Wallop™

Wallop Turntable

Wallop Turntable was created from one of our core ambitions: to build a turntable that is not only relatively affordable, but also undeniably beautiful — an object that elevates the space it occupies while delivering a deeply engaging musical experience.

The world of analogue audio is filled with strong opinions about what defines the best sound and the most beautiful design. Rather than following convention for its own sake, we approached Wallop with a simple philosophy: music comes first. Every design and engineering decision has been made to create a sound that feels alive, curious, and emotionally involving — one that pulls the listener deeper into rhythms, melodies, and timbres, regardless of genre, pressing, or release.

Music first
One of the most fundamental differences between Wallop and many traditional high-end turntables is our choice to use the lightest possible platter. The logic is straightforward: a lighter platter places less stress on the bearing, eliminating the need for oversized bearings and excessively heavy machined components simply to compensate for unnecessary mass.

The entire bearing and armboard plate is crafted exclusively from wood and assembled using traditional hide glue. The construction consists of multiple thin wooden slats arranged in a truss-like pattern, forming a unified structure with exceptional rigidity and remarkably low mass. This approach optimizes the stiffness-to-mass ratio while preserving the natural damping characteristics inherent to wood.

Inspired by traditional instrument making, these structures are bonded using glue rather than excessive mechanical fastening — much like the construction principles found in violins and other classical instruments. Sometimes the simplest solutions are also the most effective.

In contrast to the lightweight bearing structure, the motor assemblies are intentionally dense and heavily damped. The motor blocks are built from compressed wood laminates bonded with damping adhesive, forming solid vibration-absorbing anchor points suspended in robust rubber bushings beneath the plinth.

The plinth and lower structure rest on three feet, forming a stable tripod. Both the plinth and motor assemblies are mechanically isolated from the bearing and tonearm plate through tapered metal cones resting on Oopskids — precision-balanced supports crafted from POM/Delrin®. The material’s dense and homogeneous structure provides excellent resonance control and mechanical stability, contributing directly to sonic integrity.

The result is a construction where the plinth itself contains no moving parts, allowing the sensitive mechanical elements to operate in a calm, stable, and controlled environment.

The plinth
For us, the plinth is the foundation of the entire turntable. Every connected component ultimately performs within the limits of the plinth itself — from the stylus tip to the final movement of the speaker membrane. That is why we are uncompromising when selecting materials.

To honor the individuality of the wood, every plinth is named and geotagged to the origin of the tree from which it came. Perhaps that sounds unusual. But to us, it reflects the same respect for material and craftsmanship that defined many of the great makers of the past.

We primarily work with oak and ash, occasionally elm and walnut, selected for their density, fiber structure, and acoustic behavior. It is the balance between material density, mass, damping, and joinery that ultimately shapes the musical result.

Cutting corners here would compromise the performance — and that is something we simply refuse to do.