The story of Wallop™
How is it that we invested in building a work with so many demands on craftsmanship?
The answer is quite simple, we like music and above all LPs with these perishable but beautiful paper envelopes and the musical experience that can be elicited from this particular medium. We are all sitting on solid LP collections. The vision of placing the envelope next to a, in our opinion, beautiful record player with a plinth in a densely grown wood is simply too enticing. The desire to strike a blow for a stylish product for an exciting home that signals awareness and an extra interest in music overpowered us, it could not be overlooked. We do it because we love it.
Of course, this is an obvious subjective assessment. But creating an extra beautiful setting for more music and at the same time taking a step towards good artisanal design is inspiring. Regardless, we hope you get the opportunity to listen to this instrument, because that's how we see our product, just an instrument. wallop is a sound box, individually and carefully built where each individual work is unique.
Construction.
One of the goals was to construct a record player that is partly affordable but also unequivocally adorns its place. Many of us have longed for a beautiful LP12, a Nottingham Analoge or a Thoréns 124 with SME. The list of beautiful and well-sounding creations is long. As far as the industries different beliefs count in quantity. Because surely there isn't a single industry with so many opinions and beliefs about excellence and the best in the world? How is it then that we at OOPS audio stick our chins out and say that we may have found the right way? That we found what several of us, interested in music, were looking for, an astonishing musical experience and one that triggers curiosity right through. Making the breadth of music sound interesting regardless of press and release. Or to get swept up in rhythms, melodies and timbres that make your LP collection sound so much more engaging and present that you don't want to stop playing?
What sets us apart and what is the value base in the player.
A decisive difference to other high-end players is that we chose as light a turntable as possible. When you think about it, it's pretty obviously smart. A light plate means that an already good layer does not have to be strained excessively. This, in turn, means that we do not have to compensate with costly and even more expensive stock or unnecessarily massive thicknesses of goods with demands for special production and escalating costs. We have constructed a bearing and arm connection that is one of the stiffest we have previously come into contact with and also probably one of the lightest. In addition, all this is done right through in wood. The plate in which the bearing now sits is built up in an ingenious way with several slats in a truss construction. In order to further connect the relationship to a particular instrument, we have come to the conclusion that the technique of joining these parts is absolutely best with glue, which we used in the construction of older instruments such as violins. As is often the case, the obvious is hidden in industry paradigms by habit or lack of questioning. On the other hand, the engine tables are massively compact and heavy in one solid piece and suspended in strong rubber bushings. The purpose is to provide such a stable attachment in large and heavy mass that absorbs vibrations. The motor boards are then linked via the bushings to the bottom of the massive plinth. The bottom and the plinth rest in turn on 3 pcs. feet like a tripod. The plinth and bottom as well as the motor tables are isolated from the bearing and the arm plate via 3 pcs. tapered metal rods that are balanced in composite skids of Delrin. As a whole, this means that the plinth itself is free of moving parts.