Origin Live Voyager MK5 Turntable

Voyager

An ultimate turntable for ultimate sound. Voyager’s groundbreaking performance is the pinnacle of over 30 years of research and development. It combines our time-honoured techniques with masses of new experimentation. If ever there was a perfect deck, this is it.

This performance is only bettered by the Voyager S-version, machined to a different profile, from a higher spec alloy, with improved power supply, bearing and platter.

Voyager-S

The Voyager and Voyager-S version share the same overall form, however, the Voyager-S is made bespoke from a much more costly alloy, and tuned to our most exacting standards. The S-version goes much further in terms of sonic performance and no compromise engineering than the Voyager, but it is a delight that few will hear, and none will rival.

This turntable truly represents the best that Origin Live have to offer. From the relentless development that started in a Southampton garage in 1986, to the mastery of our in-house CNC manufacture, the Voyager-S is the product of decades of award-winning breakthroughs in vinyl. Get in touch to find out more about our ultimate expression of the turntable.

Features

Mk5 Motor Power Supply

A unique power supply drives twin motors, which are specifically developed and programmed for powerful smooth rotation of the decoupled sub-platter whilst maintaining very low levels of vibration. The drive belt consists of a low stretch, high grip material which is now widely recognised (in the form of our “upgrade belt”) as a significant advance over ground neoprene belts.

2 x DC100 Motor

The Voyager motors are specifically arranged for powerful smooth rotation whilst maintaining very low levels of vibration. These high-grade Swiss motors demonstrate the powerful, smooth-running needed in a good turntable motor. Ironless cores eliminate eddy currents which result in low “clogging”, low vibration and speed stability. Motors are decoupled to minimize vibration and reduce audible noise.

Belt

The belt is manufactured in house using special material which increases grip and reduces stretch under instantaneous loading, using a unique material which dramatically improves on widely used neoprene rubber  – benefits include increased dynamics and deeper bass performance.

Multi-Layer S Platter

Traditional heavyweight platters are inadequate as they reflect vibration from the cartridge to the record. Crude felt mats can only transmit certain frequencies which will cause timing problems. The Voyager platter uses intricate and unique mechanisms with the aim to create the equivalent of mechanical diodes, a surface that captures and diffuses vibrations away from the vinyl surface.

The Voyager uses a multi-layer platter designed to transmit energy at all frequencies without the reflection problems encountered in many platter designs. The MLP layers work to diffuse surface resonance in the platter through vibrational interference, resulting in a texture in the music freed from resonant artefacts, and as close to the original recording as possible.

Voyager Bearing

The Bearing in the standard Voyager is the culmination of two decades of development. Twice the height and width of the bearings in the rest of our range, this bearing yields extremely low levels of friction and vibration. Manufactured in-house to micron precision, the Voyager bearing has a large diameter and height for absolute rigidity and special oil for the smoothest revolution you’ve ever heard.

Materials and Decoupling

Key components are made from highly specified alloys to achieve the highest energy transmission speed and low ringing effects. Material composition, profiling, and the right damping methods are critical to accomplish this. Energy is controlled by a series of shock absorption mechanisms created from long experience in controlling microshock waves.

You will notice that the Voyager has many seemingly insignificant details. For example, hole profiles milled into large structures to lighten the structure and part shapes are all carefully derived from experience in structural analysis – vital for the correct management of micro-vibrations. This is not the brute force approach adopted by some spectacular decks where energy reflection seems to produce a lack of musicality and subtle mistiming in micro dynamics.

Specifications:

Platter:

• Multiple material layers dampen all frequencies, avoiding the tonal imbalances of inferior platters.
• Machined from solid aerospace alloy: minimal flexure and high-speed energy dissipation.
• Complex profiles disrupt resonance patterns.
• Shock-absorbing devices decouple vibration.
• Motor vibration is blocked from the platter through a separated lower platter.

Plinth:

• Advanced decoupling techniques to avoid structural resonance
• Special Coatings damp high-frequency artefacts
• Complex internal profiling of pillars
• 2-part arm board with additional lightening profiles milled in underside

General:

• 33.33 & 45rpm speed
• Belt drive on Twin DC motors
• Up to three 9-12″ tonearms can be mounted
• Customizable arm boards for any tonearm
• Platter Mass 9kg
• Overall Weight 27.8kg

Reviews

‘“Light solidity” sounds like an oxymoron, but it neatly sums up the sound of the Voyager and Renown arm. What it actually means is it delivers that rare combination of top-end airiness and midrange clarity coupled with a powerful, almost structural bass definition. This combines to make voices and instruments at once lithe and articulate and rooted in a three-dimensional space. In truth, however, you could comfortably point to any aspect of musical performance and find the Origin Live duo at (or very close) to the zenith of turntable ability.’ Read the full review >
Hi-Fi+ – Alan Sircom, 2023

‘The Voyager S turntable is a pure masterpiece. The performance is unbelievable, it’s hard to express the feelings.’
Vladimir – HIK Audio