New OMA turntable

[Mike Lavigne]

well....i got to hand it to Mr. Weiss on the timing, today in the mail is my Oct Stereophile and guess what's on the cover and reviewed in Fremer's column?

intentionally blurred due to copyright concerns. happy to delete the picture if i've crossed a line.

 

[wil]

It does seem to be directly influenced by the Guggenheim, but nowhere near as graceful. I do think it’s pretty cool looking though.

If I were a turntable guy, I’d be drawn to the American Sound tables.
The Air Force zero, on the other hand, looks like an abomination to me.

 

[the sound of Tao]

I like some of his design quite a bit but not here. Hmmm post-modern design… is it just too soon? It’s a hard move to pull off well and for me this doesn’t come together here at all. This new OMA table isn’t pretty… a case of more is less. Oswald Mills seems a bit hit and miss in design ways. His postmodern (anti-modernist) leanings are all over this. Too much of the Meccano (the tonearm is a giveaway) and (for me) just not enough restraint, poise, finesse or balance.

The overscale nuts (double entendre perhaps accidental) and the loud clashing of stone and metals aren’t at peace here at all. The building blocks of the postmoderns can be about a noisy exaggeration and some fairly lazy rich kid kindergarten-like responses to design. It looks like he skipped his design classes fairly regularly imho.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

i just read Fremer's review; 90% of which is a description of the design and technology. lots of apparently impressive techie stuff which is impossible for me to assess one way or the other. the K3 with arm weighs 200 pounds including a 30 pound platter.. as a reference, my Saskia without an arm weighs 220 pounds including a 40 pound platter. i'm not trying to compare the two tt's in terms of performance in any way.

it's a good read and seems very through on the facts of the product.. Fremer had the K3 final version or a prototype in his room for 10 months.

i'll say that he considers the K3 "a great audio product that speaks with a singular voice". and he considers the SAT tt 'somewhere' in between the presentation of the K3 and the Zero. from my understanding of the SAT's presentation, i suppose i'm firmly in the Zero camp.

how many of us will hear a Zero and K3 in a good setting to actually come up with our own listening opinions? not many.

thank you Michael for all your efforts on our behalf. and thanks to Mr. Weiss for creating this product.

oh and btw, the list price of the K3 with the arm and power supply is $360k. you need your own stand. the OMA stand adds another $40k, so $400k with the stand.

 

[K3RMIT]

I‘ve always got a sense that all of his offerings are very overpriced

That’s funny most all is. I think his stuff is unique. But it should sound great too. But at any price all must be set up right. his place is large and resembles a home. his tube stuff is nos not new tubes. His drivers are single ended no duplex.
the big horns use for one large driver a field coil. he uses a replica dc supply from the horn maker. The tubes glow brite.

 

[KeithR]

Well, the $300-500k tt market is filling out nicely.
AF0P, SAT, now K3...soon the AF2001 and the Wilson Benesch GMTOne.

When’s the the million $ level. Tired of all these lightweights.

 

[bonzo75]

Oma is truly working art that plays audio. all his stuff is custom as far as I can see. I asked him many questions while
there. I went too deep as some he could not answer
He is a fine man very kind gent. Not an audio snob I liked that of him.
the monarchs did sound best but I think the big horns just needed setup as they did not blur but did do some odd sounds.
Muddy waters was best and 10 feet tall lol.
to look at his stuff is enough to want them. he had a table
floating on magnets and the arm made of wood was kilt heated with no oxygen to make it age. i
must say all
of his stuff is artistic fantasy come to life.

I agree it's art, each of his stuff and every nook and corner of the showroom is gorgeous

 

[tima]

Probably the ugliest TT i have ever laid my eyes on ! Hope it looks better in real life !

Spoken like a true Dane within the heritage of Hans Christian Andersen and the Emperor's New Clothes. Credit for at least saying it outloud. Independent of course of performance - no doubt we'll hear form follows function and the design is 'inevitable'.

Maybe this is seen as radical, chic, mau-mau for what @Mike Lavigne called 'the NYC whales'. It is so far advanced that only the so far advanced, the aesthete, can truly experience the spirit of the future arriving before our very eyes. What will the aliens look like? What else could it be? If the K3 did not cost, what, $350k in standard form, would it still be called 'Art' with a capital A? If Valin reviews it will he use his favorite word: gemütlichkeit?

If the K3 were in the same room as the Monarch speakers would we call the system The Iron Butterfly?

 

[Addicted to hifi]

Probably the ugliest TT i have ever laid my eyes on ! Hope it looks better in real life !

I think it looks cool.

 

[Ron Resnick]

. . . he considers the SAT tt 'somewhere' in between the presentation of the K3 and the Zero.

. . .

Can you determine what is the nature of the sonic spectrum on which he is placing these three turntables? In other words what parameter or parameters is he applying to compare the sound quality of these three turntables on a linear spectrum?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Can you determine what is the nature of the sonic spectrum on which he is placing these three turntables? In other words what parameter or parameters is he applying to compare the sound quality of these three turntables on a linear spectrum?

i hesitate to dissect Fremer's words too much. generally he contrasts the turntables by degrees of note expansion, and levels of speed, impact and clarity. he uses the word 'precision' and bass 'whallop' and the phrase 'free from overhang', 'brash' and 'bold' to describe the K3. then the Zero 'velvety' and 'reserved'.....a 'more generous soundstage' with greater 'sustain' with more 'space around instruments'. the Zero lower noise. the K3 did struggle with record warps without vacuum hold down.....and noted at the price that feature might be expected (he suggested a disc flattener as a solution).

he makes a point that the K3 will expose more differences between cartridges or recordings. my guess is that system tuning and synergy would be important for both, but defcon 1 significant with the K3. hard to imagine many solid state signal path systems where it would fully synergize.....Fremer's and my darTZeel among the few with sufficient note sustain to be workable (my opinion only).

i hear these differences between my NVS (active isolated direct drive) and CS Port (belt, air bearing, linear tracker) to some degree. my tt's are likely less to the extreme's of these directions. i'd bet that the K3 is an ideal candidate for active isolation and that it would absolutely lower the noise floor and add a degree of note expansion (and improve dynamics) that would be a clear net improvement without a downside. that chassis ought to not have self noise. but i could be wrong with such a powerful motor attached to the plinth. if it did work, a $16k 'Tana System' shelf that improved a $360k tt would be a no brainer. it might compromise the 'art' of the installation of a K3, which i suppose makes it a non starter idea for the typical K3 buyer.

finally; Fremer's review does make me want to hear the K3 in a proper system, and hope someday it happens.

 

[Ron Resnick]

That is a very interesting analysis, Mike. Thank you!

 

[wil]

Spoken like a true Dane within the heritage of Hans Christian Andersen and the Emperor's New Clothes. Credit for at least saying it outloud. Independent of course of performance - no doubt we'll hear form follows function and the design is 'inevitable'.

Maybe this is seen as radical, chic, mau-mau for what @Mike Lavigne called 'the NYC whales'. It is so far advanced that only the so far advanced, the aesthete, can truly experience the spirit of the future arriving before our very eyes. What will the aliens look like? What else could it be? If the K3 did not cost, what, $350k in standard form, would it still be called 'Art' with a capital A? If Valin reviews it will he use his favorite word: gemütlichkeit?

If the K3 were in the same room as the Monarch speakers would we call the system The Iron Butterfly?

I think the K3 is fairly successful, aesthetically, and fits well with the overall OMA retro, iron-age vibe -- like it or not.

I could imagine the K3 in a living space, unlike, for instance, the gargantuan AirForce which looks like it belongs on a 70's Star Trek set.

 

[daytona600]

'Crane style tonearm': There are pics online of one made by Dave Whitaker of the New Zealand based Aura TT out of balsa and an old tonearm....

DIY Balsa Wood Tonearm

From quite a few years ago, this was my version of a Uni-pivot tonearm design by the late Dave Whittaker, creator of the Aura Turntable. Dave knew that wood would provide good damping – he ch…

darklanternforowen.wordpress.com

TriArt bamboo

 

[MrC.]

Those ultra big horns they have are awful.. it's the smaller monarchs that are better

I heard his offerings a few years ago. The only one that sounded coherent to me were the minis. Needed the subs to make a full sound. At around 30k there are better offerings out there.

 

[mtemur]

Looks like a tug boat with a crane.

View attachment 81646

… for a real tug boat price

 

[Solypsa]

I heard his offerings a few years ago. The only one that sounded coherent to me were the minis. Needed the subs to make a full sound. At around 30k there are better offerings out there.

Not certain but I believe that the AC1, Mini and Imperia use horns from Bill Woods...and he knows a thing or two. But it always comes down to implementation.

 

[bonzo75]

Not certain but I believe that the AC1, Mini and Imperia use horns from Bill Woods...and he knows a thing or two. But it always comes down to implementation.

Yes Bill Woods is involved, but Mr. C is right about the Imperia being quite incoherent. It is only the Monarch that I found coherent and complete on extension. Some might think all those are priced too much but to be fair, they are all quite arty and unique in terms of looks. The Monarch also has a good size and more like a planar in terms of size.

 

[lordcloud]

Interesting part 1 of a series about the K3.

 

[Lagonda]

Interesting part 1 of a series about the K3.

Interesting one man clown show, promoting a tug boat with a crane !