As you know if you follow our page, thousands of people are discovering, or re-discovering analog music these days. As a result, more and more record-pressing plants are opening or re-opening; even Sony announced plans to open its own record-pressing plant to keep up with demand for Sony Music vinyls. In this context, we decided to share with you a bit of history with Oracle, the titan of turntables.

Since its beginnings in 1979, turntable manufacturer Oracle Audio has always designed, crafted and assembled its products in Canada. Their first turntable, the Oracle Delphi was an immediate success with audiophiles when it came out; and to this day, it is still seen as pivotal in the history of high-end analog.

Because of the award-winning Delphi’s storied past and icon-like status, it is easy to see why so many people are so eager to listen to Oracle’s new turntable, the Origine – especially as its price makes it even more attractive: Though the Delphi MK VI is considered the pinnacle of turntables (and its gorgeous looks practically qualify it as a piece of art), at close to $9000, most people will not have a chance to own it, whereas the Origine is achievable.

In the own words of chief designer Jacques Riendeau (the founder’s brother), “the Origine was created to answer the historical demand for an affordable, quality built and long-lasting record player from Oracle Audio”. So it shares parts with some other (more expensive) products of the Oracle line-up to make it a gorgeous, great sounding, yet more affordable turntable.

That said, in every field (from watches to cars), we know of high-end manufacturer who tried to increase sales by offering a more affordable model, but moved too far from their DNA and ended up with a low-quality product that damaged the reputation that they had worked so hard to build – a product that missed the mark by baring the manufacturer’s name, but missed the attributes and soul that made the brand desirable in the first place. Think of the Porsche 914 whose 50^th anniversary a few weeks ago was completely ignored.

This is definitely not the case with the Oracle Origine, and you get this message right away: The first thing you see when you open the case is a pair of lint-free gloves. Yes, Oracle still sees its more affordable offering as a piece of sonic art and wants you to wear gloves when touching it. And we could not agree more: The Oracle Origine turntable unique looks are simply stunning. But it is not just about looks – the way it operates is also very unique. For example, the Origine’s cuing mechanism allows you to precisely raise the stylus off the record. It clears the surface by about 1/8″, which allows you to find the proper track and cue down much more precisely and easily than with other turntables. And another stunning feat: The tonearm was completely silent.

All very nice, and Riendeau’s statement that “When I started on the design of the Origine my first question was: Can I build a less expansive turntable that is able to proudly carry the Oracle name?” prompts the question: How does it sound? The answer is immediately obvious too: As soon as we started playing music on it, our entire staff started smiling from ear to ear! The sound of analog is very unique of course, but it was more than that: The sound was very clear, with authoritative bass, and a very wide soundstage. Whichever system we hooked it to (whether integrated or separate), you could hear clearly details like the fingers moving on the cords of a guitar or a singer breathing between words. Amazing! The music has a huge depth, with impact, mid-bass presence and amazing treble response.

The Oracle Origine was designed as an entryway into the world of high-end turntables and it fully achieves its aim. Whether you have never had a turntable before (or have not had one in several decades) or are currently using a starter model,  come by to listen to it for yourself or click here for more details. We guarantee you will be blown away by what Oracle’s forty years of experience and passion just created, especially at this price point.