A Thought Exercise: Consolidating Analog To One Table and Two Cartridges

In my experience, an air bearing TT is incomparable. More clarity, more warmth, less noise.

That's air in all dimensions, no contact bearing at all. Once you hear it there's no going back. IMO.

If your budget will stretch and if your floor is concrete - mulveling is right on.

@neonknight For your heavy unsuspended table, try to find an S level or better HRS platform.  They isolate below 8 - 15Hz with the correct footers.  There are a fair amount of them available used if you are not convinced and they are not ugly.  In my opinion...

@Dover had it right. Keep the CB-L and go with a Kuzma Stabi R and get two headshell plates to mount different cartridges and swap them out. That's a rig that would be hard to beat. You could spend twice as much and you'd get something different but not necessarily better.

neonknight - The core question is really this. Does next tier of tables offer tangible gains in performance? That is really what the question is, would you not say?

I have not posted in a long time. The following is my personal opinion, because this is the way I finally got to my happy place. So, in love with what I’m hearing without guessing what to do next to improve performance.

Of course next tier tables may improve performance, as long as you have already discovered the sound that does it for you. IMO, this the single most important piece of the puzzle. And, you’re working with gear that works together towards that end. If not, you’re throwing components at one-another hoping that the new mixture will discover this sound for you. Welcome to the merry-go-round.

How I personally and finally figured this out, after trying this and that endlessly, was through going to the Shows and listening. Hundreds of people exploring a hundred rooms, each producing a unique or somewhat unique sound. I realize, that Covid did a number on these opportunities. Myself, I walked into a room at an RMAF show that made me stay and listen. That was it, despite knowing that the rooms at these shows are not ideal by any means for music reproduction. I kept checking out other systems, but kept coming back to that room. I now knew the sound that I wanted to work towards and build upon. For example, I like a more relaxed sound that is detailed, highly nuanced, and alive with air. Of course, that draws me to vinyl whose engineer recorded it that way. That’s my niche, even though when I’m in the mood to rock, my system rocks, but perhaps not to the level of another system. Unless, you have unlimited funds that may possibly give you everything, you may consider concentrating on the sound that appeals to you the most.

I own a Raven One and the Ortofon Verismo. Over time, I have made upgrades to the Raven, because you can and it has benefited my sound without purchasing a new table. I also own from the past a Sota Saphire, SME arm, and even the GST 801. Those were before I figured things out, and while they were very good components at the time, there was something missing.

The Verismo is a new purchase, but I have not bought anything else in years. My Miyajima Shilabe was getting old and soft around the edges. Why did I choose the Verismo? Simple, I contacted my dealer from that RMAF room I found, who knows my ears as we gravitate to the same sound. For me, he let me know that the Verismo is more detailed, nuanced, and not as in your face as the Shilabe. He was right, and that’s all I needed to get a tangible gain in performance.

One could say, I’m not close to a show and would have to book a flight and accommodations. I say, that what you may take away from that may be the most bang-for-the-buck upgrade ever. I don’t know, you may have already done this, and maybe I was damn lucky in my discovery. I sure am grateful for it.

@kennythekey A good report on your encountering of a variety of products and demonstrations that allowed for yourself to discover a Sound that was attractive and desirable to be maintained.

I am all for 'sit in front of' demonstrations and well aware of the footwork required to have these experiences. This method does in my experiences, offer much value, and not only limited to the introduction to devices/systems in use.