decoupled from the bearing with an acoustically inert sub-platter
• Origin Live’s most highly toleranced bearing for the lowest possible friction
• Ultra rigid sub-chassis with unique centre point support and damping devices
• Specially damped, high mass motor housing
• Special high grade oi

Setting up

Thanks to its unique design, there is nothing to go out-of-tune. A non-suspended design, it is simple to set up for fuss-free performance. VTA arm adjustment is convenient, with open access to the underside of the armboard.

Dimensions

450mm wide, 380mm deep, 160mm high

Weight

32kg (heavyweight platter is an additional 2.1kg)

Features

Features in all MKV Turntables

Ultra Low Friction Bearing

The MK4 Bearing made in house improves on the already extremely high grade bearing of the MK3, renowned for it’s low friction. The new bearing has ultra low levels of vibration thanks to further development. The spindle rotates on a Tungsten carbide ball bearing centered on a hardened thrust pad for low friction and long life.

Unlike decks which “float” the platter using air or magnetic bearings, we believe “earthing” the energy out of the platter is essential for sound purity. To this end we employ a single low contact bearing tip which acts as the energy transmission point.

Low bearing friction is essential to avoid vibration but even high end turntable bearings seldom achieve this. The problems we often notice are flawed design, imperfect straightness, eccentricity, tolerances, surface finishes and even the use of grease.

Oil

Oil is made to our own specification and upgrades nearly all other brands of deck which use non-inverted full immersion bearings. This is a clear indication of  it’s outstanding quality for turntables.

Light Speed Controller

The MK 4 introduces the Light Speed Controller (LSC) on all decks with it’s rock steady speed (better than most direct drives) and improved sonic performance. More on this important feature can be seen below.

Motor

All decks use powerfull, smooth running, Swiss motors. These high grade motors demonstrate the exceptional qualities needed in a good turntable motor such as low cogging, low vibration and ironless cores for elimination of eddy currents which detract from speed stability.

Motors are decoupled using a compliant pad and rubber O rings to minimize vibration and reduce audible noise.

Suspension

All Origin Live Decks use a single point cantilever suspension where the sub-chassis is mounted at a single semi-flexible point to isolate it from vibration.

The unique Origin Live suspension system avoids softening leading edges in music – which is observed in suspended designs and also avoids the hardness noticed in many non-suspended designs. The results are:

• Superior pitch, rythm and timing
• Great musicality which Origin Live products are renowned for (see reviews)
• Rock solid imaging
• Reduced colouration
• Refined presentation of low level information
• Easy to follow separation in the music and vocals

Belt

Surprisingly belt material has a significant influence on sound quality. We use a unique material which dramatically improves on widely used neoprene rubber. This is substantiated by reviewers and clients who use our upgrade belt to upgrade many other brands of belt driven turntables.
The belt is manufactured in house using special material which increases grip and reduces stretch under instantaneous loading – benefits include increased dynamics and deeper bass performance.

Pulley

Instead of the pulley being made from conventional metals and plastics, a well researched special plastic pulley enables maximum belt grip, resulting in increased definition and dynamics over

Adjustable Feet for easy leveling

Specs