The Pure Fidelity Symphony turntable has found its home in the UK, and it hasn’t travelled far to get there. Audio Origami, the Glasgow-based tonearm specialist behind the PU7 and PU8, is now the exclusive UK source for the Canadian manufacturer’s flagship deck – and rather than simply distributing it, Audio Origami has built the Pure Fidelity Symphony package around its own arms, turning two independently respected products into a single, purpose-matched system.
The Pure Fidelity Symphony’s Hybrid Design Philosophy
Pure Fidelity founder John Stratton built his reputation on what the brand calls a “hybrid” approach to plinth design: neither the heavy, inert mass that can make music feel sluggish, nor the light, lively chassis that can turn edgy under pressure. The Pure Fidelity Symphony sits above the Horizon and Harmony in the range and applies that philosophy at its most resolved, built around a dense, CNC-machined ultra-MDF core finished in a choice of three real wood veneers – Burled Walnut, Quilted Maple and Santos Rosewood. Every plinth is signed by Stratton personally before it leaves the workshop.
Isolation, Bearing and Drive: Nothing Left to Chance
Underneath the veneer, the Pure Fidelity Symphony leans hard on vibration control. A 6061 aerospace-grade aluminium isolation platform separates the plinth from the equipment shelf, itself decoupled by GAIA IV footers – a low-profile version of IsoAcoustics’ isolation feet developed jointly for Pure Fidelity’s flagship models. The platter is a solid piece of Delrin rather than glass or aluminium, chosen because it needs no mat to stay quiet, while rotation comes from a stainless steel pulley running dual round-section belts for even torque distribution.
At the centre of it all is a ruby ball bearing – second only to diamond in hardness – turning in a low-friction bronze shaft, a combination Pure Fidelity says outlasts and outperforms the steel-and-brass bearings found on most decks at this level. Speed is held by the quartz-locked Conductor controller supplied with every Pure Fidelity Symphony, offering separate 33⅓ and 45rpm pitch trims in 0.2% steps and isolating the motor’s drive voltage from the noise of household AC.
Purpose-Built for Audio Origami’s Own Tonearms
What separates the UK offering from Pure Fidelity Symphony packages sold elsewhere is the arm pairing. Audio Origami markets the deck as purpose-built for 12-inch Audio Origami tonearms specifically, with the PU7 Titanium and PU8 – both developed from the same gimbal lineage as the historic Syrinx PU2/PU3 – listed as its recommended partners rather than a third-party arm sourced separately. It’s a rare case of a turntable manufacturer and a tonearm manufacturer aligning their products so closely that the pairing is sold, priced and demonstrated as one system, at Audio Origami’s own listening room rather than through a general hi-fi dealer network.
For anyone curious about that tonearm pairing on its own terms, Audio Origami’s PU8 tonearm has already been covered in detail on this site – the Pure Fidelity Symphony is effectively where that design finds its intended analogue partner.
Pricing and availability
In the UK, the Pure Fidelity Symphony is sold exclusively through Audio Origami and only as a complete turntable-and-tonearm package: £16,795 fitted with the Audio Origami PU7 Titanium 12-inch arm, or £18,595 fitted with the PU8 12-inch. Both configurations are available now, viewable and demonstrable by appointment at Audio Origami’s listening room, alongside the brand’s Harmony model.
Key specifications
- Plinth: dense ultra-MDF core, CNC-machined, in Burled Walnut, Quilted Maple or Santos Rosewood real wood veneer, hand-signed by founder John Stratton
- Isolation: 6061 aerospace-grade aluminium platform decoupled by GAIA IV footers (co-developed with IsoAcoustics)
- Platter: solid Delrin, no mat required
- Bearing: ruby ball in a low-friction bronze shaft
- Drive: stainless steel pulley, dual round-section belts
- Speed control: Conductor quartz-locked controller, ±5% pitch range in 0.2% steps, isolated drive voltage
- Tonearm fitment: 12-inch Audio Origami PU7 Titanium or PU8 (UK package)
- Price: £16,795 (with PU7 Titanium) / £18,595 (with PU8)
- Availability: now, exclusively through Audio Origami in the UK
