Allotropic turntable

UK loudspeaker company Wilson Benesch is to develop a ‘next generation’ turntable, thanks to a research and development grant from Yorkshire Forward.

In 1989, co-founders Craig Milnes and Christina Milnes commissioned a research and development project to find out what impact the materials used to manufacture audio products has on sound quality.

It was found that the stiffer and lighter the material, the better the performance, which resulted in the company pioneering the use of carbon. As a result, the world's first carbon fibre sub chassis turntable was born.

Almost 20 years on, the company would like to bring something new to the market, having resisted the pressure to release another 'me too' turntable system similar to its first.

Craig Milnes, design director at Wilson Benesch, said: 'The world simply does not need another re-hashed design; we want to re-invent it. But this can be time consuming, costly and demanding, so the Yorkshire Forward grant, along with our allocated research fund, will provide the opportunity to explore avenues that would be impossible otherwise.'

With the research and development grant the company will take its current knowledge in the field of advanced composites to a new level, exploring the use of carbon allotropes molecules, known as buckyballs, in collaboration with the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and Sheffield University.