“The Aerolith”, an emblematic member of EINSTEIN’s “Monolith Series”, draws its inspiration from the captivating monolith of ”2001: A Space Odyssey“. Much like its cinematic counterpart “The Megalith”, it stands as an enigma—a floating stone, defying gravity and challenging our understanding of what’s possible in audio technology.

“Aero” symbolizes the ethereal nature of air, while “lith” grounds it with the strength of stone, encapsulating the harmonious blend of innovation and durability. This turntable blends art and science, offering an extraordinary auditory experience.

“The Stone Suspended on Air”

A Story to tell

For 50 years Volker Bohlmeier has worked with almost every high-end turntable that exists or has ever existed. While adjusting and repairing all these turntables he developed an idea how the ideal turntable should be designed. Easy to set up and use. And of the highest precision. As simple and obvious as this sounds, it is rarely found in practice. Together with the design and manufacturing engineer Dipl. Ing. Rainer Holtmann, we have succeeded in achieving this goal. With “The Aerolith”, a number of fine mechanical constructions come together to make this exceptional turntable so special.

“The enormous effort put into the design and manufacture of “The Aerolith” is audible: ALL stored music signals are reproduced true to the original. More space, more depth and richness, details never heard before – it is the discovery of a previously closed world.”

Advanced Decoupling and Damping Technology

For the three feet on which the Aerolith rests, we have developed a 2-stage, damping system (German Patent 10 2017 109 026). This unique air-based damping and decoupling technology provides efficient elimination of disturbing effects on the turntable. By using “high density” sealing elements, there is virtually no air diffusion. As a result, an air pressure check at annual intervals is all that is required. The patented damping technology in conjunction with the high dead weight of the turntable and the resulting mass inertia guarantee the absolute smoothness of the turntable while maintaining the dynamics and impulse fidelity.

Precision Wow & Flutter Elimination

Multi-stage smoothing technology eliminates the transmission of motor pole jerks to the turntable by means of a decoupling technique realized in a defined sequence: the low-speed motor specially designed for turntables has an extremely low torque (5 mN), the spring-loaded motor pulley decouples in the first stage and the special, thin and flexible drive belt in the second stage. The platter consists of an aluminum outer platter and a stainless steel insert for the flywheel effect and further resonance minimization. Both parts are milled to high precision and friction-locked together. The platter sits in a suction fit on the inner platter. Thus, the platter is absolutely centered with a perfectly even weight distribution. Together with the specially developed extremely smooth running platter bearing, the “The Aerolith” has no synchronization fluctuations or wow & flutter.

Innovative Turntable Bearing (Patent Pending)

The turntable bearing of “The Aerolith” is extremely smooth-running and low-noise thanks to a special ball bearing design. Due to the bearing of the axle on two levels, there is no horizontal deflection of the platter. The bearing runs absolutely maintenance-free and is permanently loadable up to 50 kg.

High-Purity Graphite Concave Platter Mat

The specially developed platter mat we offer has an exceptionally high damping factor. Despite its damping properties, graphite is very hard, ensuring full fidelity to impulses and energy flow. Due to its properties, graphite does not accumulate static charges. The concave surface lightly presses the record when placed due to the heavy platter weight (similar to a vacuum suction), effectively eliminating vibrations and resonances within the vinyl record without negatively affecting the azimuth.

Precision Speed Control and Consistency

In the development of the external motor control system, our Dipl. Inf. Sebastian Schlitte has successfully eliminated potential sources of interference. The initial calibration of the desired rotational speed (33 or 45 rpm) is achieved through precise electronic speed control. An optical pulse sensor continuously monitors the rotational speed. If the speed deviates from the target beyond a predefined tolerance (for example, if the turntable is inadvertently “braked” while changing records with the turntable still running), an automatic mechanism intervenes to recalibrate the speed. This eliminates the need for a control loop that would adversely affect the wow and flutter spectrum. Wow and flutter errors can lead to time-axis compression or expansion of the sampled signal, resulting in continuous changes in pitch. Belt tolerances and temperature fluctuations are effectively compensated for.

Adjustable Tonearm Board

The tonearm board is adjustable and adjustable. The ‘sound module’ is interchangeable and available in various materials. The fine height adjustment is done by an absolutely backlash-free roller guide, as it is usually used for the precision guiding of the cross slide of CNC machines. The height adjustment of the tonearm (VTA) can be finely tuned directly on the tonearm board with “The Aerolith”, eliminating the frequently sound-degrading adjustments on the tonearm itself.

Maintenance-Free Operation for Years

Due to the exclusive use of extremely low-wear components, “The Aerolith” runs maintenance-free for many years. The Renewable Air Sealing Elements with very low air diffusion also have an exceptionally long service life.

Aerolith Foundation

The specially designed acoustic base for “The Aerolith” incorporates a highly active mechanical filter that enhances the precision of the drive by providing additional decoupling support.

The Quest for Perfection

All these efforts are necessary for a perfect scanning result. The signal stored on the record is scanned mechanically. The groove edges (side writing) of the record are measured by the barely visible needle and converted into an electrical signal. During the scanning process in the record groove, we move in the micro range. Every smallest disturbing effect on the scanning process prevents the exact and precise ‘measuring’ of the mechanical writing on the groove flanks and thus changes the signal. The smallest disturbances, such as vibrations, vibrations caused by body or footfall noise, are like an earthquake for the scanner in the groove – the needle thus becomes a seismograph. Even the most precise scanning of the groove flanks will not result in a correctly reproduced signal if timing and pitch are not faithfully reproduced due to synchronization fluctuations. The well thought-out design and the precision of all materials used make the assembly of our turntable at the customer’s site extremely easy. Due to the high precision mechanical solutions of all requirements for a ‘state of the art turntable’, “The Aerolith” runs almost maintenance free. Therefore, we give a lifetime warranty on all mechanical parts out of deepest conviction. ” The Aerolith” is the turntable that can last for decades.