Dr. Feickert Trio SE and Kuzma 4point9

[HPower]

PS:

Tomorrow afternoon I am planning to go listen and compare a Volare / OL, SilverMK4 and a Woodpecker / TS.
I am hoping this audition can bring some clarity as to what route to go.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Please give us a full report on your comparison!

 

[HPower]

Well, I was able to spend a hour or so listening to the 2 Dr. Feikert tables, the Volare and the Woodpecker.

The Volare was equiped with the OL Silver MK4 tone arm and a brand new Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. MasterTracker cart.

The Woodpecker had the Thomas Schick 12 inch arm with a newly broken in Koetsu, Black Goldline mounted.

We listened to both through a very nice Accuphase integrated amp with a Gold Note, PH-10 and matching external power supply.
We briefly started with a pair of Harbeth speakers, I think they were 30.2 XDs, but when I mentioned I had Klipsch speakers at home,
we switch to a pair of Cornwalls.
That horn sound was more familiar to my system in my basement.

Both TTs sounded pretty good with the various tracks that we tried.

The Volare sounded just a bit more forward with a slightly smaller soundstage.
The Woodpecker was more balanced overall, not as forward / bright, but with a fuller, warmer midrange.

It was not like the Volare package was bad, it was more about the Woopecker package just being "easier" to listen to.

I emphasize "package", because I feel the main reason for the difference in the sound presentation was due to the 2 cartridges.
Maybe the tonearms came into play but with a non broken in lower level MoFi cart vs. a broken in higher level Koetsu,
not really a fair apples to apples comparison.

After the demo, and then going over the $ numbers, I sighed up for the Woodpecker, which I will take delivery of in a couple weeks.

For the time being I will use my Charisma, Reference One cartridge, but after hearing the Koetsu Black Goldline, I will consider
a Keotsu further down the road.

And to stay on topic, I think having a table of the level of the Woodpecker, the option of upgrading to a 4Point arm
could be a viable consideration in the future?

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you!

And congratulations on your decision!

 

[Arewethereyet]

The Dr Feikert Trio SE showed up today. First record ordered up Lenny Kravitz greatest hits. Paired with a Kuzma 4Point9 and Hana Umami Red cart. Boy, the spindle is tight on some of my record collection. The bass was a little too full during the first few hours but settled in about 3 hours in. Very impressed with this combo so far. Still breaking in the cart. I also added the TRU Sweep but could not fit the TRU Lift between the tone arm base and the platter. Currently spinning Time Out by Dave Brubeck quartet from Quality Record Pressings.

 

[HPower]

Congrats Arewethereyet!

With a lot more fiddling than I anticipated, last night I was able to get my Tru-Lift set up on my new Woodpecker.
Mind you, I have the 12 inch Schick arm mounted so it is back from the platter a couple or 3 more inches than you 4PT9.

I did screw up measuring before ordering my Tru-Lift and ordered the #3 with the Base which ended up being about
.25inches too high to fit under the arm tube.
Not the end of the world, I just took the base off and raised the adjustable column up.
I may see if Integrityhifi Canada will exchange mine for a #2 and Base.

How would you rate the Tru-Sweep?
The only gripe I have with getting back into Vinyl playback is record surface noise and "some" poor sounding LPs.
Choosing good sounding titles is on me, but if proper cleaning along with the Tru-Sweep can make a quieter listening experience, I may get one.

 

[Arewethereyet]

Congrats Arewethereyet!

With a lot more fiddling than I anticipated, last night I was able to get my Tru-Lift set up on my new Woodpecker.
Mind you, I have the 12 inch Schick arm mounted so it is back from the platter a couple or 3 more inches than you 4PT9.

I did screw up measuring before ordering my Tru-Lift and ordered the #3 with the Base which ended up being about
.25inches too high to fit under the arm tube.
Not the end of the world, I just took the base off and raised the adjustable column up.
I may see if Integrityhifi Canada will exchange mine for a #2 and Base.

How would you rate the Tru-Sweep?
The only gripe I have with getting back into Vinyl playback is record surface noise and "some" poor sounding LPs.
Choosing good sounding titles is on me, but if proper cleaning along with the Tru-Sweep can make a quieter listening experience, I may get one.

View attachment 106598 View attachment 106599 View attachment 106600

Nice setup. You have much more room than I do for the TRU lift. I am very impressed with the TRU sweep and can recommend it. It virtually eliminates all pops. I do sweep the record with an AudioQuest brush before each play which helps as well. Here is the photo from above with the sweep in action. It tracks the record reliably as the needle.

 

[HPower]

Getting the Led out!

Ya, you don't have much real estate in there for a Tru-Lift.
That is good to know the Tru-Sweep does a good job!
I may see if I can exchange the Base for partial credit towards a Sweep.

What phono stage are you running?
I am using a Vista Audio Phono2, which is a budget pre that is doing a decent job but I would like
something more in line with this new table and cartridge (Charisma, Reference One).
On my radar so far are the Pass Labs, XP-17 and Modwright, PH 9.0X.

Happy Listening!

 

[Arewethereyet]

Getting the Led out!

Ya, you don't have much real estate in there for a Tru-Lift.
That is good to know the Tru-Sweep does a good job!
I may see if I can exchange the Base for partial credit towards a Sweep.

What phono stage are you running?
I am using a Vista Audio Phono2, which is a budget pre that is doing a decent job but I would like
something more in line with this new table and cartridge (Charisma, Reference One).
On my radar so far are the Pass Labs, XP-17 and Modwright, PH 9.0X.

Happy Listening!

I’m running the new new PrimaLuna EVO 100 Phono, only about 50 hours so far and about 15 hours now on the TT. I expect both to open up more in the coming weeks. If I had not picked up the PL, I would have chosen the Pass Labs or Manley phono stage. I considered the PS Audio stellar but concerned about reported issues with the remote control and access to functionality only available via the remote control.

 

[kozzmo]

gonna ping this to see if there are any longer term opinions of this table...