Turntable upgrade recommendations: SME vs AMG vs Technics vs other

@mijostyn what did you think of the Strain gauge cartridge? Did you compare to another SoundSmith cartridge? Is it worth the $$$?

@mijostyn

"Raul mentions the heavier the platter the higher the resonance frequency and there is no practical way to dampen an air thrust bearing. All you can do is adjust the frequency it resonates at"

Not so. A properly designed platter does not resonate. Walker uses lead loaded epoxy, so I understand. Nottingham uses sculpted cast iron topped with carbon composite. TechDAS uses 5 layers of metal, according to their literature. I use sculpted cast iron topped with an inch of graphite, 45 kg, and although each section rings (near 500Hz and 2000Hz) the combination is DEAD.

Further, not all air bearings are created equal. I use porous graphite air bearings, which acts as a final damping filter.

"I think terry9 fails to realize that an air bearing and drive of any nature provide more than enough energy to get things going if the table is not well designed"

Think again. I suggest that you listen to an air TT that has been properly thought out.

Hi @mijostyn ,

Lenco Turntable is a genius piece of Swiss engineering. If you add heavy plinth and upgraded tonearm it over performs any mid priced belt drive turntable.
One of my friends who had used dozens of great turntables used Lenco L70 in the same time with Micro Seiki 1500 and liked it no less than Micro Seiki. In my system Lenco L78 exchanged a decent turntable Nottingham Analogue Spacedeck. Another friend prefered Lenco L75 by miles over his Pro Ject 6.9.

The issue with Lenco and most other vintage is that it is not plug and play. Sadly, a lot of people who use vintage don't have engineering scils and audio experience to get truly good results.

Regards,

Alex

@mijostyn 

After reviewing my earlier posts, I think that you were quite right to criticize them. Sorry for the aggressive tone in my response.

@drbond 

I readily admit - I enjoy the listening versus the upgrading of the system and the pieces and that isn't conducive to finding the best option available :)

Enjoy the journey - I attended a virtual meeting with VPI this fall and can definitely appreciate the idea of exploring different approaches to sonic bliss.