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Next Turntable

I've been reading, digging through archives, studying anecdotal comments, and the like, here and on the Vinyl Asylum, to figure out my next TT move. I am strictly a vinyl-only guy, and for those of you who remember my other posts, recently came back to audio after a decade long hiatus. I have been revamping my system, the only remaining piece from the early 90's being a Well-Tweaked, Well Tempered TT.
I want to take a step up in the TT world. Here are my parameters:

1. No twenty thousand plus investment. I could see 10k for a table, sans arm and cartridge, but that's about where I'm going to draw the line; obviously, if I don't have to spend this, I won't.
2. Not too tweaky. Don't want to worry about air pressure in suspensions or arms, constant adjustment, or endless fine tuning. While I'm not against the occasional adjustment, I want to listen to music, not pay homage to the equipment.
3. No overt colorations, but the TT does not have to be the
last word in technology, exotic materials, or dramatic looks. It just has to play music, and combined with an appropriate arm, give me deep bass, 'jump' or thwack, open
airy and non-bloated mids and extended highs. If I have to trade off anything, I suppose that would be the highest octave extension in favor of musicality and palpability of the rest.
4. Some of the contenders- Kuzma Stabi Reference; VPI TNT 6
(perhaps Hotrod, but the changes in the platter and bearing, given some of the negatives I've read about the HRX, make me hesitate); Brinkman- overbudget, unless slightly used; Simon
Yorke, ditto. Others might be a Basis, Sota, or Well-Tempered Reference. All are fine tables, but I think I would like to get as close to
state of the art in this step; on the other hand, I'm not
looking for this month's 'hot product' since I tend to hang on to equipment. Turntable comparisons are pretty close to impossible, I dunno, maybe a dealer would be willing to set one up in my home, but I don't see that happening even at this price point, and even if it did, having one table for a short period of time is not going to be too telling.
As to arms, I like the Graham. The Kuzma air arm looks neat, but it violates my set it and forget it rule. If I went with the Brinkman, I'd probably do their arm.
That's it for now. TIA.
128x128whart
whart's avatar
whart OP
2,971 posts
 
Gonna try the big Transfiguration- have a old Parnassus that is readily trade-up-able to a Titan- have a Van de Hul something or other sitting around- and my old friend George has insisted that I try a couple, including the Colibri. Why, any suggestions? The system, as you know, is AG Duos, Audiopax 88's and the Steelhead. (Which the dealer who sold me the TT thought was a sucky preamp/phono stage for making music, but what do I know- it does seem to let alot of music through, and even with my ears previously tuned to the lushness of my old SP-10, I don't find it 'unmusical'). Thanks for the kudos, Brian.
I am looking forward to installing the table. And, while I thought I would be able to avoid expensive stands, etc., my trusty ol' Target TT wall shelf is probably not up to the task of the 88lb. Kuzma. So, it looks like one of those Finite Elemente wall shelves. I don't have the right wall height to install the Grand Prix wall shelf, and I've never had good turntable fortune using floor stands. I thought about having my friend, a chopper builder, fabricate or have machined something really heavy duty, but by the time I'm done with him, have it powder coated or whatever, and buy a decent shelf, I'm close to the same, and it probably won't be as good. Nobody accused me of being a DIY'er. Oh, well....
markd51
761 posts
 
Hi Wartz, I reckon opinions are like you know what, and everybody's got one! (lol)

None the less, when you factor in everything associated with the Table, such as Arm, Cartridge, A great Phono Stage to compliment it, it sure isn't hard to come to the $10K mark, in fact, given the money in hand, I could easily exceed that price tag by three times in 20 seconds! (And I consider myself an analog dummy)

Yes, the Graham arm would probably be on my own personal short list (If I had the money!). Truly beautiful stuff indeed!

I think you'll agree though, there comes a point in price in the ultra high-end where one starts cutting hairs, and the bottom line I guess is "How deep are your pockets"?

Then once you somewhat achieve Analog nirvana to a given point, I would then think one would start carefully examining, and questioning whether the rest of the system (Speakers-Amps-Pre-Amps) was up to snuff?
Yes, the VPI's are nice, and I probably wouldn't discount the HRX so quickly until you hear it.
Compliment it with an Arm, a Cartridge, and a Phono Stage if you don't already have these, and you're easily looking at $25K combined cost.

I've always liked the VPI Aries myself, and you'll agree that there are numerous tables in this price range.

Tough to say what I'd ultimately buy given the bucks? Maybe an offering from Clearaudio? Manley Steelhead?
Top of the Line Lyra Cart, or Koestsu? Tough choices, even for a dreamer like myself.

Me, I settled on more meager equipment, a VPI HW-19 with MK-IV Platter, Sutherland PhD, Glider Cart, AQ Arm.
Not bad stuff, and enjoyable, but certainly not the last word in Analog. (Maybe 20 years ago it would be)

I reckon the best advice would be to do more homework, sleep on it, and given time, try making what you think is the wisest decision. Mark
dougdeacon
3,338 posts
 
Whart,

Rather than trade for a Titan, you might consider having Lyra rebuild your Parnassus into an Olympos. Jonathon Carr told me that was possible. The Olympos is the best cartridge I've heard, though I haven't heard a Titan and have no idea how they'd compare.

Doug
whart's avatar
whart OP
2,971 posts
 
NOt a bad thought. The Olympus is on the high side of expensive cartridges, but the 'trade in' allowance for my Parnassus apparently takes account of the fact that it is an early one, having platinum plates sourced from unobtainium, and is what is used in the Olympos.
The dealer who sold me the TT is strongly of the belief that the Titan is the wrong cartridge for this horn system- same guy who really doesn't like the Steelhead either. I will admit that hearing the Transfiguration on the big Kuzma, playing on a pair of those JBL K2s powered by Viva stuff was pretty impressive, but i didn't know the track he played, and of course, that's one, five minute impression.
The other thing I'm finding is that the Duos are really tricky on the bass. Maybe part of it is my room, and perhaps the change in TT, arm and cartridge will make some real difference-Mark51- i've just gone through an entire reassessment of my system as you've described, and changed everything, now, including the TT--but having a selection of cartridges is probably the only real way to hear what they can do in my system.
rwd
695 posts
 

Hey Whart, what a great choice you made!! I hope you enjoy and please keep us posted as to your comments!
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