Esoteric Grandioso T1 turntable arrives; G1X Master Clock coming.
- Thread starter Mike Lavigne
- Start date
I owned a Transrotor long time ago but not with a magnetic drive.
On the other hand I listened many times a FMD Transrotor with 3 motors owned by a friend.
There is nothing special about it’s sound. AF3P, Verdier and SME 30/12 are much better turntables. I believe Esoteric is even much better. IMHO it’s not about the technology it’s about the implementation.
On the other hand I listened many times a FMD Transrotor with 3 motors owned by a friend.
There is nothing special about it’s sound. AF3P, Verdier and SME 30/12 are much better turntables. I believe Esoteric is even much better. IMHO it’s not about the technology it’s about the implementation.
Last edited:
Can't comment about AF3 or Verdier but I would take it over a SME deck any day of the week.
YMMV but my friend took SME over it (Transrotor) and was happy everyday he listened.
Last edited:
I am the friend Mike mentioned here. I was so impressed that I bought my own T1. I also bought a new EMIA SUT. Living near Mike is awesome, but kind of hard on the wallet
Tell me about it....I am the friend Mike mentioned here. I was so impressed that I bought my own T1. I also bought a new EMIA SUT. Living near Mike is awesome, but kind of hard on the wallet
I just try to buy Mike's hand me downs.....I am the friend Mike mentioned here. I was so impressed that I bought my own T1. I also bought a new EMIA SUT. Living near Mike is awesome, but kind of hard on the wallet
this Sunday morning i got some analog going, earlier i did Muddy Waters 'Folk Singer' 1/2" 15ips tape (2 reels) direct dub from the 30ips, 1/4" master (played that on my Studer years ago before the dub. might have been a first gen safety). MR 70's lower the noise, raise the dynamics, add another level of grainless ease. a step into and look around feeling in the presentation.
for the last hour been doing Quartetto Italiano Beethoven Late Quartets on Philips, box set. first on the CS Port/Etsuro Gold, and now on the Esoteric T1 and the Koetsu Azule cart. the Koetsu seems to be breaking in, i bought it with under 20 hours on it. more timbral complexity. more precision. again, not sure what the Ikeda arm is doing in this equation, but the sexyness of the T1 w/clock speed thing is coming thru. the CS Port is also doing it's air bearing linear tracking ease, subtlety and space thing. fun to enjoy both nuanced viewpoints on the music. there is a solid completeness aspect to the sound on the T1. everything is so grounded and paced with maximum musical intent. string quartets really bring these things out.
the clock has now been on and plugged in since April 5th. i was gone for 4 days last week and had not played the T1 a few days prior to my trip. did not play it since i got back. i'd say to my ears it's a bit better now than before. a very subtle thing. and i'd be the first to admit expectation bias is another explanation. in any case it's a wow.
hope to hear about my arm boards tomorrow. now that everyone is back from Axpona.
for the last hour been doing Quartetto Italiano Beethoven Late Quartets on Philips, box set. first on the CS Port/Etsuro Gold, and now on the Esoteric T1 and the Koetsu Azule cart. the Koetsu seems to be breaking in, i bought it with under 20 hours on it. more timbral complexity. more precision. again, not sure what the Ikeda arm is doing in this equation, but the sexyness of the T1 w/clock speed thing is coming thru. the CS Port is also doing it's air bearing linear tracking ease, subtlety and space thing. fun to enjoy both nuanced viewpoints on the music. there is a solid completeness aspect to the sound on the T1. everything is so grounded and paced with maximum musical intent. string quartets really bring these things out.
the clock has now been on and plugged in since April 5th. i was gone for 4 days last week and had not played the T1 a few days prior to my trip. did not play it since i got back. i'd say to my ears it's a bit better now than before. a very subtle thing. and i'd be the first to admit expectation bias is another explanation. in any case it's a wow.
hope to hear about my arm boards tomorrow. now that everyone is back from Axpona.
Last edited:
I have this Philips box set and it is really good.
if i could channel @marty or @tima or a few other's musical vocabulary it would be much easier to answer your question.
and i still hesitate with the Esoteric/Ikeda/Koetsu as a don't know the arm/phono cable contribution.
the CS Port/Etsuro Gold is a classic string drive high mass tt with air bearing/air float linear tracker. but it's air supply is low flow, low pressure. so there is this complete lack of anything mechanical or non musical stress. the most subtle nuance and flow happens, yet the bass is taunt and visceral. the linear tracker does space and openness, but nothing bloomy or bloated. so the interaction of the Quartet is very natural and organic. the rhythm and pace is understated but expressive, with drama and flow. more right brain than left brain. you are hearing details and swings, but more tracking the whole than the parts. you melt into the music.
the Esolteric T1/Koetsu is more main stream in it's presentation, the music degrees more lively and pulsing with energy. it has the nuance and more apparent detail, and you are more aware of the detail, yet the flow has this rightness to it, like real life. it grips you in a different way. the string quartet is going someplace and taking you with it. a comparatively more focused presentation, although both have very low noise floors, the Esoteric is more revealing of the venue. the Esoteric is a rim drive idler, and does idler things other than zero noise. you are more aroused by the music. it's comparatively more visceral.
both are 5 tool players, they do everything very well. but directly comparing them things to do get sorted a bit. but if you only owned one, it would bring the whole picture. nothing lacking.
My curiosity is less how the T1 and CS P compare, and more how it likely fares versus you're now-departed Saskia.
The mag rim is always going to have more "drive" than the belt. How it compares and contrasts with the slate-based idler is what really interests me.
Is the T1 a somewhat "better" version of the Saskia ie less noise and artifacts leading to better resolution and musicality?
Ie is it a more refined sound than the Saskia, or altogether "different" sound?
Ie is mag rim drive really a new "thing"?
The mag rim is always going to have more "drive" than the belt. How it compares and contrasts with the slate-based idler is what really interests me.
Is the T1 a somewhat "better" version of the Saskia ie less noise and artifacts leading to better resolution and musicality?
Ie is it a more refined sound than the Saskia, or altogether "different" sound?
Ie is mag rim drive really a new "thing"?
Marc, I suspect the sense of "drive" is not such a simple thing. Both belt and the magnet can be adjusted for tension. When I adjust my thread tension and the torque of the motor, the music's "drive" is affected. Do people really think the Esoteric behaves and "sounds" like an idler table because the drive mechanism is near the rim of the platter?
i can tell you that the Saskia sounds phenomenal in it's new home. very happy for the proud new owner. and glad he is very happy. when i first heard it there it did arouse some wistfulness. i miss it for sure.
it is a wonder that the move of the Saskia model two to it's new place did not put us both in the hospital. there were very tense moments.
too soon to tell how they compare. need my reference arms and phono cables and cartridges. preliminarily what i can tell is that the T1 w/clock seems at least as solid and steady, if not more so. noise is likely lower. the T1 seems like it projects more energy, it's livelier. maybe more space. as far as authority that's where i need my other arms. and tonal density which was a Saskia trait can't tell yet. bass also is a question which is better and in what way.
my guess is that my departed very bespoke Saskia model two, of which Win tells me might be the best one he ever built, is on a similar level as the T1. but only one arm. i have great respect for what Win built. i view the Saskia model two at the tip top level.
the clock might be the separator at the end of the day.
but i'm just getting to know the T1.
Last edited:
Mike's the one to tell us, having owned two of the best, his Dobbins 301 and the Saskia.
Another interesting comparator is his old Kodo The Beat, which I believe was also mag drive, but not a typical DD.
"Kodo, The Beat" is not magnet drive, it has a direct drive motor. not sure AC or DC. he did do something in the motor to reduce the cogging. but don't recall the term for it. it does have excellent energy and drive. i liked the energy and drive and flow of the NVS just a little better at that time, 12 years ago now. i thought that the NVS was closer to the Rockport Sirius III in that way.
Last edited:
yes, looks like that is what he called it. that term never registered in my mind.
the Beat has an air gap between the motor and the stator. i don't know how unusual that is. that is a different design that other magnetic drive tt's. i can tell you the NVS was as or more steady than The Beat when they were side by side in my room in 2011. certainly Kodo the Beat is a fine turntable.
Last edited:
Mike, I believe the forthcoming (two years and counting) Wilson Benesch GMTOne will also be a proprietary "mag drive" technology.
It was being touted at £300k to include two arms, the T1 looks a bargain in comparison, lol.
It was being touted at £300k to include two arms, the T1 looks a bargain in comparison, lol.
Similar threads
