Avid Acutus - Standard or Reference

Fosse, In audio any marginal improvement is an epiphany to some people. Particularly some reviewers..;0)

Sure Daveyf.

Anybody who has compared the two? I have heard them both myself, but not in the same system. Or, there went to much time in between, I'm not sure the owner changed other things, and I don't trust my acoustic memory from months back.

André

I believe one of the criticisms in Michael Fremer's review was that the Acutus he had was running a few percent slow. One of the advantages of the new power supply is the ability to adjust speed for perfect 33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm. If, however you have checked your Acutus speeds with something like the excellent KAB strobe and found them to be spot on then perhaps the new power supply will not be necessary. I own a Basis Debut vacuum and would not be without my Synchro Wave PS. The difference is presentation from a little slow to spot on is not subtle. If your table speed is not correct then while you clearly are happy with what you are experiencing you will be even happier with the TT set at the correct speed and then the new PS could be worth the not inconsiderable cost.

Thanks for your reply Phaser.

You may be right about the importance of precise speed. I have not checked my turntable, but I know this issue has been fixed on later models. I don't think there is any point in buying the reference powerer supply just for the speed, if there is a speed issue that should be possible to fix for less money with the standard power supply

So, we have nobody with experience from both power supplies?

The value of the outboard supply is also or mostly related to the way it delivers power to the motor. If it's an AC synthesizer serving an AC synchronous motor, then it should be delivering phase-correct voltage with respect to the motor. This makes the motor run smoother and quieter with little to no speed variation, and in my opinion these are the principle benefits of the outboard device. The ability to adjust speed to a precise 33.333 rpm is only a nice side benefit; many/some LPs were not cut at the standard speed in the first place. So, to make your decision, you might want to find out more about the electronics in the two respective supplies, i.e., in what way does the more expensive supply do the job better?