Recommendations For New Table/Arm Under $4k

Tvad, as I've said several times before, I thought that the Serac with the recommended arm pairing was $4600. The company's web site doesn't give any pricing info so I searched around and found a couple of references to $4600, so that's what I thought it cost with a "decent" arm. ("Decent" meaning what the marketer recommends).

Apparently that was either a different arm or you know of a lower price. It's that simple, nothing mysterious. If their web site clearly stated prices I might not have gotten confused.

Dave

Thanks. How could I miss that? I retraced my steps and I was looking around on the "Order" page and saw references to the Euro/$ exchange rate and delivery backlog estimates, but no pricing. I guess I got waylayed in scrolling down the "Serac" page by clicking on the "Bearing" or some other button before I got low enough on the page.

Unlike Bill, I'm not constantly in the market for a TT, but I'll give another listen at this year's RMAF. Maybe the room will be more helpful this year.

Dave

I would concur with previous advice. I am a new Galibier owner and can chat with you off-line regarding my experience (it was excellent).

If you are willing to stretch your $4000 'limit', you might also consider the TW Acustic Raven or the Teres 260/265. I've been fortunate to audition them all and each is outstanding in bringing you closer to the music. It's simply a matter of finding the one that matches your taste.

If you are thinking about going down this path, you're investing in the person behind the table. Fortunately you can't do better than the three principals: Jeff Catalano at Highwater Sound distributes TW Acustic, Chris Brady the designer of the Teres and Thom Mackris at Galibier are passionate about music and they treat their customers well.

I've also had the opportunity to spend some time with Ralph Bagge from Artisan and he is also first class and he gets extra points for being a White Stripes fan! I haven't had the chance to listen to the Artisan arm.

One final thought: if you purchase one of these tables you won't worry anymore about analog. You might trade of up for a better Teres or the bigger TW Acustic, but you'll stop thinking about other turntables and you'll just enjoy the music.

Remember, if you buy the best it only hurts once!

Tables from TW Acustic and Acoustic Solid in addition to the Serac are much better than the RM-10 and upgraded Scouts in that 4K price range.

And you aren't stuck with a JMW-9 or Pro-Ject tonearm.