ALVA ST
Belt Drive Turntable with Bluetooth® aptX HD
€599.00
4.5
(18)
  • Bluetooth aptX HD – Switchable Hi-Res wireless streaming.  Place the turntable on a flat-surface that suits you.
  • Built-In Phono Stage – Switchable phono pre-amp, direct connection to amp – keep your setup simple.
  • Belt Drive – With simple electronic push button speed control.
  • Pre-installed Moving Magnet Cartridge – A well-regarded choice, play records in minutes.
  • New Tonearm with Removable Headshell – Lightweight and strong. Tracks your records flawlessly.
Colour
€599.00
FREE DELIVERY
60 DAY FREE RETURNS
EXCELLENT SUPPORT
  • Image of the ALVA ST Turntable from Cambridge Audio with the ON OFF award for the best turntable 2022 badge

    Just Add Vinyl

    There’s nothing quite like vinyl: the tactile pleasure of removing a record from its sleeve and carefully placing it on a deck is unique. We designed the original Alva TT to honour that tradition, and Alva ST to share that pleasure with more people. 

    With a pre-fitted cartridge – so you’ll be playing records in minutes – the belt-drive Alva ST also features switchable Hi-Res Bluetooth streaming and integrated phono stage. 

    Everyone should be able to enjoy the freedom Alva brings. 

    • Sound and Image Awards

      “You’ll be proud to have it in your home... It’s a great mid-price turntable”

      Woman stood in living room holding record, turntable hi-fi setup and fireplace behind her

      King of Convenience

      Alva ST is for people who want to listen to records at exceptional quality – without the need to choose or fit extra components. Alva ST keeps it simple with perfectly matched cartridge pre-installed. Alva ST connects to pretty much any audio system too, as it has a switchable integrated phono-stage. It even works wirelessly with Bluetooth speaker systems. 

      Woman wearing headphones sat on living room floor choosing records

      Hi-Res Bluetooth

      Built-in Bluetooth aptX HD liberates Alva from the rest of your hi-fi. With the freedom to place an Alva deck on any flat surface, your records take centre-stage. Music can be streamed to any compatible Bluetooth kit, including headphones, at up to 24bit/48kHz Hi-Res quality. Or, you can deactivate it and simply use phono cables – it’s your call.

      rear view of alva st turntable

      Integrated Phono Stage

      Alva ST has an integrated phono stage (phono pre-amp), derived from our award-winning Alva Duo – to reveal incredible detail from your records. It means you can connect Alva ST to any amp or compatible speaker system. You can deactivate the deck’s phono stage, too – ideal if your amp already has one or to keep upgrade options open.  

      close-up of alva st audio technica cartridge

      MM Cartridge Pre-installed

      After hours of listening, we selected an Audio Technica Moving Magnet cartridge to be ready fitted on Alva ST. With no fiddly set-up you’ll be playing records in minutes. The elliptical stylus provides a greater contact area with your records’ grooves, producing accurate tracking of information and, of course, great sounding music. 

      close-up of alva st turntable buttons and red record

      Belt Drive

      Alva ST uses the proven belt-drive method, supplemented with electronic motor speed control. After connecting the belt for the first time, you won’t need to look under the platter again. Rotation speed selection is made by 2 neat electronic buttons on the ST’s aluminium top surface – so you can effortlessly switch between playing albums and singles. 

      above close-up of alva st turntable platter, tonearm and stylus

      Aluminium, Tuned

      Alva ST’s platter is aluminium die-cast, finished by CNC to ensure a totally level and smooth surface. The 17mm high aluminium platter is finished with a 5mm rubber mat – a combination proven to reduce unwanted resonance.  

      close-up of alva st turntable with dust cover down focusing on tonearm and cartridge

      All-New Tonearm

      After hours of testing, our engineers selected a new high-mass, low-resonance tonearm for Alva TT V2 and Alva ST. By minimising resonant frequencies, and in combination with the cartridge, it helps retrieve the maximum detail from your records. A detachable die-cast aluminium headshell makes swapping cartridges easy – then fine-tuned with greater precision thanks to a new anti-skating dial. 

      close-up of alva st turntable corner with white record and headphones

      Designed for Life

      A record collection can last a lifetime, so why shouldn’t a turntable? We built Alva ST to do just that, with a 1mm aluminium top plate, and a layer of EVA to absorb vibration sitting on top of MDF. It’s cradled in a composite chassis and weighs 9kg. Reassuring solid, and with great sound absorption qualities too. 

      woman lowering stylus onto alva st turntable with red record

      Timeless Style, from London

      Finished with a lunar-grey aluminium top plate and matt black plinth, tapering to our trademark floating wedge base, Alva ST shares our minimalist house style. It’s the perfect match for our best-selling Evo and CX Series hi-fi separates. Designed and engineered in London with the emphasis on classic timeless style. 

      Woman lowering dust cover on alva st turntable

      Dust Never Sleeps

      Keep your new Alva turntable’s finely balanced tonearm and aluminium top-plate pristine when you’ve finished spinning discs for the day, with the hinged dust-cover. It’s easy to raise, lower, remove and re-attach – the choice is yours. 

      #MyCambridgeAudio

      Share your set-up on social media using @CambridgeAudio and #MyCambridgeAudio to feature on the Cambridge Wall of Fame.

      Type
      Belt Drive
      Direct Drive
      Turntable Speeds
      33.3, 45rpm
      33.3, 45rpm
      Turntable Platter
      Die Cast Aluminium
      POM (Polyoxymethylene)
      Platter Weight
      645.3g (930.5g inc. rubber mat)
      2.2kg
      Audio Out
      RCA Phono/Line Level (Switchable)
      RCA Phono/Line Level (Switchable)
      Bluetooth
      SBC/aptX/aptX HD
      SBC/aptX/aptX HD
      Dimensions (W x H x D)
      435 x 139 x 367mm
      435 x 139 x 368mm
      Weight
      9kg
      10.9kg
      Cartridge
      Moving Magnet
      High Output Moving Coil
      Cartridge Cantilever
      Alloy Tube
      Aluminium
      Cartridge Output Level
      1.8~3.6mV @1kHz
      2mV @1kHz
    • Technical Specifications

      Type Belt Drive
      Turntable Speeds 33.3, 45rpm
      Wow & Flutter <0.12%
      Turntable Platter Die Cast Aluminium
      Platter Diameter 305mm
      Platter Weight 645.3g (930.5g inc. rubber mat)
      See all tech specs See less tech specs
    • Product Support & Downloads

    • Alva ST Reviews

      4.5

      4.5
      (18)

      10 Reviews

      Exudes quality in build and audio presentation

      After reading many reviews on brands that offered Bluetooth I settled on CA’s AlvaST as the one for me.when it arrived it was immediately obvious it was a solid piece of engineering. It was easy to set up and set the tone arm tracing and balance and the Bluetooth worked first time with mi headphones and Ruark R5. It’s all that I had hoped for with suburb tone and stereo separation.

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      Sounds and looks amazing!

      Cambridge Audio not only makes great sounding products, they design wonderful looking and feeling components. This turntable looks gorgeous and all the materials feel like excellent quality. A turntable is different - you touch the component and expect every surface to feel and move right. This turntable does not disappoint.

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      Fantastic turntable

      I have the following CA equipment:
      I replaced my project Debut Pro with the Alva ST and added it to the following setup:
      Azur 851A
      Azur 851N
      Azur 851C
      Alva Duo
      The equipment is connected as follows:
      1. The 851A is connected to the 851N using 2 balanced Chord Company Shawline XLR cables as Source 1 Audio on the 851A and Balanced Audio Out on the 851N
      2. The 851A is connected to the 851C using 2 balanced Chord Company Shawline XLR cables Source 2 Audio on the 851A and Balanced Audio Out on the 851C
      3. The 851N is connected to the 851C using a single Chord Company Shawline XLR cables from the XLR Digital Output on the 851C to D5 AES/EBU Balanced input on the 851N
      4. The Alva ST is connected to the Alva Duo MM input using Chord Company Shawline Phone Cables
      5. The Alva Duo is connected to the 851A Source 3 using Chord Company Shawline Phone Cables
      6. There is an Earth Ground Cable between the Alva ST and the Alva Duo
      7. The Output Level Switch on the Alva ST is set to Phono
      8. I have Serial BUS cables from the 851N Out to the 851A In and from the 851A Out to the 851C In and no loopback
      9. The 851N also has a Mac Mini Media Player attached using a Chord Company Shawline USB cable to USB Audio In and a Samsung TV using a standard Toslink cable to D2
      10. The 851N is connected to Ethernet using a Unifi USW Lite 8 PoE connected directly to a Unifi Dream Machine
      11. I am using Dali Rubicon 2 speakers single wired with Chord Company Shawline speaker cable with factory fitted banana plugs and trousers
      When I used the internal phone stage it was flawless. However, my issue was that if I used the Alva Duo external phono stage and selected the Alva Duo and ST Turntable when the Azur 851N is on (no matter what source is selected) I get a high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers. I used a second Alva Duo I had in another setup and it was the same.
      I contacted Richer Sounds and they arranged a replacement turntable. However, the replacement turntable had the same issue so I did some investigation.
      If I turned off the 851N the tone and clicking disappeared. If I removed the Alva Duo and play the Alva ST directly through the internal Phono Stage by setting the Output Level switch to Line there is no high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers. In order to diagnose the issue, with the help of Alan Kerr from Richer Sounds in Glasgow (who have been very supportive throughout this) I did the following:
      1. I replaced the Dali speakers with B&W 702 speakers both single wired and bi-wired and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      2. I replaced every cable in the system using the same type of cable and still got the same high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      3. I replaced the Alva ST with a Project Pro Carbon turntable and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      4. I replaced the 851A with a CA CX80A and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      5. I got a replacement Alva Duo and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      6. I replaced the Alva Duo with and Alva Solo and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      7. I replaced the Ground earth cable between the Alva ST and Alva Duo
      8. I removed the 851C from the configuration and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      9. I removed the Mac Mini from the configuration and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      10. I removed the TV from the configuration and still got the high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      11. I isolated all power from the rest of the mains by running it through a surge protected PDU
      12. I replaced the Alva Duo with a CA 651P and there is no high pitched tone and a clicking through the speakers
      It appeared that the issue is only there when I have an Alva Duo or Solo Phono Stage in line with the Azur 851N switched on so I assumed that there was some form of incompatibility between the Alva Phono Stages and the Azur 851N, or that there is a fault with the 851N. This is unusual as the 851N should not be part of the analogue signal path. Fortunately I was able to swap out the Azur 851N for a CXN V2. Same issue, so it had to go back to the turntable that was causing the problem.
      However, with in excess of £7,000 of hifi equipment and speakers and high quality cabling I would expect that the Cambridge Audio components would co-exist without any issue; the fact that they did not was extremely frustrating.

      I contacted Cambridge Audio and they set up the exact same configuration in a lab and were able to replicate the issue! They isolated the problem and asked me to return the Alva turntable and carried out a few component replacements. It has been returned and sounds stunning using an external phono stage and now gives me the sound I was looking for. It is a great turntable and this has been augmented by some outstanding customer support from Cambridge Audio.

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      Response from Cambridge Audio

      Dear Valued CustomerIt sounds like you went through a thorough troubleshooting process and it's great to hear that we were able to identify and resolve the issue with your Alva turntable.

      It's not uncommon to encounter compatibility issues in complex audio setups.It's essential to have reliable customer support especially when dealing with high-end audio equipment.

      The collaboration between you Richer Sounds and Cambridge Audio demonstrates the importance of working closely with both the retailer and the manufacturer to resolve technical issues.We hope it adds a whole new dimension to your music experience.Kind Regards

      Cambridge Audio Customer Support.

      Read more Read less

      Deffective turntable ..never worked

      I bought this unit on the Cambridge website and unfortunately, it was never able to start, remaining in standby mode. I spent a lot of time trying to connect it, trying to keep the on off button pressed for 5 seconds, plug it in, unplug it, nothing... the turntable doesn't turn and no LED lights up, no bluetooth connection as well...the board remained in stand-by mode. For my first purchase with Cambrige, a brand that I hold in high esteem, I am disappointed and have to return it.

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      Response from Cambridge Audio

      Dear Valued CustomerWe understand your frustration with the Alva-ST not functioning properly.

      It's disappointing when a new purchase doesn't meet expectations.We are sorry to read about your dissatisfaction with the Alva-ST.

      We'd advise contacting our support team (again) to see if there is anything further we can do to help troubleshoot your issue.

      Cambridge audio support department can be contacted via the support inquiry form here: https://www.cambridgeaudio.com/gbr/en/support-query/hifi or by emailing [email protected] and someone will get back to you ASAP.Best regards

      Cambridge Audio Customer Support

      Read more Read less

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