Michell Gyro SE Turntable | REVIEW

I had no idea science fiction and hi-fi would meet when I started my review of the Michell Gyro SE turntable. Michell, pronounced Mi-shell, like the girl’s name, is another Cinderella story of an unsatisfied and very talented model builder who decided to make something better. The Michell story skirts believability in a few aspects. First, John Michell designed and repaired a fair bit of audio kit back in the ’60s and ’70s, always supporting other companies.

Words and Photos by Graig Neville

In addition to his audio work, he also built models for Hollywood! He was commissioned by Stanley Kubrick to build and develop the space ship for 2001: A Space Odyssey. He also helped build models for George Lucas’ Star Wars franchise. Besides being mind-blowing in its own right, Michell claims the 2001: A Space Odyssey space ship model was the inspiration for the GyroDec turntable.

Mr. Michell finally decided to develop his own gear instead of supplying designs and elements for other manufacturers. He continued selling some of his design gear to others, but transitioned into a full-time manufacturer during the 1970s. Other important historical tidbits for Michell include the development of what they claim to be the first record clamp in 1977, and in 1982 the development of an inverted oil-pump bearing that is claimed to reduce friction and rumble. A smaller more compact version of the GyroDec, called the Michell Gyro SE, which is reviewed here, was introduced in 1999.

In 2002 Mr. Michell branched out into developing the entry-level TecnoDec, a tonearm, and an improved power supply to ensure accurate speed of the platter for the flagship Orbe turntables. Mr. Michell passed in 2003, but prior to his passing he had setup the company to be a family business, which is still under the same ownership to this day. Michell has branched out to develop cartridges and other accessories in addition to turntables and tonearms.

Michell turntables, specifically GyroDecs, have garnered quite the following over the years. Steve Jobs owned a Michell Gyro SE. The owner of Kiss the Sky, my local record store, still has his Michell from the 1970s. (It’s broken and I told him the company is still around today and can likely get his fixed.) So pedigree is solid and the longevity of the company is commendable. The Gyro SE, by the way, is Michell’s best selling turntable.

Inside the Michell Gyro SE

The Michell Gyro SE is a marriage of acrylic, aluminum, and Delrin. Three leveling feet and the three-spring suspension system attach to the acrylic base, the aluminum frame hangs from the suspension system and includes the inverted bearing and Delrin platter assembly. Three springs tie the platter and tonearm to the cast aluminum assembly which floats in reference to the acrylic base of the table. The idea is to isolate unwanted vibrations from the base and table interface. Michell even offers magnetic LEV feet to further isolate the table, but I didn’t have that upgrade on the review sample. The spring tension needs to be adjusted correctly or the table can bottom out (too tight) or bounce (too loose). Once the tension is adjusted properly the table damps out vibrations fairly quickly.

The platter has brass weights connected that lower the center of gravity of the platter, and besides being mesmerizing to watch, help stabilize the platter from eccentric loading and further vibration (e.g. one way to damp out vibration is to add mass). The platter material is selected to more closely match vinyl to increase energy transfer and reduce vibration transfer back into the cartridge stylus. Michell claims this reduces pops and clicks on the record.

An inverted self-oiling bearing puts the support point above the center of gravity of the platter assembly, even with the drive belt, which provides a more stable rotation with less eccentric loading. The bearing thrust ball sits inside an inverted cone and the brass casing is spiral grooved (called an Archimedean screw) on the inside to draw oil up from the oil well. A hole in the assembly allows oil to return to the bath. It’s an interesting and well thought-out bearing that should provide years of reliable operation.

The motor assembly is isolated from the entire turntable and drives the platter with a rubber belt that is optimized by running at the interface between the platter and the bearing. The idea here is to avoid eccentric loading of the platter, which can introduce a moment on the table leading to possible vibrations or speed variations.

Overall the table is beautiful and looks unique in my opinion, as much an object of art as audio gear, and certainly a conversation piece for those not deep into audiophilia.

Unboxing and Setup

The attention to detail on the packaging was excellent. Michell has given great consideration on how to box the Gyro SE in a same and logical manner. The unboxing and assembly instructions were good and detailed. In addition there is a video showing proper setup.  

The one thing that came up that isn’t really in the assembly instructions or video is the exact spring suspension set up. During setup make sure to adjust the spring height correctly and to get the correct damping force on the suspension – just like tuning the suspension on a car. The suspension will bounce, and this is normal, but if the heights and spring lengths are not correct the table can bottom out or not dampen properly. At first setup the table was too bouncy, but improved significantly when I tightened up the springs and was more meticulous on the height. If you are buying from a dealer and they are setting up the table for you, this shouldn’t be an issue. Otherwise, I had no problems.

The Gyro SE included the T-8 tonearm, record clamp, and a dust cover for an MSRP of $6,999. Fidelity Imports sent the table with a Michell Cusis E cartridge ($1,199) installed.

The Michell Gyro SE Experience

Using the Michell Gyro SE was a pleasure. The ergonomics and attention to little details are excellent and well thought-out. For example, there’s a way to remove the locking clamp as the table is turned off that is elegant and requires a masterful touch. This requires the table to be turned off to flip the record, but as the platter is a hard surface this seems appropriate.

The Michell Gyro SE motor and belt drive had excellent torque. Cleaning with brushes elicited no reduction in platter speed that I could discern (which is a challenge with my Rega P3). I assume this strong torque contributed to the smooth and silky texture of playback.

I had a plethora of gear on hand for the review and mixed and matched several things, both solid state and tube, with the Michell Gyro SE. I’ll get into thoughts on the interaction with the gear more specifically, but overall the table was very isolated mechanically and perhaps a bit over damped on some material. This suited itself wonderfully to classical and jazz recordings, but lost a little pizzazz on pop and rock music.

The Gyro SE noise floor was very low, considerably lower than my Rega P3 (which was expected). But I found gear matching was critical for the Michell as I got a very different experience based on what gear followed in the audio chain. First, I had the ampsandsound Arch monoblocks (review forthcoming) and a Backert Rhumba Extreme 1.4 preamp along with a Parasound JC 3 jr phono pre running the Gyro SE. The sound was smooth, like really smooth, like too smooth. Vinyl has the analog quality that I find wonderfully engaging, but for my tastes too much smooth makes me feel like I’m losing detail, and tubes on tubes on analog was a bit more than I liked.

I switched over the excellent TAD electronics I had in house that included the M1000 and new C1000. This is is stupendous solid state gear and added back liveliness, dynamics, and slam that helped offset the smooth, which was more to my tastes.

Michell Gyro SE Listening

Playing Traffic’s John Barley Corn Must Die the Gyro SE was groovy, with a touch less energy than my Rega setup. The Gyro SE liked slightly higher loading than my Rega with the Cusis E cartridge. This cleared up the midrange beautifully. The Rega can sometimes feel a bit rushed in sound delivery, but the Gyro SE always felt more laid back and relaxed, not in an inaccurate way, mind you, but in a refined smooth way. Treble energy was good without being forward or sibilant, which allowed my Triangle Magellans to be utterly transparent and disappear.

I use Herbie Hancock Secrets as one of my reference recordings. This album is great because of the variety of real instruments and synthesizers. This requires the gear to blend acoustic and electronic instruments and the recording does it amazingly well, allowing the system to showcase how different natural and artificial sounds can be blended. It should all come together smoothly and cohesively.

The Gyro SE played this album back wonderfully. The overall sound was still slightly damped, but had a killer midrange texture and holographic 3D imaging that floated in front of the plane of the speakers (which is what I’m used to in this system). The Gyro SE was so smooth on this recording and felt like a continuum rather than a pause between the notes. The sound was airy and deep with great ambience, allowing me to hear subtle cues without hard edges or dryness. The clarity was crisp without being sharp with a very strong midrange to low treble presence. Sweet, articulate, impactful and emotional were my notes. The Gyro SE can groove! Digging deep into the musical nuances allowing me to hear minute details that my Rega overlooked.

Continuing the trend with Mannheim Steamroller Fresh Aire 4, the Gyro SE had good dynamics and ambiance, with an excellent vibe that suited New Age music incredibly well. Chip Davis and his Mannheim Steamroller work is some of my favorite music and the Gyro SE put me in my happy place for sure.

Finally, a bit of an off-the-beaten-path choice. Miles Davis Sketches of Spain was forward, in-your-face brass. The horns had impact and body with huge dynamics that will clean out your ears. If you have heard real horns in a smallish space that sense of realism and loudness can be borderline painful and the Michell Gyro SE reproduced that faithfully. Percussion instruments also had that sense of realism, especially tambourine. Music with a lot going on all at once can get congested during crescendos, but the Gyro SE kept it all clear and distinct. The snapping fingers and finger bells were far cleaner than I’m used to and allowed me to really audibly dig into the recording focusing on various elements of the music.

Compared to the Rega P3, the Gyro SE was way more refined, which was expected, but the Rega tended to have more energy, perhaps inaccurately so, but matched my musical tastes better. That is until I swapped out the Cusis E cartridge with the MoFi StudioSilver. This was at the end of the review period and was more of a check to see how much influence of the cartridge had on the turntable.

Lordy, Lordy, Lordy! The Michell Gyro SE woke up with this cartridge. Dave McNair opines that the cartridge is 30% of the sound of a table. With the cartridge swap, the Gyro SE was transformed. It was still smooth and silky, but less damped and had a wonderful energy. I was smitten by the MoFi StudioSilver (review here) and it was a great cartridge for the Gyro SE in my opinion.

This setup added back the energy I had in the Rega and the Gyro SE outperformed the Rega in every category after this. Now the Gyro SE is about five times the price of the Rega, so I expect it to outperform in every category. I think the selection of cartridge is critical and a opportunity to tailor an excellent table to your personal tastes.

Conclusions

For those looking for an object d’art and turntable, the Michell Gyro SE satisfies both. There are other manufacturers with suspension turntables somewhat similar to Michell, but the implementation of the Gyro SE is very good and reliable. The Gyro SE elevated my expectations of what to look for in future turntables. $7,000 is serious dosh to spend on a table without a cartridge, but in this reviewer’s opinion, what you get for your money is a level of built quality, refinement, and smoothness that is worth the money. Definitely recommended.