Turntable/Tonearm choices


What is your take on Clearaudio Ovation with Satisfy tonearm vs Thale Slim II with Simplicity II tonearm vs Stabi R with Kuzman 4 point tonearm?
jaym759

Showing 2 responses by mijostyn

1+ rsf507 Frank Kuzma is an incredible engineer with a very creative mind. The 4 point is an ingenious design and probably has the best review history of any tonearm ever made. 
The Stabi R may be the most flexible turntable ever made. It has a top quality bearing and a great D/C motor. I does need a solid stand. There is no way you could put an effective suspension under it because of it's flexibility and wide range of possible weights. It easily outguns the other tables mentioned but is also more expensive. I do not have a Kuzma turntable but if I were to get one it would be either this or the M.
I do have 4 point arms and everything about them is first class from machining to finish. 
rauliruegas, the Thales arm is a nightmare. How do you make something so simple as complicated as h-ll. If you don't think bearing friction is an important issue by all means buy one.
millercarbon, you need a new turntable. Might I suggest a Rega Planar 1.
rauliruegas, regardless of how well built the Thales is it is in many ways a silly design. First off fewer moving parts and bearings is always best. You want a stiff arm tube. The Syrinx PU-3 was the first to prove that. The SAT arm is the current incarnation. Cartridges are very sensitive to bearing friction. But most importantly exactly how are you going to apply the right anti skating compensation when the offset angle is constantly changing? It is tough enough already. That design makes it virtually impossible. Funny, you would have been the last guy I would have expected to fall for that. Rube Goldberg could do no better.