New Horizon 101 / 121 turntable

The New Horizon 101 turntable is the significant evolution of the entry-level model of the young Italian manufacturer. It offers simple functions as well as a sober design in order to meet audiophile expectations, but at a very affordable price.

NEW HORIZON 101: PLINTH

The New Horizon 101 turntable is proposed with a 25mm baseboard made of MDF, covered with a black piano lacquer.

The typical rectangle is now original by a half-moon chasing on the front. By the way, this is the trademark of the manufacturer, and we can find it on all New Horizon products.

NEW HORIZON 101: TONEARM AND PHONO CARTRIDGE

The 8.6” tonearm is an Austrian model, fully made of aluminium. It is simple but effective, and is known for its accuracy and manufacturing precision.

As standard, it is equipped with an Audio Technica MM cartridge: the AT 3600L (similar to the Rega Carbon).

NEW HORIZON 101: PLATTER AND DRIVE

The 10 mm methacrylate platter is driven by external continuous belt made of extra-thin silicone.

The AC/24v synchronous motor is insulated from the turntable, in order to avoid any vibration or noise in the platter and the tonearm.

The drive spindle of the platter is precisely machined from milled aluminium. It is based on a ¼ inch steel ball resting on top of the pivot. It ensures rotation without any friction and perfectly silent.

NEW HORIZON 101: CABLE AND ACCESSORIES

The phono cable is removable. The female RCA connectors and the ground termination of turntable are of excellent quality and gold-plated, with a separated ground termination.

A very elegant dust cover made of methacrylate is supplied with the New Horizon 101.

NEW HORIZON 101: TEST AND LISTENING

As soon as the New Horizon 101 turntable came out of the box, we were seduced by the design of this small record player. When assembling it, we quickly realize that the designers really tried to optimize the product, while trying to offer the best quality/price/performance ratio.

The manufacturing quality is excellent and radiates the “Made in Italy”!

The solutions opted to avoid vibrations are very efficient. By the way, we notice that they are rarely (or never) optimized in this price range. These features allow for enjoying the full potential of the phono cartridge and the tonearm.

This allows the maximum amount of information to be extracted from the groove, while maintaining dynamics and swing. The timbres are realistic and the sound scene is very wide and full for a product of this range.

This New Horizon 101 turntable offers great musicality and design, as well as a nice alternative to the traditional Rega or Pro-Ject turntables... We have been seduced by the Italian manufacturing.

Recommended!

The New Horizon 121 version: this version is similar to the 101, but with a heavier and thicker Crystal Methacrylate platter (12mm/1.05 kg).