Caliburn

$160,000.00 / Complete System (Caliburn, Cobra, Castellon)
$117,000.00 / Compact System (Caliburn, Cobra)
$18,000.00 / Secondary Cobra

Continuum’s Caliburn record playing system rocked the high-performance analog world when, just two short years after its debut in 2004, it unseated the long-championed “world’s best” record player: the legendary Rockport Sirius III. This feat alone spurred several other companies throughout the world to try their luck at designing and manufacturing record-playing “supertables” to challenge Continuum’s singular accomplishment. Indeed, before Caliburn was named both Analog Product of the Year 2006 and Overall Product of the Year 2006, there were only a very few super-exotic record players being built and sold in the world. Continuum re-defined expectations with their peerless accomplishment, and they inspired others to try to join this exalted category.

CALIBURN: The main turntable system is comprised of the Caliburn turntable, control unit, and “stealth-operation” vacuum pump to hold records flat against the ca: 80-pound platter.

COBRA: The tonearm system comprised of the arm-wand, arm tower (with azimuth and SRA adjustments on board), and Continuum’s proprietary suspended armboard technology)

CASTELLON: The support system for the entire system, consisting of a magnetically-levitated top shelf to isolate the Caliburn, two ancillary shelves to house the control unit and the pump box, and a utility drawer to keep various accessories within.

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Synectics: The Team

Continuum gathered together a round table of authorities from many different disciplines, each contributing their own expertise toward the creation of a whole that was to be exponentially greater than the mere sum of its parts. This process is called “Synectics” – bringing together masters of engineering into a collaborative team and allowing for a single vision to be maintained and executed.

Executive Team:

David Payes – Chairman, Continuum Audio Labs: David, a passionate music lover and audiophile, was the catalyst for the development of the Caliburn, not only creating the financial and creative freedom that allowed the team to push the envelope, but also contributing ideas and solutions related to technical design issues.

Dr. Murali Murugasu – CEO, Continuum Audio Labs: Dr. Murugasu has extensive experience both as a passionate audiophile and expert businessman in the field of high performance audio. Dr. Murugasu contributed critical analysis of the Caliburn during its development, helping to shape the final performance result.

Mark Doehmann – Designer & Project Manager, Continuum Audio Labs: Mark was instrumental in gathering the design team together, directing their efforts, and organizing the execution of the team’s design into a manufactured product.

Engineering Team:

Caliburn’s design engineers, including Dr. Neil McLachlan, Dr. Glen Wolff, Professor Josef Tomas (who created the “Reshape™” software that allowed the team to create the Cobra tonearm’s unique shape), and John Loton applied their considerable knowledge and abilities along with the use of complex Finite Element Analysis modeling tools to first understand and then engineer solutions with regard for the acoustic modeling and design (and inherent vibration reduction), the complex use of organic materials, and to produce solution to some of the very old problems associated with analog sound reproduction.

Engineer John Vietz developed Caliburn’s unique magnesium alloy which gives Caliburn its high damping characteristics.

Engineer Michail Barabasz contributed his knowledge to the development of Caliburn’s unique magnetic-bearing-relief for the extra-heavy platter, thus allowing the benefits of a high mass platter to be enjoyed without having to suffer the brinelling damage that such platters ultimately cause to the bearing-ball.

Engineer Joe Persico developed Caliburn’s vacuum control mechanism and computer controlled subsystems, allowing for very fine and persistent control of platter speed to ensure accurate sound production.

Peter Denisenko – Advanced Drive Technology and Vacuum System Design: Peter’s skills in electronics and engineering were extensively used in the optimization of the advanced drive technology used to power Caliburn’s platter, and “stealth mode” vacuum system.

Engineer Arthur Rapos contributed his expertise in RF circuit design and noise control to extract maximum performance from several new technologies used in Caliburn’s design.

Dr. Nigel Ricketts was consulted to resolve various metallurgical casting issues to ensure that the magnesium properties the team specified were transferred to the end product.

Engineer Wally Malewicz contributed his expertise in developing the anti-skate mechanism and alignment geometry for the Cobra tonearm.

Never before has such an esteemed gathering of professionals and degreed engineers been brought to gather for what many would deem a quaint and anachronistic purpose, and yet this is the only way that a complex and wonderful machine like the Caliburn could ever get made. It was only through the considerable expertise and effort of this “dream team” of professionals that this little upstart company from Melbourne, Australia could – within only two years after introducing its fledgling product to the world – unseat a champion to become known around the world as The Best In The World.

The Continuum Caliburn has set the performance bar so extraordinarily high as to be nigh impossible to overcome, except by its own team of experts. What followed Caliburn’s introduction and coronation as The Best was a string of also-ran products that did nothing to advance the state of the art, but did plenty to advance the population of exotic record players in the world. To this day, the Caliburn record playing system remains unchallenged.