"Blending high-end audiophile quality with plug-and-play wireless versatility”
- BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE
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TURNTABLE OF THE YEAR $1000 - $2000 "With a built-in phono stage and the ability to play via Bluetooth, the Cambridge Audio Alva ST offers versatility as well as solid replay of vinyl via the rich-sounding Audio-Technica cartridge. It’s a great mid-price turntable." |
There’s nothing quite like listening to music on vinyl: the tactile pleasure of removing a record from its sleeve and carefully placing it on a deck is unique. Cambridge Audio designed the original Alva TT to honour that tradition, and Alva ST to share that pleasure with more people.
With a pre-fitted cartridge – so you’ll be playing records in minutes – the belt-drive Alva ST also features switchable Hi-Res Bluetooth streaming and an integrated phono stage, so connecting to any system is seamless.
Everyone should be able to enjoy the freedom Alva brings.
• Connect via phono, line, or Bluetooth aptX HD Hi-Res wireless streaming
• Built-in switchable MM phono stage for direct connection to amp
• Belt drive motor with simple electronic push button speed control
• Pre-installed Audio Technica Moving Magnet cartridge
• New lightweight & strong tonearm with removable headshell tracks your records flawlessly
• Bespoke Cambridge Audio design delivers pristine musical detail and is easy to setup
• Designed and Engineered in the UK
User Manual (PDF, 4MB)
You’ve spent years building your record collection. You’ve dedicated weekends to searching for hidden gems in record stores and carefully curating your discoveries. You worked hard because you love music. Cambridge Audio have worked hard creating Alva, because they love music too.
Alva ST is for people who want to listen to records at exceptional quality – without the need to choose or fit extra components. Alva ST keeps it simple with perfectly matched cartridge pre-installed. Alva ST connects to pretty much any audio system too, as it has a switchable integrated phono-stage. It even works wirelessly with Bluetooth speaker systems.
Built-in Bluetooth aptX HD liberates Alva from the rest of your hi-fi. With the freedom to place an Alva deck on any flat surface, your records take centre-stage. Music can be streamed to any compatible Bluetooth kit, including headphones, at up to 24bit/48kHz Hi-Res quality. Or, you can deactivate it and simply use phono cables – it’s your call.
Alva ST has an integrated phono stage (phono pre-amp), derived from Cambridge Audio's award-winning Alva Duo. This built-in phono stage will reveal incredible detail from your records and means you can connect Alva ST to any amp or compatible speaker system. You can deactivate the deck’s phono stage, too – ideal if your amp already has one or to keep upgrade options open.
After hours of listening, Cambridge selected an Audio Technica Moving Magnet cartridge to be readily fitted on Alva ST. With no fiddly set-up, you’ll be playing records in minutes. The elliptical stylus provides a greater contact area with your records’ grooves, producing accurate tracking of information and, of course, great sounding music.
The half-inch standard mount AT95E phonograph cartridge offers outstanding clarity and detail. Reviewers have rated this affordable, high-performance cartridge as a best buy value. Manufactured to Audio-Technica's renowned quality standards, this cartridge is meticulously assembled with remarkably tight tolerances. The elliptical diamond stylus is designed to track record grooves with high accuracy for outstanding audio reproduction. Includes mounting hardware and stylus guard.
After hours of testing, Cambridge Audio engineers selected a new high-mass, low-resonance tonearm for Alva TT V2 and Alva ST. By minimising resonant frequencies, and in combination with the cartridge, it helps retrieve the maximum detail from your records. A detachable die-cast aluminium headshell makes swapping cartridges easy – then fine-tuned with greater precision thanks to a new anti-skating dial.
Alva ST uses the proven belt-drive method, supplemented with electronic motor speed control. After connecting the belt for the first time, you won’t need to look under the platter again. Rotation speed selection is made by 2 neat electronic buttons on the ST’s aluminium top surface – so you can effortlessly switch between playing albums and singles.
Alva ST’s platter is aluminium die-cast, finished by CNC to ensure a totally level and smooth surface. The 17mm high aluminium platter is finished with a 5mm rubber mat – a combination proven to reduce unwanted resonance.
A record collection can last a lifetime, so why shouldn’t a turntable? Cambridge Audio built Alva ST to do just that, with a 1mm aluminium top plate, and a layer of EVA to absorb vibration sitting on top of MDF. It’s cradled in a composite chassis and weighs 9kg. Reassuring solid, and with great sound absorption qualities too.
Finished with a lunar-grey aluminium top plate and matt black plinth, tapering to Cambridge Audio's trademark floating wedge base, Alva ST shares the British brand's minimalist house style and is the perfect match for the Evo and CX Series hi-fi separates. Designed and engineered in London with an emphasis on classic timeless style.
Keep your new Alva turntable’s finely balanced tonearm and aluminium top-plate pristine when you’ve finished spinning discs for the day, with the hinged dust-cover. It’s easy to raise, lower, remove and re-attach – the choice is yours.
Cambridge Audio wants you to hear your music at its very best, as the artist intended it to be heard, with nothing added, nothing taken away. That’s what we’ve always wanted because that’s what music lovers like us deserve. It’s why we’re constantly experimenting, solving problems and creating new kit. It’s why we’ve been doing what we do for the last 50 years. It’s why we’re always trying to make the listening experience better. Pure.
All Cambridge Audio's research and development take place at their London HQ: where their team of 20 audio engineers create and experiment. The team comprises industrial designers, electrical engineers, coders, QA testers and more who have decades of experience and, together, have created some of the most successful British audio products in the last half-century.
| Model Number | Alva ST |
|---|---|
| RRP | 1,299.00 |
| Specs | TYPE TURNTABLE SPEEDS WOW & FLUTTER TURNTABLE PLATTER PLATTER DIAMETER PLATTER WEIGHT AUDIO OUT BLUETOOTH POWER SUPPLY POWER CONSUMPTION MAX POWER CONSUMPTION STANDBY POWER CONSUMPTION DIMENSIONS (W X H X D) WEIGHT PHONO STAGE GAIN @1KHZ PHONO STAGE NOMINAL OUTPUT PHONO STAGE INPUT NOISE (A-WEIGHTED) PHONO STAGE RIAA CURVE ACCURACY PHONO STAGE SIGNAL/NOISE RATIO PHONO STAGE THD+N 1KHZ PHONO STAGE INPUT IMPEDANCE PHONO STAGE INPUT CAPACITANCE TONEARM TYPE TONEARM EFFECTIVE LENGTH TONEARM OVERHANG TONEARM EFFECTIVE MASS TONEARM COMPATIBLE CARTRIDGE WEIGHTS CARTRIDGE CARTRIDGE FREQUENCY RESPONSE CARTRIDGE STYLUS CARTRIDGE CANTILEVER CARTRIDGE OUTPUT LEVEL CARTRIDGE TRACKING FORCE CARTRIDGE RECOMMENDED LOAD |
