Mike -
I've owned a setup like this for about 20 years. The turntable itself is pretty much bullet proof. The arm is fiddly to set up, but never needs readjustment. The PL6 is way better than its predecessor, but sensitive to power quality. You'll want to make sure that you have a spare arm belt on hand, and that you have the servo plugged into a really good power conditioner by itself. I use the smallest Shunyata. Cleanliness is key. A small amount of dust can cause a problem on the arm cart tracks. The connectors on the back of my T3F are camacs, and I had to reinforce the mounting plate because my cables were too heavy. Not a huge fan of the Benz, but the setup sounds great with a Transfiguration Temper.
I've seen these go recently for up to $6500, but I'm thinking $5000 would be a great buy, if all is up to snuff. If you like machinery as much as I do, you might have the problem of forgetting to listen because you're so fascinated by watching the servo work -- but maybe that's just me.
Happy hunting!
Mark
I've owned a setup like this for about 20 years. The turntable itself is pretty much bullet proof. The arm is fiddly to set up, but never needs readjustment. The PL6 is way better than its predecessor, but sensitive to power quality. You'll want to make sure that you have a spare arm belt on hand, and that you have the servo plugged into a really good power conditioner by itself. I use the smallest Shunyata. Cleanliness is key. A small amount of dust can cause a problem on the arm cart tracks. The connectors on the back of my T3F are camacs, and I had to reinforce the mounting plate because my cables were too heavy. Not a huge fan of the Benz, but the setup sounds great with a Transfiguration Temper.
I've seen these go recently for up to $6500, but I'm thinking $5000 would be a great buy, if all is up to snuff. If you like machinery as much as I do, you might have the problem of forgetting to listen because you're so fascinated by watching the servo work -- but maybe that's just me.
Happy hunting!
Mark