New OMA turntable

[Solypsa]

Gotta know your audience

 

[Zeotrope]

SAT XD1
Air Force Zero
OMA K3

All three are contenders for world’s best, is that correct? Each seems to offer a unique flavor of sound, judging by Fremer’s review, with the XD1 splitting the difference.

 

[Solypsa]

Irony. Made my weekend

 

[Lagonda]

Gryphon Audio Designs makes everything in the chain except a turntable.

So does MBL, and all designed and manufactured in-house, down to tweeters and speaker binding post !

 

[Zeotrope]

So does MBL, and all designed and manufactured in-house, down to tweeters and speaker binding post !

Does MBL make a turntable?

 

[PeterA]

Founder personality is important for products like this, which are ultimately a direct reflection of their founders.

The entire production run of my turntable was sold on reputation alone prior to the first sample being made. There were no videos or marketing in the traditional sense. A direct reflection on the designer.

They were then delivered and set up around the world. There’s a dedicated WBF thread about most of the installations including system videos, so people can easily research it. So many testimonials and information in one place is pretty rare for a product of his caliber.

it’ll be interesting if we start to see other examples of the K3 in the field and discussed.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

At 4:50 of this video he says audiophiles aren’t his clientele because they don’t know anything. As in, they won’t fall for the overly dramatic marketing.

i think Audiophiles are not into story-telling, and Jonathan is a story teller. he is asking the audience to buy his narrative. Audiophiles simply want to know how it sounds. and they don't exactly believe his stories, either. yet they do appreciate particular great products, if not buying into all the design cashe.

however; Jonathan knows audiophiles are who buy expensive turntables, and obviously he joined in here on WBF for a reason. so even if he is holding his nose as he goes along, he needs us. for sure he would prefer to avoid us.

i think mostly OMA is good for the hobby. i appreciate his single mindedness.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

The entire production run of my turntable was sold on reputation alone prior to the first sample being made.

no; they were also sold based on feedback from a few who heard the source/target product. can't say how many were sold who were not in that feedback loop. maybe mostly, maybe a few. only David could say.

 

[PeterA]

i think Audiophiles are not into story-telling, and Jonathan is a story teller. he is asking the audience to buy his narrative. Audiophiles simply want to know how it sounds. and they don't exactly believe his stories, either. yet they do appreciate particular great products, if not buying into all the design cashe.

however; Jonathan knows audiophiles are who buy expensive turntables, and obviously he joined in here on WBF for a reason. so even if he is holding his nose as he goes along, he needs us.

i think mostly OMA is good for the hobby.

Mike, I don’t know about other audiophiles, but I love hearing good stories. I have heard many about Vladimir Lamm. They’ve given me increased insight into the relationship between the original American Sound turntable and specifically my amplifier and speaker combination. These things are optimized in specific combinations and pairings. Mr. Lamm understood this and some of these products in particular.

It is also fascinating to learn about the origins and design principles behind some of these products. These are all stories which increase my appreciation for the hobby and for what I hear.

The OMA storytelling helps to understand the company and what J Weiss is trying to do. That’s part of what I enjoy from some of these videos, but I agree with you, others seem primarily interested in what the thing sounds like in their systems. OMA seems to have a “craft” vibe. That’s pretty cool.

 

[Zeotrope]

The entire production run of my turntable was sold on reputation alone prior to the first sample being made. There were no videos or marketing in the traditional sense. A direct reflection on the designer.

They were then delivered and set up around the world. There’s a dedicated WBF thread about most of the installations including system videos, so people can easily research it. So many testimonials and information in one place is pretty rare for a product of his caliber.

it’ll be interesting if we start to see other examples of the K3 in the field and discussed.

Can you link to your products in your signature?

 

[PeterA]

Can you link to your products in your signature?

All of the components of my system are listed in my signature. I was talking about the production run of the turntable I bought simply as an example of a different approach to marketing. Sorry to veer the discussion away from the K3.

 

[Lagonda]

Does MBL make a turntable?

No they make digital sources, like Gryphon.

 

[djsina2]

Would be interested in hearing what someone from this company thinks about the difficulty of making a cast iron plinth.

Willman Industries - Quality Gray & Ductile Iron Foundry

With Willman Industries, you can be assured you are getting the highest quality products. We are your ductile iron casting specialists! We produce all types of grey iron castings and ductile iron castings including Austempered Ductile Iron, Hi-Sil Moly, a full range of Meehanite grades and more!

willmanind.com

And from their site…

 

[Argonaut]

The entire production run of my turntable was sold on reputation alone prior to the first sample being made. There were no videos or marketing in the traditional sense. A direct reflection on the designer.

Peter … If I may enquire , reputation based upon what exactly ?

 

[Zeotrope]

Would be interested in hearing what someone from this company thinks about the difficulty of making a cast iron plinth.

Willman Industries - Quality Gray & Ductile Iron Foundry

With Willman Industries, you can be assured you are getting the highest quality products. We are your ductile iron casting specialists! We produce all types of grey iron castings and ductile iron castings including Austempered Ductile Iron, Hi-Sil Moly, a full range of Meehanite grades and more!

willmanind.com

And from their site…

View attachment 103034

A different marketing approach would be to eliminate the hyperbole and just call it like it is. If your cost no object table uses low cost, low tech, cast iron, just call it what it is and say it’s the best for this application.

 

[djsina2]

A different marketing approach would be to eliminate the hyperbole and just call it like it is. If your cost no object table uses low cost, low tech, cast iron, just call it what it is and say it’s the best for this application.

For the last quarter of 2022 grey cast iron prices averaged $2428 per metric ton in North America. So roughly $1 per pound for the raw material, I guess less than $500 for the K3.

 

[Zeotrope]

For the last quarter of 2022 grey cast iron prices averaged $2428 per metric ton in North America. So roughly $1 per pound for the raw material, I guess less than $500 for the K3.

I get what you’re saying completely. The value has to be there to each buyer.
I also understand that price is a function of demand and supply at this level; not based on material cost (“cost plus”).
If an artist can take a $10 canvas and $100 worth of paint and sell that for millions — more power to them!
If Weiss has identified how to take “cheap” cast iron and make it sound better than any other table (or among the best) — more power to him!

 

[PeterA]

Peter … If I may enquire , reputation based upon what exactly ?

You’d have to ask the other owners that question, but but I assume it was ability to deliver quality and service.

 

[djsina2]

I get what you’re saying completely. The value has to be there to each buyer.
I also understand that price is a function of demand and supply at this level; not based on material cost (“cost plus”).
If an artist can take a $10 canvas and $100 worth of paint and sell that for millions — more power to them!
If Weiss has identified how to take “cheap” cast iron and make it sound better than any other table (or among the best) — more power to him!

True, but the artists are not making video after video saying how impossible and expensive it is for any other human on earth to be doing what he/she is doing. Weiss is more like the Kylie Jenner of audio. She's a genius. Made something like a billion dollars in 5 years with her makeup line for doing nothing more than telling the chemists etc about her vision and then pumping the marketing.

 

[Tango]

The American Sound looks more expensive than the K3. Both don't look $300,000++. Most expensive looking would be the AF0 imo. The AFO and SAT looks too modern techie and the K3 looks too comic toy-ich to be timeless. Regarding the price, it all comes down to "how much worth my while" for the creator to put efforts and time in making them not really the material. Also imo ddk and Winn put his passion and love into the price more so their tts are priced much less than $300,000.