$800 Cartridge Shootout and Upgrade Path

Hi Artar, yes there is something else in the equation. The OL Silver I use has the "HiFi" mod, which increases the horizontal effective mass greatly, and provides better matching with low compliance cartridges like the DL103R. The OL Encounter has a heavy bearing housing that also provides a similar effect.

Actually, the effective mass figures that are published are primarily vertical effective mass, and encompass mainly the tonearm alone. The horizontal effective mass encompasses any mass that rotates on the bearing along with the tonearm, such as the bearing housing. In effect, there are 2 effective mass figures for most toneams, horizontal and vertical, but vertical is the one that is most mentioned in specs, and horizontal is probably more important when figuring in the cartridge compliance and stability issues.

Some tonearms strive to have the same(or similar) effective mass in both planes. Others are significantly different in each plane. The needs of the tonearm are very different in each plane of motion. The vertical needs low effective mass for good warp tracking, and the horizontal may need higher effective mass to stabilize the arm against unwanted lateral movement caused by the stiffness of some low compliance cartridge suspensions overdriving the horizontal effective mass of the tonearm. Any lateral deflection of the tonearm over the groove during play caused by the movement of the stylus, will cause loss of information or reduced dynamics, because all the motion of the stylus is intended to be transduced into electrical signal by the cartridge generator coils, and movement of the tonearm actually cancels this process to some degree, depending on the amount of unwanted arm movement. The arm should remain motionless and centered over the groove during play. If it is not, then some of the energy that is supposed to be tranduced into electrical signal is lost in mechanical movement of the arm, and will never be heard. This is the subject of my HiFi tonearm modification that is discussed in depth in the "Strange Tonearm Tweak" thread in the Analog Forum pages.

Hello Artar1,

I read your post a few entries back on constructing a rack using sandboxes. FWIW, I have just completed doing a project just like this and have posted pictures on my system page. I borrowed the concept from Chris Brady's web page and just used different materials, but basically it is hardwood and laminated MDF. The shelves that float on the sand are hard maple and I took Chris's idea and used that sticky backed foam insulator material to fill in the gap around the edges. This works great as I had to use a putty knife to hold the foam back to allow air to escape while I was installing the shelves. I have my table sitting on the top shelf, but it is a suspended Basis. The sandbox would work very well, IMHO, for a Teres or any other audio equipment for that matter. The trick with a mass loaded table would be to make the stand below the sandbox very heavy and rigid. Not really that hard to do.

Artar1: Along the way in my recent return to vinyl sojourn, I came across a woodworker that builds custom maple sandboxes (with dovetailed corners etc.), platforms, stands, racks etc... http://timbernation.com/ampstand_PopUp.cfm. I purchased a custom sized (28” x 22” approx.) stained 4” thick maple platform from him for less than $250 (I believe it was $225.00) including delivery.

For my new Galibier Quattro (just received), I was leaning in the sandbox direction, and Chris quoted me a great price for a maple box and platform. However, for my application I decided to go with the 4" thick platform.

The 4” platform I did receive met my expectations in terms of size, and finish, plus the price was right – a good combination of positives, and highly recommended.

>>>Yes, I have made my decision, and it will be exactly what Twl recommended in the second message of this thread: Teres 245/OL Encounter/Shelter 501. I will say more about this selection in another post and provide my rationale if that would be of interest.<<<

It'd be of interest to me, at least!

Joshua

Joshua,

I am glad you asked me about my decision-making process in regards to choosing a turntable, tonearm, and cartridge. Now is a good time to talk about it.

Before I get started, I think it's important to make it clear that what I have chosen is based upon a subjective, personal decision and is not an attempt to prove, objectively, that my choice is the only one. There are many analog front ends that I find highly desirable and eminently musical, turntables that I can live with quite easily. But I cannot afford tham all. I would like to also emphasize that my decision is NOT an absolute one that has led to the unequivocal Holy Gail of sound. If I have learned anything these past 30 years is that there are many valid and emotionally moving ways to convey the music we love though a careful selection of audio components.

Over the last six months, I have read dozens of reviews about various turntables and tonearms in my own personal quest to find the "right sound." Five turntables continued to attract my attention time and again. These turntables included, in no particular order, the following: Teres 245, VPI Scoutmaster, Nottingham Space Deck, Michell Gyro SE, and Scheu Premier MK2 (Eurolab). This list does not suggest that these are the only worthy candidates available. Today, more than ever, there are so many turntable choices that it leads me to wonder how anyone, especially a vinyl-nubee like me, can make a viable choice? Nevertheless, these five candidates have captured my fancy, and it was from this group I finally picked a winner for me.

Despite a great review by Paul Seydor and Robert Greene of TAS, the Eurolab was the first to go only because I would have to order it directly from Germany, and I would not receive any local service as a result. The Teres offers all the same sonic benefits, I believe, and maybe more, using a somewhat similar design, but in a more beautiful package. If I lived in Europe, however, the tables would have been reversed. (Pun not intended!) I would have been more inclined to buy the Eurolab and would have saved money in the process.

The next turntable to go, even though it received a recommendation from TAS, was the Space Deck, a curious name to be sure. There are many people who own and love this turntable. I am sure it sounds great and offers wonderful price performance. However, I was a little put off by the description of how the bearing oil is added to the unit, and I do not much care for the MDF plinth, which is covered by a simulated blue-black marble coating. I really don't like simulated substances, especially a vinyl coating that is made to look like marble. I know this may sound shallow, but that's how it is. And finally the tonearm most often recommended for the Space Deck is the Space Arm, not a bad pairing actually. With this arm, however, I felt somewhat restricted; I wanted more selection in order to create my own synergy.

The final three decks presented a really tough choice. The VPI Scoutmaster represents the best price-performance leader of the group and received a strong recommendation by Mr. Analog himself, Michael Fremer of Stereophile. The Gyro SE has to be one of the coolest turntables around, and it too has received strong endorsements. The Teres, of the three remaining units, is the class beauty, but unfortunately it is not only more costly, but it has to be hand finished, which didn't sit well with me at first. So for a long time I went back and forth between the Scoutmaster and the Gyro.

Anytime I attempted to choose the Scoutmaster, I congratulated myself on being prudent and cost-conscience. But after a few days, the decision would not stick; I didn't feel I had reached closure. Maybe it was that MDF plinth again, but this time finished in a high-gloss coating. Sure MDF is known to reduce vibration and unwanted resonance, but isn't it really glorified, compressed sawdust: you know, wood fibers and synthetic resins bonded together under heat and pressure? That sounds cheap to me. And then there's that tonearm. If I went for the VPI Aries, I could mount any tonearm of my choice, but with the Scoutmaster I got the impression, rightly or wrongly, that the best tonearm would be the JMW-9, which I feel lacks true anitskating. Twisting the tonearm cable doesn't sound very precise to me! Just how many turns are required and where do I make them? Thus, when I couldn't answer those questions to my satisfaction, I would jump to the Gyro thinking that a suspended design was the best way to go, even though some had argued that a sprung deck might be a little more "plush" sounding than a mass-loaded unit like the VPI. Also, the Gryo is not as easy to set up as the VPI, or so I was told.

While I went back and forth between the VPI and Gyro, the Teres kept grabbing my attention. It was that gorgeous rosewood base, that thick dazzling acrylic platter, and that awe-inspiring 50-pound mass that caused me to return to it again and again.

Eventually I had enough of this unabashed wavering so I forced myself to make a choice: the Gyro SE and the Teres entered the final round. At last I was making some progress.

End of Part One...