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This review first appeared in the February 2011 issue of hi-end hifi magazine High Fidelity of Poland. You can also read this review of the Scheu Analog Premier Mk2 in its original Polish version. We publish its English translation in a mutual syndication arrangement with publisher Wojciech Pacula. As is customary for our own reviews, the writer's signature at review's end shows an e-mail address should you have questions or wish to send feedback. All images contained in this review are the property of High Fidelity or Scheu Analog - Ed.

Reviewer: Wojciech Pacuła
CD player: Ancient Audio Lektor Air 
Phono preamp: RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC
Cartridges: Air Tight Supreme, Miyajima Laboratory Waza
Preamp: Ayon Audio Polaris III with ReGenerator II power supply
Power amp: Tenor Audio 175S and Soulution 710
Integrated amp: Leben CS300XS custom
Loudspeakers: Harpia Acoustics Dobermann
Headphones: AKG K701, Ultrasone PROLine 2500, Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro 600 Ω
Interconnects: CD-preamp Acrolink Mexcel 7N-DA6300, preamp-power amp Wireworld Platinum Eclipse, speaker cable Tara Labs Omega Onyx
Power cords: Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9300 (all equipment)
Power conditioning: Gigawatt PF-2 Filtering Power Strip
audio stand: Base under all components, Pro Audio Bono under CD
Resonance control: Finite Elemente Ceraball under the CD, turntables change continuously
Review component retail in Poland: € 3.660 with 80mm platter + €650 euro; €3.299 with 50mm platter

Thomas Scheu of Scheu Analog worked in the DIY community for years. About 20 years ago he began thinking of a turntable he could offer commercially. This birthed the Premier which today is available in Mk2 and Mk3 versions and copasetic with two different tone arms from the same stable. In Thomas' catalogue the Premier sits in the middle. Below it we have the Cello and Diamond models, above it the models Das Laufwerk N°.1 and N°.2. The Scheu Classic Mk2 tone arm dispatched with the review loaner table is the entry-level arm in Scheu Analog’s repertoire. Both deck and arm appear to be well-made DIY projects. By this I mean that everything was nicely crafted and well finished without visibly cut corners yet one still perceives it as the clear creation of one single man just like one does with the products from our Polish firm Ancient Audio.

Technically the Scheu products are very simple. The mass-loaded deck works sans suspension and the motor is placed separately. Thomas Scheu decided on the material for his turntable by ear and personal preference to arrive at acrylic, here black (or transparent) for the plinth and opaque for the platter. Core goals for the plinth were minimal size, high mass and stability. Making it oval guaranteed the smallest possible size. Two platters are available, one at 80mm thickness weighing 7.5kg (this is what I received for review) and the other a 50mm equivalent of 4.4kg.

The Classic Mk2 tone arm comes in two lengths, 10" and the reviewed 12". Its ultra simple construction at first caused grave personal mistrust. It’s nothing but an extruded aluminium channel ending in a flat head shell plate. Suspension is unipivot with a steel blade and bolts with large nuts on either side to set azimuth. This is an undamped affair and the arm itself isn’t damped either safe for three rubber bits used to fasten the cables inside the bar channel. The appearance is very primitive but it’s the sound which matters.


Sound – Records used during the review: Billie Holliday, Songs For Distingue Lovers, Verve/Classic Records, One-sided, 2 x 180 g, 45 rpm LP;  Clifford Brown and Max Roach, Study In Brown, EmArcy/Universal Music K.K. (Japan), UCJU-9072, 200g LP; Depeche Mode, Fragile Tension/Hole to Feed, Mute Records, 12BONG42, 2 x 180g, maxi-SP LP; Dominic Miller, November, Q-rious Music, QRM 114-2, 2 x 180g LP;  Frank Sinatra, Sinatra&Sextet: Live in Paris, Reprise/Mobile Fidelity, MFSL 1-312, No. 238, 2 x 180g LP; Frank Sinatra, The Voice, Columbia/Speakers Corner, CL 743, Quiex SV-P, 180g LP; J. S. Bach, The Works of Johann Sebastian Bach. IX. Research Period, Archive Production, ARC 3162, LP; Nat “King” Cole, Nat King Cole DeLuxe Set, Capitol, STCL 2873, 3 x LP; Queen, Innuendo, Parlophone/EMI Records, 67988, 180g LP; The Cult, Electric, Beggars Banquet/Sire, W1-25555, LP; The Police, Reggatta de Blanc, A&M Records, AMLH 64792, LP; Wes Montgomery, Smokin’ at The Half Note, Verve/Universal Music K.K. (Japan), UCJU-9083, 200g LP.


Looking at the uncomplicated construction of this turntable using solutions resembling those found in the DIY community, I did not know what to sonically expect. Truth be told, after putting it together—which was far from straightforward mostly due to the arm—I was so put off that I left the turntable alone for two days revolving its platter but not playing any records.