Grand Prix Monaco review in new Stereophile- OUCH

I think the simple answer (which unfortunatley isn't easy to do) is to let a mastering engineer hear the table and compare it to what's on the master tape.

There has to be some objective truth as to what provides the most faithful reproduction of the master tape. (objectivity in what is most faithful to live acoustic music is more difficult)

Perhaps an LP mastered from digital recording could be compared with the SACD release. In that instance, the SACD should be a closer estimation to what the 96 or 192K master sounds like rather than a downsampled CD.

Maybe even better would be a Linn records release that was offereed in LP and 96K/192K download because they seem to be offered in their native sample rate, and I read one post that seemed to indicate that those high res downloads sounded better decoded by a PS audio DLIII than the SACD's

Forgive the digital diatribe, I'm just trying to see if digital comparisons can help us make better assesments of our analog playback systems.

No one has commented on my question regarding using digital playback sources to determine the sonic additions/subtractions of a vinyl playback rig.

Since MF is stating that digital recordings of the table's signal can detect a signature, doesn't it seem that a digital release can be compared for some insight?

I'm also a bit dissapointed that the discussion here has been so civil. No death threats, name calling, etc. I guess there's the H-cat thread for that.

Also in case anyone is a structural engineer, please see my "jackhammering" thread in "tech talk" forum about some upcoming construction that might damage my gear.

Good thing I included the word "ouch" in the subject if this thread.

Michael, have you listened to the Phantom without damping fluid?

There seems to be a US vs. Europe attitude towards the fluid.

Folks here practically called my dealer lazy for not including the fluid in the setup, while others on a forum that has more Europeans basically said very few over there use it. Thomas Woshnik doesn't suggest it for use with his tables. I have their cheap crappy little mickey mouse model Raven One, (that what it looks like when viewed from directly above - a mouse face and ears.)

ALso any thought to doing a setup proceedure for the Phantom arm?
I always thought your DVD should have had a link included to a website where additional setups could be viewed (for purchasers of the DVD)

Since I'm in tv/video, I might even be able to help you facilitate such a thing (I'm in NYC).