“Buy one, get two free…”
By Roy Gregory
Can a product appear both timeless and retro? If such a convergence of opposites is even possible, then the Thales Magnifier is surely it. Sleekly minimalist, flawlessly finished and innately stylish, its coherent aesthetic cues and distinctive appearance scream both quality and legacy. Sharing the same elegant, dark grey finish and copper-tone accents as the Thales Reference turntable, The Magnifier manages to be sleekly modern minimalist, thanks to its flush fitted controls, but at the same time – perhaps because of the repeated circular features that hint at a time when ‘machine tools’ extended about as far as a lathe, and the radiused edges so reminiscent of the cast top-plates on the likes of the Thorens TD124 or Revox F36 – there’s more than a hint of traditional virtues, an almost subliminal nod to history. With a total absence of swoopy, CNCed front-panel curves or full colour display, multi-function remote facilities or a Bluetooth interface, it’s a look (and feel) that’s about as different and off-trend for current high-end thinking as it’s possible to be. But then the Magnifier IS distinctly different. Just as distinctive and different as the company behind it.
Although Thales is probably best known for its multi-pivot, twin-tube Simplicity and Statement tonearms, the company also offers the intriguing Easy tonearm (a simpler, iteration of its innovative, pivoting headshell design), a pair of turntables, a range of cartridges and a number of analogue accessories. But the Hifiction stable also includes the EMT brand, consisting of an extensive cartridge range, a turntable, multiple tonearms, step-up and phono-stages, including the all-tube, curve configurable JPA 66 Mk3 – and you don’t get much more retro than that! Yet this is no rose-tinted trip down memory lane. Despite EMT’s long history and legendary status, the current products are thoughtful evolutions and updates, true in terms of culture and approach rather than simple, slavish replicas of older, ‘heritage’ designs. Finally, there’s also the Goldenberg cartridge line, a three-model technological catch-all family, built into metallic, colour-coded, full-body housings. Micha Huber, the man behind the Hifiction brands, clearly values tradition but isn’t afraid to innovate. It might seem like an unusual stance, in a market where ‘New’ is so often equated with ‘Better’ – until you remember that there really is very little that’s genuinely new under the hi-fi sun. Most of the long-term successful brands and products represent a thoughtful combination of (re-)established approach and innovation. Micha Huber and Thales arguably simply take that further than most. It’s certainly a philosophy that’s applied consistently across his products, whether those represent the Thales, Goldenberg or EMT lines. It also helps you understand not just what makes the Magnifier different, inside and out, but the thinking behind it and why it’s built that way.
