More than 30 years ago, Lumley Audio was founded with the aim of crafting the finest high-end audio equipment the world had to offer. Starting out in the market for amplifiers and loudspeakers, engineer and avid vinyl enthusiast John Jeffries soon turned his expertise towards the design of a new turntable: the Stratosphere MK1. This ground-breaking high-performance turntable received critical acclaim and became a firm favourite of vinyl lovers worldwide, cementing Lumley Audio as a name for quality and excellence. Its design went on to influence the turntables of many competitors, and Jeffries continued to iterate and improve upon its form, with the release of the Stratosphere MK2 in 2007 once again stunning reviewers and hi-fi enthusiasts alike.

Over the next few decades, the decline in popularity of vinyl playback and the emerging digital music market led Jeffries to focus on other endeavours, until in 2020 he once again saw the opportunity to develop a new, state-of-the-art turntable with upgraded materials and performance. The Stratosphere MK3 has been designed with the principles of the original Stratosphere in mind: sublime sonic performance and information retrieval, coupled with a delicacy and clarity that is second to none. It is the quietest turntable available on the market, using new bearing materials to completely eliminate background noise. Redesigned and refined at every level, the MK3 is here to deliver a music experience that has to be heard to be believed.

An upgrade version to old versions has also been made available for original Stratosphere owners, customer reaction here being highly complementary to say the least.

As a young boy, Douwe Medema tinkered around with electronics and speakers. Not knowing one could earn a living through building these. Later, he decided to train for goldsmith in Schoonhoven (NL). A profession where you can both design and carry out what one envisions.

He achieved first in the Netherlands and third in the world at professional goldsmith competitions.

His first more serious audio work started in 1989 when he restored and developed tube amplifiers and designed his own tube rings. These went commercial in 1990.

To broaden his horizon past the jewelry, he continued education at the art academy in Maastricht (NL) where he graduated in 1992. Part of his graduation work consisted of his own designed turntable with 9” full ceramic arm and speakers with ceramic cabinet including filter and speaker adjustments. At the same time he made a wish, he would create the ultimate tone arm one day.

Around 1994 he developed a DC turntable motor drive with tacho. This is still in use by an established turntable company. For the same company sub-chassis were developed and made. During a journey to tweak turntables in Taiwan where earthquakes happened recently before, re-placing and tuning big system speakers became part of the job.

Around 2004 he developed speakers for a Dutch firm. He already had noticed the sound of quality clarinets and oboes made out of Grenadille wood. When asked to make bodies for cartridges out of this wood the idea for a wooden tone arm gained ground.

Earlier also busy with his jewelry, exploration time was limited. Until Covid hit, Orders stopped from the gallery he made jewelry for. His rings for visual artists like Anish Kapoor and Frank Stella were on hold. Now was the time. He went to the max for creating for himself a 13 inch tone arm out of African blackwood. Out of this flowed the 12 inch arm. then the 9 inch is based on the knowledge of the 12 inch arm.

Handmade in the Netherlands by Duende Criatura.