When Johnnie Bergmann had finished setting up the Sleipner, Helmut Baumgartner and I could not wait to listen to the turntable immediately using the same record that just played on the LaGrange with the Thales Simplicity and Lyra Olympos, even though it was clear that after a few moments of rest, the Titan i would need at least a half an hour to play with total openness. The qualities of the Sleipner were instantly evident: In terms of soundstage depth,  image stability, transparency and dynamics, the Danish-Japanese trio currently became my favorite combination. More precisely, my favorites up until now were already behind, regarding room and detail reproduction - even though I think the Olympos is clearly superior to the Titan. I do not have to start mounting one or another cartridge from here to there: It is already crystal clear to me now that the Sleipner belongs to the two or three best turntables that ever stood in my listening room. Anyhow, one of them was the Continuum costing more than double the price!

Fortunately, I had a whole lot of time to either just enjoy listening to music with the Sleipner whenever I felt like it or to use the relevant test records to check its performance in different sub-criteria. In everyday use, it is striking that the simple design with its high-gloss surfaces also has its drawbacks: With probably no other turntable was the microfiber cloth more often used. Particular attention should be paid to the platter. It should be kept completely dust free, so no tiny particles of dirt get pushed into the grooves when the record is sucked on. As a potential buyer, I would opt for the alternatively offered record clamp. Of course I have also done the tap test: The stylus is lowered onto the record, that is not turning. By knocking on the plinth and the shelf, it quickly becomes evident how well the design protects the sensitive signal pickup from outside influences. The Sleipner is 100 percent successful! Knocking on the housing and the top shelf of the Pagoda Rack can not be heard through the speakers!

But back to more musical signals: I remember one tough evening after a very busy day when Hajo Weber and Ulrich Ingenbold’s Winterreise (ECM 1235) was on the turntable again for the first time in a while. The quiet songs for two guitars and occasionally an additional flute fascinated me with a number of naturally integrated details and far away imaginary spaces. However, the great achievements of the analog trio was not what was so special in these individual disciplines, but the amount of fine information – and they are relatively tiny signal particles, that give us the size and position of the instruments in the room.  Even at this “evening” listening level, it clearly stood out. When testing, I usually listen at a rather high volume. But, as I said this time it was different during this pleasurable evening listening session. However, the usual effect that fine information is not clearly reproduced at lower listening levels was not the case with the Sleipner and Titan. If you looking for an explanation, the closest reason is that the frictionless, almost coming into contact,  and therefore, totally silent bearing of the Sleipner is responsible.

With the indispensable Elegant Punk (Day Eight Music DEMLP 004 TS), it becomes clear that the Sleipner does not drift into the esoteric from sheer fine resolution, transparency and spatial imaging: The reproduction of deep bass and impulses goes without saying as well. Certainly, I can not remember ever having heard deep vibrations so clean, yet powerful as in the song "Drone". The bass attacks on "It's The Pits, Slight Return" come with the usual force, and the incoming vibrations, then decay suddenly come more into consciousness. Even in the wildest musical fray you still have the impression of hearing more information. However, the enormous resolution of the Sleipner also has its dark side: Any fret buzz, or string noises are now so meticulously documented, that you would like to warn Jonas Hellborg to play with a bit more precision.