What about the Teres Turntable?

Jean, here's your answer, posted on the Vinyl Asylum.

Posted by hifidaddy (A) on November 02, 2001 at 06:44:27
In Reply to: Ohhhh, now I see *through* what all the Teres fuss is about! posted by marc g. on October 31, 2001 at 23:41:00:
Folks,
it is very likely that the Teres or Repoint is better than a VPI TNT or Basis or whatever. I compared the original standard Scheu (2 inch acrylic platter) to the Platine Verdier 4 years ago and then sold my Verdier. After ringing the bell on Joelist or Analogue Addicts List and so on Audio Advancement became importer of Scheu turntable to the USA and the Teres group was launched.
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Also Jean, there are other posts on the Vinyl Asylum that state the the Teres also bettered the VPI TNT MK4 and the guy sold his TNT and said he is a "very happy Teres owner". The Verdier is a fine turntable and you may prefer yours to the Teres, I don't know, but the fact that Teres is compared, sometimes favorably, to Verdier, TNT, Basis, puts it in the same league of these world class turntables.The difference is that regular people can now get that kind of world class performance for a much more affordable price. There is even a post in the Vinyl Asylum where a guy improved the sound of his Verdier by using a Teres motor and controller. There are several posts where Linn LP12 owners have sold their Linns and bought Teres and raved about what an improvement the Teres was. There was one post where a guy had a Verdier and he said he thought the Teres was very good but he still kept his Verdier. If you only had $2k to spend and you found out you could get the performance level of a $6k-12k table for $1350, what would you do? I know what I'm going to do.

I spoke a few times with Hartmut (hifidaddy ). He doen't mention in this post that he was sad to let go the Verdier for monetary reasons.Kurt Strain was not happy with his TNT IV , many don't like VPI as well and this turntable precis.. .No doubt the Teres is a great turntable for the price , but you need to add the wood base with lead and a good arm , bringing the price to 3ks at least .People who have been raving about the sound quality use 1000/1500 $ arms with it.I don't think the basic model at 1350$ with a RB 250 will be able to come close to turntables at 5/6ks.Don't forget the hype too ,it's the turntable du jour .The 250$ Art DI/O Dac was supposed to be as good as 8ks Dacs when it came on the market ! We know where it stands now .And the Tjoeb 99 , best cd player below 2ks !

I am not trying to talk you out of this turntable, but if you are looking to compete in "best sounding" category, then I tend to agree with Jean. I think you will have to go with the wood shot filled base and a nice arm. That will raise the price of the table setup considerably.

I have read about this table and I think you are making a good choice. I like the fact that Teres uses a DC motor and a nice quality bearings.

Without complicating things too much I would suggest that you also look at the Michell Orbe SE Mk II table. It's very well made, uses a high quality DC motor/PS, and an excellent bearing.

The main difference between the two is that the Michell uses a suspended subchassis that is also damped for isolation while the Teres uses mass loading.

Good luck.

TWL: Where is your project now?
Did you get the arm yet?
details, details my friend

Gumby, I have gotten everything now and have it set up and breaking in. The set-up is as follows: Teres Model 135 turntable(all acrylic), Origin Live Silver 250 Tonearm, Denon DL103 cartridge, MA Cotter MK2 Step-up Transformer, MFA Magus Hotrodded Tube Preamp, Berning MicroZOTL amp(NOS Tubes), Fostex based Single Driver Speakers.
I have listened for about a week now, and things are beginning to burn-in. The cartridge is particularly stiff and will need alot of time. I am tracking at 2.5 grams, with a very slight positive VTA. I re-strapped the Cotter to the correct 40 ohm loading for the DL103. Loading sounds correct. Pivot distance is set at 223mm. Cartridge alignment and overhang was set using the supplied OL protractor.
So far the sound can be described as dynamic. The bass floor is very solid and deep. Plenty of detail and dynamics throughout. Possibly somewhat analytical. Definitely has the unsuspended turntable sound. No problems with vibrations coming up from the floor, though. It's on a sturdy hardwood table with a half inch thick granite top, and standing on cocobolo cones.
The arm is outstanding. It handles everything well and very low coloration. Cable still breaking in.
The cartridge is very good sounding considering the stiffness and the early state of break in. Very smooth and detailed with excellent separation, imaging, tonal balance. Some slight mistracking is evident in the challenging passages, but should clear up as the suspension on the cantilever works in. I think this is an excellent value in cartridge, but a very difficult one to match with an arm. The arm must be able to handle tremendous energy from the super low compliance of 5 that this cartridge has. Very tough on the arm bearings. Forget unipivots with this one.
So, initially, I'm quite pleased. Nothing is perfect, but I feel that this shows signs of being a very high level performer at a reasonable price. I have about $2300 in it right now, not including the Cotter. We'll see how the break in goes. So far the biggest question mark is the cartridge, and it will take the longest to break in. If it doesn't pan out, I will try a Shelter 501 next. My system is pretty ruthless in revealing any shortcomings, so it really lets you know if you cut any corners. But, I will give the DL103 the 200 hours or so for break in that it requires. I will add more updates as I get the system further broken in.