Danish delight
Listening to Herbie Hancock’s Empyrean Isles (the Music Matters version), a disc I know was mastered from analog tape. Because I was there. It’s nothing but joy through the Bergmann Modi table, combined with their Thor linear track and air-bearing tonearm. The Modi also has an air bearing on the platter, which is super cool, and makes for an effortless delivery of the music being played.
Having spent a considerable amount of time, on and off, with the Eminent Technologies arm, I’m a huge fan of linear tracking. The ET arm was great, but a bit kludgy in implementation, and had a somewhat noisy fish tank pump to maintain the airflow. And, yes, there are workarounds. But it was what it was. I’ve had excellent results with Clearaudio’s TT-2 arm, but you have to use it on a Clearaudio table, and it’s somewhat over-engineered in a German style. I say this with all the love for German technology in the world, but again…
Slightly noisy and cumbersome or not, what these arms offer up is a unique sonic signature because tracking distortion is eliminated with a straight track arm. The air bearing also acts as a slight buffer to mechanical noise, but must be executed in a near-perfect manner, as the arm essentially seizes up when the airflow is off. This table succeeds on every level.
What makes the Bergmann combination unique, at least to me, is that linear tracking arms always remind me more of what you hear on the master tape, or a lacquer, because they, too, are cut in this manner. With a traditional tonearm, you only have zero tracking error at the two “null” points in the tonearm’s travel, and depending on what alignment you choose, the sweet spot on your favorite album varies.
Meet Modi
The Modi table is available sans tonearm, or with Bergmann’s Thor tonearm (used here). The package price is $18,100. Considering the cost of several competitors, this combination offers a great value.
While many of us think of Denmark as a hub for speakers, this table/arm combination is a lovely example of Danish design. It features a matte-like finish, and the edges are squared off and stark. Sitting on top of a black carbon fiber Finite Elemente Pagode II rack, the matchup is sheer perfection. It looks more like a museum piece than a turntable. For this guy, this simple elegance is refreshing in light of how visually and mechanically complicated turntables have become. Bergmann supplies their own weight to be used with the table, so I did not investigate any of the other weights at my disposal.
The outboard power supply and air pump are housed in a black box measuring approximately 6 x 8 x 10 inches, allowing them to be easily placed off to the side. The air pump powers up as soon as you depress one of the speed buttons on the table, illuminated by a tiny, soft blue LED. When you shut it down, the air continues to flow for a couple of minutes just in case.
Super simple setup
Because the Thor arm really only needs overhang and VTF adjustments, it’s out of the box and playing records in ten minutes. You only need to make those two adjustments, hook up the completely silent air pump and you’re ready to roll.
If you’re someone who doesn’t read instruction manuals, use the supplied handles to gently set the platter down on the spindle. The tolerances are tight, so go easy here. Once complete, merely lower the belt around the motor pulley and the platter. Simple.
While not the last word in measurements, a quick check with the RPM turntable app shows the speed of the Modi to be 33.34 rpm, and wow & flutter to be a low 0.09%. Impressive.
Once the mechanicals are set up, mounting our Lyra Helikon SL that has been entirely rebuilt by Ana Mighty Sound in France makes for beautiful music indeed. Bergmann’s importer, Hiram Toto, was visiting to check on the progress of our YG Carmel 3 review, so he also helped set up the table. But rest assured, this one’s easy to set up.
Those with modest turntable skills will easily be able to get the Modi up and running, and optimized, in short order. It’s not the least bit fussy. And, Bergmann goes the extra mile, offering ten great, short setup videos that walk you through every step of the setup process. You can’t fail! I wish more manufacturers would follow this lead.
Everything feels luxurious. There is no noise to be heard anywhere, and that arm slides back and forth in an effortless manner that nearly defies description. It’s mechanical perfection. Putting things into perspective, a Pass Labs XP-17 phono stage was used for the Bergmann arm and Lyra cart, with the current Manley Oasis serving as the preamplifier for arm two. Experimenting with the Mobile Fidelity Master Phono also made sense, given its multiple inputs. If space is at a premium, this is an excellent way to put two arms at your disposal with minimum rack space.
A bit of time with both arms connected to our reference Pass Labs XP-27 phono confirmed that this is a true reference table, with more than enough resolution to warrant using it with a phono stage of this caliber.
Extra credit
If all this wasn’t enough, an additional $895 gets you a second armboard that can be used with a 9-12 inch traditional tonearm, or a second linear track arm. As I had a spare SME 3009 arm (rebuilt by Alfred at SME Tonearms in Canada – a true analog master) it seemed fun to mount up the other Ana Mighty Sound cartridge at our disposal, a modified Denon 103r. Though I would later swap this for a Shure V15III with a Jico stylus.
There’s something incredible about being able to mount a second tonearm. Whether you use it for a mono cartridge, a budget cartridge to play less than stellar pressings, or, in this case, with the Shure cartridge, an arm/cartridge dedicated to playing 12-inch, 45 r.p.m. maxi-singles! Woo hoo. Even if you never use that second arm, it’s great knowing that you have the ability to expand your analog setup so easily. Trust me, once you have a second arm, you’ll never go back! As all the pics for this review were shot before the armboard arrived, we’ll do a separate follow up on you tube showing both arms mounted…
More listening
As mentioned at the beginning of this review, the Thor/Modi combination brings a level of clarity to the analog presentation that you will not be able to unhear. In addition to the lack of overall distortion, drums hit harder, strings sound more dimensional, and the lowest frequency fundamentals are tighter, yet resolving and full of body without being over-damped.
There is a certain amount of cloudiness accompanying my other tables (SME, Rega, and Technics) that isn’t present here. Tracking through the latest MoFi remaster of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer’s self-titled album, the strings in “Take a Pebble” have more texture and body than I ever recall this track possessing. Same thing for the intro in the Pretenders’ “Private Life,” from their self-titled debut. Digging way deep in the bin for the Netherlands Wind Ensemble’s Beethoven Wind Music is another charm. (you can find this on vinyl, on Phillips for about $9 – highly suggested even if classical is not your bag) This record is silky and frail – yet the Bergmann table unravels this in its sheer glory. It’s one of those records that, when it’s right, sounds like a handful of players in your room.
Thanks to the big Clarisys Auditorium Plus speakers, the tracks are reproduced tonally and spatially correct. Mission accomplished.
But you can’t live on flutes and oboes all day long. Or maybe you can. But if you can’t, the bass line on the first Led Zeppelin record is locked down solid in the midst of the massive drumming and guitar work being presented. This table rocks with the best of them, and even at loud volume does not succumb to acoustic feedback. Even taking things further with a slew of hip-hop records.
Male and female vocals – check and mate. I’m sure you have your go to tracks to test this. My faves are Lou Reed’s The Raven, Johnny Cash’s American Recordings, and anything by The Crash Test Dummies. And there’s more than enough female vocal tracks to keep you all happy! No matter what kind of music you enjoy this combo will serve you well. I can only guess that the top-range Galder table with Odin arm reveals even more nuance and dynamic capability. Hopefully, the Bergmann crew will send us one to compare and contrast.
I know that nearly twenty thousand dollars isn’t a random purchase. I’m guessing that you probably didn’t fall out of bed thinking “today’s the day I’m buying a $20k turntable” either. If you’re like most analog enthusiasts, you work your way up, so you probably are living with a $5k-$10k ish table/arm now, wishing to retrieve more musical information from your record collection.
In that context, the Bergmann combination delivers the goods.
And we’re in the process of a year-long collaboration with Bergmann to play a different LP front to back for a year. As life always seems to get in the way of every single day, I think we’re going to be able to hit at least 300+ days this year, so expect to see this table in the music review section of the TONE website every week, and we’ll be peppering our YouTube channel with it too. Stay tuned.
At the end of the day, the Bergmann Modi/Thor combination is one of my favorites. It gives you a substantial look at what the cost-no-object tables offer, without being crazy (i.e., not six-figure) money. For the person assembling a high-performance music system in the $50k-$200k range, this could well be all the turntable you’ll need. Especially considering you can add a second tonearm.
The Modi/Thor from Bergmann is very highly recommended. This one is a pleasure to engage with in every sense.
For more info contact the US Distributor, Supreme Acoustic Systems. (please click here)
bergmannaudio.com/modi-turntable
$18,100 – table and arm
Peripherals
Digital Source dCS Vivaldi ONE
Analog Source SME 20 w/4.5i arm and Hana Umami Red cart
Phono Pre Pass Labs XP-27
Preamplifier Pass Labs XS Pre
Speakers Clarisys Auditorium Plus, YG-Acoustics Carmel 3
Amplifiers Pass Labs XS 300 monoblocks
Cable Cardas Clear, and Clear Beyond.
