Michell Gyro SE with DC motor

By Andrew Harrison, Hi-Fi News, March 2001

At the upper end of our price scale lies the Michell Gyro SE: now the entry-level product from Michell Engineering since the Mycro and Syncro models were discontinued. Its appearance is unmistakable: an open metal chassis on three turned feet, with the merry-go-round platter dominating visually. Since the first Gyrodec appeared, in around 1982, it has gently evolved with time, and is now sounding better than ever. It is formed from a large cast alloy suspended chassis, supported by three springs in torsion held on turrets attached to a clear acrylic 'spider' below. An inverted self-lubricating bearing containing a ball pivot supports the acrylic/carbon composite platter, below which are fixed six gold-plated weights. The platter is driven around its rim by a thin round belt, from a separate motor housing that sits within a cut- out on the sub-chassis. The tonearm is sited on the opposite side on an alloy base platform, available in different weights to balance the floating chassis with any chosen tonearm.

Since the Gyro SE was last seen in HFN [May '99, it has received one major revision: in place of the low-voltage Papst AC motor, a new DC motor has been fitted, powered by an external DC power unit. This seemingly small change was brought on in part by the limited supply of good AC motors; but it has the potential to substantially alter the performance of the turntable, as insiduous AC motor cogging noise can be avoided.

This was the only deck not supplied with a cartridge, so a relatively cheap Ortofon 520 moving-magnet was selected, at £75, in order not to distance the Gyro SE too far from the rest of the group in terms of price. The SE deck itself is now £829, plus £146 for the Rega OEM300 tonearm. With the Ortofon 520, this player totals £1050, and like the Clearaudio Champion, has the potential for upgrading well beyond its initial price and performance.

This deck was supplied with a Michell-made adjustment ring (£**) that allows arm height setting on a Rega arm. There is a also a universal record clamp (£**) that fits unthreaded spindles. After this, the Gyro can be upgraded to nigh-on Orbe status with the addition of the latter's all-composite heavy platter and screw-on record clamp. The current QC power supply is due for revision, now that DC voltage is required.

The Gyro requires a little more care in set-up than most. It is supplied entirely disassembled, thus requiring construction by a dealer or an enthusiastic listener. But it should remain 'in-tune' for some time, and the time taken to balance the sub-chassis and set the bounce is certainly rewarded by increased performance. It seems to imprint little of its own character on the sound, and instead will show up the 'sound' of fitted arms and cartridges like no other, as was apparent when I tried other cartridges. With the cheaper Ortofon fitted, the signature of the combination was readily apparent, the Gyro showing excellent pitch and timing, and able to create a fluid and balanced soundstage. Frequency extremes were a little constricted, but substituting first a Reson Reca and then the Pro-ject's MC15 Super allowed the sound to really come alive. Background silence was deathly quiet, stereo wide and airy, and the interplay of instruments and their musicians could be readily appreciated. In the Yes track, you could hear the close melodic tie between bass and guitar, the distant reverb on Jon Anderson's lead vocal, and clean cymbal detail, ticking away to lock the ensemble together. If budget is limited, a basic m-m cartridge like the Ortofon 520 will get the deck working, but the Gyro is begging for a better pick-up, which will really show off the music.