Kronos Sparta or TechDas Air Force III?

Doehmann is in a class by itself. I've set up some.

IMO, if you have to ask that question of a forum, you shouldn't be wasting your money on either.

"Uhmm, I tried to add vacuum hold down on my Linn LP12...was not a pretty site, nor a pretty sound,"

daveyf-perhaps RR was implying the highly advanced AT666 from the 80's?

He's knowledgeable of everything in the audiophool universe, so his comments must be true-WOW!

Dear @daveyf : "  nor a pretty sound..""

Well nothing is perfect and there are some issues with the vacuum hold down mechanism. 

Some Micro Seiki TT models that came with the hold down the surface material where the LP rest is metal one and here exist a problem of resonances/vibrations not well damped but other MS models fixed that with a hold down non-metal contact LP surface and ovbiously all improved with this change. In the AT after market item happened the same and AT had both the metal and felt like contact surface.

In both kind of hold down mechanism exist other issue and is that the LP side in contact with the hold down must be perfectly cleaned as the hold down contact surface because the microscopic dust be sticked for ever if not perfectly cleaned.

The hold down it's not very good with the LP waves but because the LP is almost " sticked to the platter making that the stylus/cantilever " feels " less movements and we can listen its " integrity " in the reproduced sound.

The after market items gives too or works too as a flyweel adding its weigth.

R.

Proper vacuum clamping, like that employed by Basis and Sota, enhances pitch stability without any ill effect. In that regard you would think you were listening to a digital source. A record that is not perfectly flat alters pitch. An unsupported record resonates. Vacuum clamping controls that energy by passing it on to a much larger mass, the platter. 

IMHO the Kronos is a silly design and not worth a second look. The Air Force III is a serious piece of work and has a significantly better bearing system and vacuum clamping. I would never buy one because I think it makes a relatively simple situation much more complicated than it needs to be. The turntable I would buy is the Dohmann Helix 1 as soon as Mark gets his vacuum system and isolation dust cover done. The wheels of progress are unfortunately, slow. Patience is a virtue.