Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Bluenote Bellavista Signature Turntables by Bombaywalla

Model:	Bellavista Signature
Category:	Turntables
Suggested Retail Price:	$1995
Description:	Double plinth, manual turntable
Manufacturer URL:	Bluenote
Manufacturer URL:	Bluenote

Review by Bombaywalla ( A ) on April 22, 2003 at 09:24:27
IP Address: 63.166.216.16

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Review of the Bluenote Bellavista Signature Turntable:
I initially posted a lengthy “initial impressions” note (http://db.audioasylum.com/cgi/m.pl?forum=vinyl&n=197701&highlight=Bombaywalla&r=&session=) so I will keep this review short. I still stand by my words in that initial post & feel that it can supplement this review (if you have not read that post). I’ve had this ‘table for slightly over 1 month. The cartridge needs much more breaking in but despite this, the combination sounds very good indeed.
* Bluenote (Italian) Bellavista Signature ‘table (double plinth), Origin Live Silver 250 tonearm & Goldring 1042 MM cartridge.
* Bluenote site: www.bluenote.it. Click “Products” on the left side, then, “Turntables” & scroll down a bit to see the “Bellavista Signature” model.
* The platter is very cool looking & weighs about 10 lbs. It is made from polyvinyl. There is no mat & the LP is placed directly on the platter. The polyvinyl is very close to the material the LP is made of hence the acoustic coupling is pretty tight.
* Delrin spindle insert at the bottom of the main spindle that can be used to raise or lower the platter for correct VTA. If you flip the ‘table over you can see a flat-head screw head, which can be rotated clockwise to raise the platter. I found this to be indispensable to set up the OL Silver 250 with the provided VTA sleeve.
* The entire spindle bearing assembly is brass, threaded on the exterior & attached to the underside of the top plinth by a huge hex nut.
* The fit & finish of all the parts is just impeccable & very impressive. What is even more impressive is that the materials are chosen very judiciously so that ‘table resonances are kept to a minimum. Brass is used for the motor assembly & the dual plinth separaters. The ‘table looks very simple though but its looks are quite deceptive – often simple looks imply mediocre performance but no so in this case, I reassure you!
*The Rega & OL tonearms are supposed to be drop-in replacements for the Bluenote tonearms.
*The mounting hole was not wide enough for the collar to slip into the hole so the entire VTA collar sat above the plinth.
* The tonearm grab screws were metric – 1mm metric.
* The Goldring 1042 MM cartridge weight = 6.3gms & the mid-range VTF = 2 gms, which is in between the manuf. spec’d 1.5 & 2.5 limits.
* The freebie EnjoyTheMusic.com protractor + got one from OL with the cartridge purchase do not require a reference set before alignment. So, it took a lot of sliding the cartridge back & forth in the headshell before the inner & outer null points lined up.
* I set the bias/anti-skate to approx. 1gm as a starter. I have now increased it slightly so that the bottom of the round green slider is touching 1gm.
* Sound-wise: Clear, detailed, great bass extension, crisp high frequency extension. The ‘table just gets out of the way of the music & lets the music flow effortlessly. Low level details are easy to hear & I can make out the details within it. Like-wise for high level details. Passages that go from low levels to sudden high levels are also easily reproduced by the ‘table effortlessly. I would also say that the ‘table is quick, which makes the bass tight – high immediate impact then fades away.
Overall, the foot-tapping coefficient of this ‘table is very high. Music always sounds good, right from the get-go i.e. it doesn’t seem to need any “warm-up” time. Always seems to involve me with the music – never over analytical or cool/aloof.
* The ‘table sit on my DIY sandbox, which is separated from the rack with 3 DH Labs cones. The ‘table itself has spiked feet so it couples at only 3 points on the sandbox plinth.
* The sound has lived up to very expectation I had of it & I love every bit of it. It is a major upgrade from my previous MMF5.

Product Weakness: none so far
Product Strengths: see review above

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	see inmate section
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	see inmate section
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	see inmate section
Speakers:	see inmate section
Cables/Interconnects:	see inmate section
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	jazz, blues, rock, easy listening
Room Comments/Treatments:	see inmate section
Time Period/Length of Audition:	slightly over 1 month
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	see inmate section
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	none so far
Product Strengths:	see review above