Spacedeck compared with Gyrodec SE

Great choices in tables and overall a dynamite plan you have plotted out. I have not heard the Spacedeck/Spacearm, but I have owned 2 different Gyro SEs and they are great. Great new DC motor, fantastic engineering, sprung so its not prone to footfalls etc and its upgradable in many different ways (Michell stock powersupplies, Orbe platter, new Tom Evans powersupply, various Pederson mods (http://pedersensgyro.hjem.wanadoo.dk/index_english.htm)).

If that is a new, stock Rb300 you have your eyes one, I would strongly suggest you look for a modified RB250 instead as it is better by far. Your choice of cartridge and phonostage can hardly be faulted - that should be a killer combination. I have owned the 10X and 20X and used the EAR834p with them, with a Gyro and different arms including the Rb250, and it was great. A LO MC like the 17D2 and the robust P75 phonostage should be a great match. I am sure no matter what combination of deck and arm you choose, overall you would have a superb vinyl system. Saying so probably doesn't help make a decision, but without hearing both rigs its the best objective answer I've got.

I have not heard a 17D2, but I understand it is quite the cartridge that digs out a lot of info. The Shelter would be a great choice, and probably more musical than the 17D2. I would say your decision probably depends on the type of system you have, and what your personal tastes are. You mentioned that the Spacedeck may be more musical than the Gyrodec. To me that means the Spacedeck is more foregiving, or to say it does not dig (that word again) as much information out. Wouldn't you want a turntable that digs the max info out. That way you can tailor the rest of the downstream to suite your tastes. A Shelter and an modifed Rega arm is a pretty killer combo (heard it), and very, very good at balancing all the detail and being musical at the same time. Put that on an honest deck like a Gyro, and it would rock. Add an 834P and it would be lush. Modifiy your 834P with good, neutral coupling caps, and your back to the perfect balance. Do the same thing with a Spacedeck, and what do you have? Its like trying to solve an equation or something. Anyway, just think it all through, and think about whether you want your source to have all the info to begin with or not, and what you can do with downstream stuff to get what you want.

I am surprised that somone finds the spacedeck to be literally superior to the Gyro in detail, musicality and pace (same as speed consistancy, yes?). I would have thought that they would be equals on some terms and one better than the other in other cases. I would have thought that the real difference between the two would be that the spacedeck was blacker in the background, and images more vivid and solid. And the Gyro would be lighter fleet of foot like, more nimble, less vivid. As for differences in detail, I am surprised that a spacedeck is superior. Was that Gyro one that you personally owned for some time and were very familiar with setting up and in particular were you confident that you had its suspension tuned properly? If the suspension on a Gyro is off then it will not perform well. As for musicality, thats such a subject thing to quantify and ultimately I think that one comes down to what a deck does to someones brain. Someone may really key on the standout strengths or differences of a spacedeck (big, vivid images for instance) and to them thats what makes the one more "musical" over the other.

Also, another thing to keep in mind is that if that Gyro SE was the one with an AC motor, and no QC powersupply, then its not the same deck someone would buy new today. A person today would get one with a DC motor and it sounds quite a bit better and different than the older Gyro. The AC motor Gyro is literally a completely different beast when it is QC'd, and the DC motor sounds basically the equal to an AC + QC.

And that is another nice thing about the Michell decks. They evolve and are improved thru time (AC to DC motor wasn't by design however - but recent SE chassis sure was). I don't know if Nottingham does this with their products or not, but its something to think about from a long term ownership perspective. Hell, NA came out with what they thought was a better, thicker platter, that users are saying sucks. Not exactly a swift move on someones part.

OK, I just have one more question about the conditions under which you have listened to these two tables, just so we can understand the complete context. Did you listen to the two tables in the same system/room with the same equipment at the shop? Cartridges, phono amp, the works. I assume the shop carries both tables in this case and while you may not have a done a direct comparison side by side, same everything, at the same time, you have at least done it over some period of time, and in long enough sittings, to have basically compared an apple to an apple. This isn't some sort of inquistition, it's just a desire to understand. And this isn't some I Love My Gyro Its Surely the Best maniac getting all defensive. Hell, I have no problems accepting that some other table may be superior in some respects to the Gyro. However it is nice for someone who's about to make a decision between two tables, who can't hear them both for him/herself, to get as much context as possible in a discussion thread like this. It's not every day that someone asking a which one is better question actually gets an answer from someone who has done a true comparison.

And that part about the thicker platter being the result of perceived market demands in the Big Old USA is pretty funny. On a related subject, I also believe that the Interspace was not discontinued at all; it is just not imported in to the US anymore. It is still available in Canada, and the UK, I believe, as is the Horizon. I guess the US importer doesn't want to confuse Americans with two different decks at the same price point. Actually, I was thinking of getting an interspace instead of the 2nd Gyro because it might have been a better match for one of the arms I use which is never secured or mounted to a plinth or armboard, and it isn't exactly something that I want to put on a sprung open style chassis like a Gyro SE.

It certainly is interesting time for buyers of turntables in the $1500-$2000 range. I don't believe you can go wrong with some of the options out there if you chose wisely, and in that group its more a question of personal preferences in things like sonic traits, design, looks, trends, peer pressure and ease of use etc that decisions are made on.