Analog was king in the Artemis Labs room at THE Show, with
the company showcasing its well-known PH-2 phono stage and a second turntable,
and debuting its own 12" tonearm (in prototype form).
The sweet, resolving sound of this system had all the
earmarks of great analog playback: harmonic density, lush tonality and musical ease.
Artemis Labs SP-1 mono amps ($18,000 per pair) drove brand-new Verity Audio Finn speakers
($5995 per pair), along with an Artemis Labs LA-1 preamp ($3500), SA-1S turntable
($11,000), and that prototype Artemis Labs tonearm. The phono cartridge was a Kondo IO-M,
and the interconnects and speaker cables were from Purist Audio.
The SA-1S turntable's base is made of palm with a
bamboo-and-ebony middle layer -- no acrylic, in sight. Because the materials wear down the
tooling so quickly, Artemis will make only 50 SA-1S 'tables per year. The motor, platter
and tonearm are isolated from each other on different layers, and the belt is magnetic
tape that's kept taut with a roller near the motor's spindle.
Sean Ta, director of Artemis Labs, acted as
remote control for the turntable.
