Enhances the definition of musical subtleties 

This review will not be a technical one as I’m not qualified in that area, but suffice to say that any upgrade to an Origin Live product will not be made on a whim.

No matter how small an advancement appears, you can rest assured that Mark and Luke Baker will have gone to the extreme to determine the effectiveness of any improvement (just ask how many oil variations they tested before settling on the grade of oil their turntable spindle sits in).

Previously I only paid a passing interest to record weights until last summer when I heard Origin Live’s, then-current wooden product. Even then, I thought a few recordings sounded better without it. However, when I was introduced to the new lighter version at the Epsom HiFi Show last autumn (2019), I had to have a closer listen.

The result is that I now place this new record weight on every record I play, and notice when I’ve forgotten it.

What wizardry is going on here? How can a record weight made of top-secret material, filled with ball bearings, and lighter, in weight than Origin Live’s previous wooden offering, improve the quality of music emanating from my speakers?

We’ll have to ask the experts (Mark and Luke Baker), but I can assure you that it absolutely does.

Enhances the nuances

If you enjoy the nuances that musicians diligently include in their performances as I do, then you will enjoy the new record weight from Origin Live.

I thought I had the best equipment for extracting information from vinyl records, in the form of the Origin Live Sovereign deck, with the 12-inch Enterprise arm and Dynavector XX2 MK2, but the best just got better.

On some recordings the difference is more stark, on Gare du Nord’s Rendezvous 8:02  it introduces a whole new level of clear separation; it widens the sound stage, and at the same time draws your attention more tightly to the central point between the speakers.

This new record weight achieves the feat of emphasing, but not exaggerating, the nuances of the music; percussive touches are ’brought’ to your attention to enhance the overall sound rather than being pushed at you, just as the musicians intended.

Take this record weight out of the equation and you notice it’s gone.

As someone who has experienced the wonder of playing in a band and knows how individual instruments sound, I’m always striving to get as near to the musical truth (what I heard on stage) as possible, and this record weight aids my discovery in this sense.

On listening to an old 1980’s ‘fusion’ recording of Double Vision (Bob James and Dave Sanborn) I became aware of how much more rounded and resonant the bass strings sounded. That statement might seem strange, but all too often the string sound that comes out of the speakers is ‘flat’ and overly metallic sounding.

The Lansdowne recording of Ian Carr/Don Rendell’s Shades of Blue puts you right back in the musty 1960’s studio, with each instrument perfectly placed and thoughtfully and engagingly played. I could envisage each movement of air caused by the instruments, sending a small puff of London dust into the air, and felt as though the band was playing exclusively for me. Excuse my over-exuberance, but this is what nuances in the music does for me, it causes me to create pictures in my mind, and therefore adds to the musical experience.

The new record weight from Origin Live helps instruments make their presence known, not by amplification but by being separated. For example, the difference between a drumstick being dropped (deadweight) onto a cymbal or a drum skin excites me as it tells me something of the players timing, adventurousness and skill level.

This advanced record weight brought a new level of deftness to Jim Hall Trio’s 1981 recording of Circles, especially Terry Clarke’s drum work.

I also played many albums from the ‘electronic’ genre with the new weight, and it helped keep everything its place without bleeding/blurring into the mix.

I wholeheartedly endorse the new record weight from Origin Live, and I shouldn’t be surprised at the results, because as I said at the beginning, Mark and Luke never do anything unless it improves the listening experience. (MK1 Record Weight)
Jeff King