“The Soulines name might not be that well known currently, but surely this won’t be the case for much longer,” writes Adam Smith, having relished his time with the “intelligently designed, beautifully made” tt9 turntable and KiVi M3 tonearm.

The tt9 is the entry-level turntable in Serbian brand Soulines’ range. It comes pre-fitted with the KiVi M3 ‘captured’ unipivot tonearm, and immediately delivers “a quiet but unassailable confidence [in] its presentation”.

“It is soon clear that this is a turntable designed by someone who has an excellent grip on the fundamentals of vinyl replay,” writes Smith. “The tt9 and Kivi M3 combination offers a beautifully ordered but dynamic and sweet presentation, and is control of everything at all times.”

The ‘someone’ in question is designer Igor Gligorov who, in his previous life, was both a mechanical engineer and a trained musician. “As a result, all of his creations are mechanically modelled during design and based on sound engineering and vibration control principles.”

 

Refreshingly, if you’re new to high-end hi-fi set-up, you can rest assured that Gligorov’s instructions “are clear and go into impressive levels of detail about not only what you need to do, but why you’re doing it.”

Alternatively, if, like Smith, you can’t resist a design with “eminent tweakability”, then you might (again, like Smith) enjoy spending several hours “fiddling with the accessories supplied… I could write pages on the effects of these.”

In fact, when it comes to features and options, “Your £3,990 buys you a great deal in the tt9,” enthuses Smith. As for sound quality, you really can’t go wrong…

“At the top end there is a joyous purity to the tt9’s performance. Cymbal strokes are firm and clear without any spittiness, and shimmer off into the distance quite deliciously”, while “firmly struck hi-hats maintain a solidity and pace that ensures rhythms are tight and focused.”

“Talking of rhythm, you need to get the bass right if you’re going to do this justice, and the tt9 proves once again to be something of a master… The instrumentation on The Colorblind James Experience’s Considering A Move To Memphis is an absolute riot through the deck.”

The verdict? “The tt9 and Kivi M3 arm combination is intelligently designed, beautifully made and with a range of standard and optional extra tweaks available, if you can’t get a sound that you love, I would be very surprised.”

You can read Adam Smith’s review in full in the July issue of Hi-Fi Choice.

Find out more at www.soulines.com and track down your nearest dealer via UK distributor www.soundfowndations.co.uk