A prospective Teres owner with questions


The Cult Of The Teres has nearly convinced me to take a chance with a basic Teres -- the 150 TT. BUT, I figured you guys could, as the Cowardly Lion says after declaring his intent to rescue Dorothy, talk me OUT of it. Um, I mean, into it...Well, you know what I mean...

I've developed some nerve damage in my hands, so DIYs aren't the best route for me. However, TWL, who seems revered on this site, has the OL Silver tonearm (mine is on the way), and probably has the same model as I'm considering buying. Despite the fact that I have no clue as to whether or not TWL is secretly an axe murderer, his take on turntables is quite knowledgeable, so who am I to buck the masses?
Onward to the questions...

1)Saying a setup is simple is easy to say, but quivering hands might make a mistake. Is there anything that could break during setup?
2) I will, of course, tell Chris, at the time of my order that I'm also getting a VTA adjustor with the tonearm. Will that make the "drilling" any more complicated?
3)The sonics. (And yes, I can ask Chris, but there's only one of him and a million of you ["...it takes a village...]about this.)How is the Teres at retrieving very, very low level details such as side/back walls (aha! The infamous "imaging/soundstaging freak rears his head!)ambience retrieval and soundstage HEIGHT.
Lastly, is it warm -- or even overly warm in the midbass region? I've owned a Versa Dynamics 2.3 for years, but it's back in California waiting to be shipped to John Bicht for repair(John expects a 4-6 month wait; it's not his main profession anymore, and he has to squeeeeeeeze it in), so I'm buying another turntable to live with given that I just bought a Microgroove Plus last week -- along with the Silver tonearm. I have a Rega 3 that I gave my sister right here in Connecticut. I'm accustomed to the Versa's depiction of music, but it's not a warm turntable at all. So, I want to be prepared in case the Teres is warm, or dark [dont' like a "dark" sound very much].
For all the rest of the turntables traits, I trust you guys' take on it. I've only been reading the entire Teres threads for the last 36 hours (it's VERY, VERY, VERY cold here in the Northeast today). NOBODY is going outside who doesn't want frostbite. That gives me time to become positively neurotically compulsive/obsessive about this turntable....and you're all invited to observe...
Okay, I'm waiting -- and wanting -- to be (completely)converted. Help me out here, gentlemen (and ladies).
gbmcleod
...with the Teres, whichever one I buy. I'm not really looking for an "ultimate" level of sonics. What I'm looking for is a deep level of emotional response to the music I play THROUGH the Teres. And that can't be given to me by ANY component. Only my emotional depth can give me that.

On a less mystic level, I do know that the other components in the system must be in correct phase, have low noise, etc. to provide the "fun" aspects of sound reproduction (I almost wrote "music reproduction," but soundstaging and imaging have nothing to do with the musical experience per se, and much to do with the recording experience). I was in the business for a while and I heard some of the "best" stuff.
Still, some components ALLOW the completeness of soundstaging; others are less complete in their depiction of what the microphones hear. I still think it's fun to hear both the music AND the truck driving past outside the hall. My Child aspect is well and alive!
Hi Doug! I'll probably take you up on that! I can't tell you how exciting it was to find out that you were so close to where I live. And on top of that, I only picked your name out of the heaps of Teres names in this thread using intuition. How coincidental is it that you happen to live in Connecticut 20 miles away? Guess the Teres and I were meant to be together.

>

I'll look for the phone number online unless you have it handy.
Doug, with VERY good reason you love your Teres rig, and I wish that I had it myself. However, some folks consider my Spacedeck to be on the dark side of neutral with respect to tables and I can get all the detail you mention with my Spacedeck/Illustrious/501 combo. Well, maybe I didn't really try to distinguish between mouth and nose breathing. :-) What part of what recording would I need to spin to test that?
David, I sort of assumed a "dark" component would tend to mask some details, since they seem to live in the higher frequencies IME. I've been playing around with small changes in loading and can reproduce something like a darkening effect by going from say 41 ohms (too bright) to 38 or 36 (too dark). I'm willing to be educated by a Spacedeck of course, especially if I can visit tonight. It's friggin' cold here!

Try the Classic reissue of LSC-2201, Mussorgsky/Pictures at an Exhibition/Reiner/CSO. It's a good recording though not quite world class, but I love the performance. The long trombone solo I mentioned is on side 1. It's quite amazing to hear the incredible breath control of the anonymous trombonist.
Doug, you are welcome here anytime. YOU'RE cold? Given TOm's description of his abode, I suspect he is busy devising a heating coil for his platter, lest a nice thick layer of frost form! :-0

I am mostly in jest with respect to the above. I have heard the Spacedeck described as dark by some, but I find mine basically neutral. Perhaps the OL/Shelter combo adjusts. Then again, I have also heard some refer to the 501 as dark, so there you go.

I don't have that, or any, copy of "Pictures" currently, having sent one to somebody... It is just more than cool to hear such similar on LP's and then let someone who usually listens to a lesser refined system in on the experience.