Kudos on the setup Calle-- I have the 4point as well--interesting to hear your observations /etc when finalised for playback
Thanks.
I'm a long time Kuzma-user, so my opinions and what I write is obviously coloured by that. I have waited years for the Stabi M. I decided in 2009 to get it, when I saw it the first time. So I've been suffering for more than six years.
Stabi Ref is truly a great turntable, and I prefer that even to XL. Of course XL is more refined in many ways, but it falls outside my "frames" of a turntable. Also in terms of cost. I've heard a fully pimped Stabi S with 4Point present music very closely in par with XL for some records, even if it is not as accurate in the decoding of bass and complex music. Of course.
That is the reason for my waiting.
Stabi M may also appear grotesque, visually. My equipment is normally sized, but with the M in the system, they look like half scale.
Anyway, it's in the operation I experience the differences. The chassis versions of Stabi feels more correct to flip LPs on, I think.
Now that I have auditioned for several days, I think Stabi M superseeds XL on some important points. It means quite a lot to me. The M has a more direct and detailed presentation in the presence area. For midrange and midbass, it feels like I get as close to the source as possible with vinyl. I'm not saying this is a fact, I even think it's not. It's just that I have never heard an XL perform like that. I thought Lyra Kleos should be limiting compared to e.g. Skala, but I can't make myself here that. Perhaps (probably) this will show later on, we'll see.
Kleos sounds soft and nice, despite an impressive authority and slabang it sounds surprisingly airy and natural. I really mean that. I got surprised.
I had connected an Entreq Minimus on each speaker output some weeks ago, resulting in an essentially lower noise, and of course this was positive also with the M.
Many of us ask themselves about "bottlenecks" in their systems from time to time.
I haven't felt this too often recent years, but this turntable was a clear sign that I haven't heard what I haven't heard.
I'm not at all ready with the setup and tuning (in fact I haven't really started), but it was a long time since I got such an ear-opening experience from LP to LP.
Next step is to disassemble the racks and start from scratch levelling the steel frame etc.