The Audioblock brand is known to many hi-fi fans for very good-sounding, affordable hi-fi electronics. The Audioblock 100 series, with its particularly high-quality workmanship, now has a new member: With the PS 100, the Oldenburg company presents its first vinyl player.

Top workmanship, the best materials and an independent design are as much a part of the Oldenburg hi-fi manufacturer Audioblock's product philosophy as the best sound quality at fair prices. Especially the products of the 100 series, which have been presented several times in HIFI TEST, have impressively underpinned this brand policy. Audioblock's electronic products, such as CD players, amplifiers and network players, are now joined by a record player, the new PS 100. Not a simple, straightforward turntable - Audioblock is making a real statement with the PS100, even visually.

PS100
Massive and mighty, that's how the PS 100 sits on our hi-fi rack after unpacking and assembling the individual components such as frame, platter, motor and tonearm. The glossy black turntable weighs in at 16 kilograms.
 The lacquer quality is definitely worthy of note; the multi-layer lacquer is perfectly polished and would suit any concert grand perfectly. The frame of the PS 100 has a two-storey construction, two plates screwed together with solid aluminium columns form the solid foundation for a turntable in a class of its own. The semi-transparent acrylic platter takes the weight necessary for the smooth running of the record from sheer mass - the precision-turned "bed" for vinyl records is around 41 mm thick. To ensure that even slightly curled records run straight, an additional centring weight ensures optimal "lying comfort" of the black discs on the felt support. The 2 kg mass of the turntable and the massive construction of the plinth alone would guarantee optimum synchronisation, but to keep any motor vibrations away from the record, the massive drive motor of the PS 100 has simply been relocated and delivers its drive energy to the turntable via a rubber belt. Depending on the record, 33 1/3 or 45 revolutions per minute can be selected via a toggle switch on the powerful motor. A distance template for the motor is included for optimal tensioning of the drive belt. Audioblock also supplies the PS 100 with a strobo disc, a pick-up adjustment template and an assortment of pick-up fixing screws. The manufacturer leaves the choice of pickup to the sound preferences of the user; however, he strongly recommends the use of high-quality systems.  

Tonearm
The tonearm of a turntable is literally the linchpin of vinyl reproduction. It must be stable, low in resonance and extremely smooth-running. The tonearm of the PS100 has all these qualities, and the all-metal, silk-matt polished arm looks really good and harmonises perfectly with the high-gloss black of the frame. As it should be, the contact force and anti-skating are adjustable. A particularly interesting feature is the height adjustment of the entire tone arm, which can be raised or lowered by a few millimetres using a knurled nut. This way, an exactly horizontally aligned tonearm can be set for each pickup used - perfect! The cabling inside the tonearm consists of high-quality tonearm cables from Cardas. For the connection of the gold-plated RCA output sockets on the PS100, we therefore also recommend first-class phono cables. The absolutely necessary earth cable for the connection to the phono input of an amplifier is included with the PS 100.
 
Practice
The included accessories, bearing oil, templates and screws, make the assembly of the PS 100 easy even for laymen. For our listening test, we used a Benz "Micro-Silver" pickup and meticulously adjusted it for ideal crank angle and support weight. The height adjustment of the entire tonearm also worked well, so that we were able to achieve an optimal starting position for the listening test with the record in place and a mini spirit level (vinyl accessory!). The PS 100 was accompanied by the RG 14 integrated amplifier from Symphonic Line and a pair of 804Ds from Bowers and Wilkins. Now Johnny Cash could show off his sonorous baritone voice on "American Recordings IV". This first-class vinyl recording sounds precise and to the point on the PS100. The audio block fanned out the sound events in a stable and flawless way, playing agile and lively, with a firm bass foundation.

Conclusion
With the Block PS 100, records can be put in the right light - visually and sonically. The PS100 makes a real statement with its use of materials, which is usually only found in much more expensive turntables, and a series of technical refinements. However, lovers of good sound and impressive design should hurry up with their purchase, because the number of pieces of the PS 100 is limited to 1000 - with a milled serial number, the PS 100 has what it takes to become a collector's item!