What turntables do you use? Pictures would be nice as well :-)

[Robert Young]

It’s not that I’m bothered by avarice or extreme wealth, which I‘m not, it far simpler than that. It’s just that I’ve never heard of most of the products or brands. I read this morning about a brand that makes tools for cartridge set-up. I have the Dr Fiekert protractor, two electronic balances (the Rega one and a $10 Amazon one as a check) and various things that I use, like a compact mirror, some 3mm Perspex spacers, mini levels etc. I can’t measure the tracking angle, nor do I lose sleep about it.

If we’re going to talk money … from age 7 I was delivered to and from school with a friend. It would either be my mum in her Honda 360, or my friend’s car, which was a Rolls Royce driven by a Portuguese chauffeur called Abolino. He had the hat, the whole kit and kaboodle. From age 8 it was the bus, so I was fine with downsizing from a young age.

You might prejudge this kid and his parents, but his father grew up in poverty and his mother was one of the few people to survive being born in Auschwitz. Someone spending $1m on an audio system may be a billionaire for whom the money is a financial footnote, or someone spending his every last cent on hifi because it’s his only interest in life. It is easy to judge such people, but there are people who spend every last cent on opera tickets or [insert favourite pop star] tickets.

Music is unique as an art form as it exists in almost every society on earth and it is usually free (unless you’re a fan of Wagner or Taylor Swift). Recorded music has never been more accessible on high quality audio devices. It was just a surprise to find there was another entire level of audio beyond my horizon.

And this why i’m here: many posters on this site are great at descibing what i most likely will never hear. I still learn from them as i try to match my experience with their descriptions.

So to get back on-topic, how about some more pics of your awesome turntable?!?

 

[ssfas]

And this why i’m here: many posters on this site are great at descibing what i most likely will never hear. I still learn from them as i try to match my experience with their descriptions.

So to get back on-topic, how about some more pics of your awesome turntable?!?

So this is the story.

I went to an audio show and met Pete Curran from Claro (he's their in-house designer) and saw his deck. I was increasingly fed up with the Clearaudio Unify unipivot arm. So I called Pete. The history was that some years earlier Claro was paid about $75,000 to assist on design and to fabricate a turntable. The work proceeded and then the client disappeared. So they finished it and sold the 25 or 50 units they'd planned to produce. They had good feedback, made some improvements and brought out a new version.

Claro's in-house fabrication facilities are of very high quality. It was obvious from looking at the product. It had also garnered three reviews, one by Jimmy Hughes. He is a well-known reviewer, he wrote the manual on LP12 set-up, very technically knowledgable and owner of perhaps the finest vinyl collection in the UK. What's more, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical recorded music like none other. Here's an article about Jimmy. You can tell from his listening room he's a little unusual.

James Michael Hughes – Vinyl Powered

www.thevinyladventure.com

Jimmy is reserved and fastidious in equal measure. His review involved using the machine for 3 months. He's extremely analytical and to the point. I knew him as his day job was Head of UK Customer Service for Leica. He did my sensor cleans, we'd chat about music and as it was a free service I'd try and find him a record he didn't have. So I went to see Jimmy, I got a sensor clean and a lecture about this turntable. After that it was a simple decision.

Jimmy was also an expert on cameras - all cameras, besides Leica. I frequented a used camera store next door to the Savoy Hotel. The manager told me Jimmy was often in there picking out another camera or lens he'd not used. He probably dismantled them all as well. He had a great eye for value.

Anyway, this is the bearing and drive mechanism.


This is the underside of the plinth. One piece construction, two recesses for the motors and speed control circuits, power cable and arm mount points.


p.s. Whilst typing I received an email copy of Hifi+. Therein Jimmy reviews a Wolfgang Schneiderhan 34 CD box set and the Lowther Hegeman Sound Reproducer floorstanding loudspeaker. The latter is a thing of beauty that first reared its head in 1951. They now cost £54,000 for one or £96,000 for two, he says you could happily live with one. Both reviews are concise (2 pages for the speakers, one for the CDs), erudite and masterful compared to the streams of garbage you normally get these days.

 

[Robert Young]

So this is the story.

I went to an audio show and met Pete Curran from Claro (he's their in-house designer) and saw his deck. I was increasingly fed up with the Clearaudio Unify unipivot arm. So I called Pete. The history was that some years earlier Claro was paid about $75,000 to assist on design and to fabricate a turntable. The work proceeded and then the client disappeared. So they finished it and sold the 25 or 50 units they'd planned to produce. They had good feedback, made some improvements and brought out a new version.

Claro's in-house fabrication facilities are of very high quality. It was obvious from looking at the product. It had also garnered three reviews, one by Jimmy Hughes. He is a well-known reviewer, he wrote the manual on LP12 set-up, very technically knowledgable and owner of perhaps the finest vinyl collection in the UK. What's more, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of classical recorded music like none other. Here's an article about Jimmy. You can tell from his listening room he's a little unusual.

James Michael Hughes – Vinyl Powered

www.thevinyladventure.com

Jimmy is reserved and fastidious in equal measure. His review involved using the machine for 3 months. He's extremely analytical and to the point. I knew him as his day job was Head of UK Customer Service for Leica. He did my sensor cleans, we'd chat about music and as it was a free service I'd try and find him a record he didn't have. So I went to see Jimmy, I got a sensor clean and a lecture about this turntable. After that it was a simple decision.

Jimmy was also an expert on cameras - all cameras, besides Leica. I frequented a used camera store next door to the Savoy Hotel. The manager told me Jimmy was often in there picking out another camera or lens he'd not used. He probably dismantled them all as well. He had a great eye for value.

Anyway, this is the bearing and drive mechanism.
View attachment 117594

This is the underside of the plinth. One piece construction, two recesses for the motors and speed control circuits, power cable and arm mount points.
View attachment 117595

p.s. Whilst typing I received an email copy of Hifi+. Therein Jimmy reviews a Wolfgang Schneiderhan 34 CD box set and the Lowther Hegeman Sound Reproducer floorstanding loudspeaker. The latter is a thing of beauty that first reared its head in 1951. They now cost £54,000 for one or £96,000 for two, he says you could happily live with one. Both reviews are concise (2 pages for the speakers, one for the CDs), erudite and masterful compared to the streams of garbage you normally get these days.
View attachment 117593

Wow. Gobsmacked. Thanks for that!!

 

[ssfas]

Immediately before this deck, Jimmy Hughes had been using and reviewed an EAT Forte-S with a PU7 arm. Claro and EAT Forte have some significant design similarities, with dual AC motors and high mass platter. For all the absorption built into the EAT, the Claro measures slightly better. The EAT are very heavy, with solid metal platter compared to Claro's perimeter weighted Acetal.

The EAT in wood finish are very pretty, with a bespoke tonearm designed by Ikeda. The EAT units have borne the test of time and proven popular. It was a tough call then and still is now.

 

[Salectric]

View attachment 117323
V.Y.G.E.R. Atlantis v4 with new TITAN controller.

A very impressive looking beast! Is the black base of the Atlantis aluminum or some other material?

 

[Bobvin]

A very impressive looking beast! Is the black base of the Atlantis aluminum or some other material?

To my knowledge, it is a high density MDF.

 

[DDgtt]

There's simply nothing like a Kronos turntable system. Beauty and Sonics!

And this why i’m here: many posters on this site are great at descibing what i most likely will never hear. I still learn from them as i try to match my experience with their descriptions.

So to get back on-topic, how about some more pics of your awesome turntable?!?

 

[Audiofreak71]

Teres Audio with Rosewood plinth and lead shot in the plinth, Audiomods Series 6 tonearm with silver loom and VTA on the fly. Cart is an Air Tight PC-3. Second table is a Marc Morin modded ARXA in real Lacewood and custom painted top plate, cart on it now is the ZYX 4D SB2. Shown with my Jico Seto Hori

 

[Robert Young]

Teres Audio with Rosewood plinth and lead shot in the plinth, Audiomods Series 6 tonearm with silver loom and VTA on the fly. Cart is an Air Tight PC-3. Second table is a Marc Morin modded ARXA in real Lacewood and custom painted top plate, cart on it now is the ZYX 4D SB2. Shown with my Jico Seto Hori


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Glad to see another Teres! But they both are really gorgeous.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Glad to see another Teres! But they both are really gorgeous.

Thank You! yours gorgeous as well , I love the cocobolo platter , beautiful!

 

[ssfas]

Teres Audio with Rosewood plinth and lead shot in the plinth, Audiomods Series 6 tonearm with silver loom and VTA on the fly. Cart is an Air Tight PC-3. Second table is a Marc Morin modded ARXA in real Lacewood and custom painted top plate, cart on it now is the ZYX 4D SB2. Shown with my Jico Seto Hori


View attachment 117615View attachment 117616

Those are very nice indeed. I've heard great things about the Audiomods arm.

One issue I have is that my wife does not permit any shiny metal or shiny anything in our house. Literally, none, not a chrome tap, a gold anything. The only exception is the counterweight and head shell on my Origin Live tonearm.

The Teres would be fine, it's a very nice looking thing, Kronos would soon be out in the front yard, in little bits.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Those are very nice indeed. I've heard great things about the Audiomods arm.

One issue I have is that my wife does not permit any shiny metal or shiny anything in our house. Literally, none, not a chrome tap, a gold anything. The only exception is the counterweight and head shell on my Origin Live tonearm.

The Teres would be fine, it's a very nice looking thing, Kronos would soon be out in the front yard, in little bits.

Thank You! They make a natural matt finish of the Audiomods series 6 arm so not blingy like my polished one. Yeah a Kronos would be nice but they are very over the top, still wouldn’t mind owning and I’m lucky to have a wife who doesn’t mind what’s in my 2ch room.

 

[Robert Young]

Thank You! They make a natural matt finish of the Audiomods series 6 arm so not blingy like my polished one. Yeah a Kronos would be nice but they are very over the top, still wouldn’t mind owning and I’m lucky to have a wife who doesn’t mind what’s in my 2ch room.

Teres Audio with Rosewood plinth and lead shot in the plinth, Audiomods Series 6 tonearm with silver loom and VTA on the fly. Cart is an Air Tight PC-3. Second table is a Marc Morin modded ARXA in real Lacewood and custom painted top plate, cart on it now is the ZYX 4D SB2. Shown with my Jico Seto Hori


View attachment 117615View attachment 117616

Just thinking (always a bad idea) that it would be interesting to read about cart/arm/‘table combinations, and why people choose what they did. I know i have the most fun when i’m finding synergy in that rather challenging mix. Would need to be a new topic, so it foesn’t detract from the purity (prurience?) of this turntable porn thread.

 

[Audiofreak71]

Just thinking (always a bad idea) that it would be interesting to read about cart/arm/‘table combinations, and why people choose what they did. I know i have the most fun when i’m finding synergy in that rather challenging mix. Would need to be a new topic, so it foesn’t detract from the purity (prurience?) of this turntable porn thread.

For me before I got the Audiomods series 6 arm I had More carts than I do now all MC and I found myself needing an easier way of adjusting VTA. Many of the carts benefited from tall up or down depending on which one so the Audiomods Series 6 had many positive reviews fit the bill and imo looked nice so it was the logical choice for me. My other table has a detachable headshell and for me that’s the only thing I wish the Audiomods had but the trade off with my other table is no VTA adjustments at all.

 

[ssfas]

For me before I got the Audiomods series 6 arm I had More carts than I do now all MC and I found myself needing an easier way of adjusting VTA. Many of the carts benefited from tall up or down depending on which one so the Audiomods Series 6 had many positive reviews fit the bill and imo looked nice so it was the logical choice for me. My other table has a detachable headshell and for me that’s the only thing I wish the Audiomods had but the trade off with my other table is no VTA adjustments at all.

I had a Jelco 850 for the same reason - detachable heads - I had a mono cart and a cheaper m/m cart for poorer quality records. There ws a 0.5 g difference and VTA is irrelevant for mono.

One reason for getting a Reed arm was being able to mount onto their detachable plates. I have a couple of spare plates, haven't used them yet.

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

My Brinkmann Balance with RöNt 2. Driving a Graham Phantom III with Etna Lambda and a Reed P3-12 Pernambuco with Etsuro Urushi Bordeaux.

 

[DetroitVinylRob]

My Avid Acutus SP driving a SME V 9” rewired by Kondo San w/ his “fairy hair” silver litz with a Miyajima Labs Zero mono cart

 

[kodomo]

A very very rare sight and sound that I am enjoying right now. A Sony PS-X9 turntable with the first diamond cantilever and stylus spu style cartridge from Sony, the XL88D Custom.

 

[Robert Young]

A very very rare sight and sound that I am enjoying right now. A Sony PS-X9 turntable with the first diamond cantilever and stylus spu style cartridge from Sony, the XL88D Custom.View attachment 118126

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Remarkable. Looks museum quality. I’ve been hunting for that cartridge (and arm!) for a while…currently i’ve got the xl-55 pro on a Bokrand on an L75/PTP 6, and it is a stunningly good cartridge. I can only imagine how fabulous the ‘88 is.

 

[Lagonda]

A very very rare sight and sound that I am enjoying right now. A Sony PS-X9 turntable with the first diamond cantilever and stylus spu style cartridge from Sony, the XL88D Custom.View attachment 118126

View attachment 118127View attachment 118128

How does it sound ? Are you using the built in phono pre ?