What turntables do you use? Pictures would be nice as well :-)

Win,

I have extremely fond memories of the Saskia at RMAF a few years ago; especially spinning Prince and Barbra Streisand back to back :^0 !

Hope to hear the Saskia II at RMAF (hint, hint). Are you at liberty to discuss the changes??
 
WOW, awesome thread with lots of mouthwatering pictures of beautiful tunrntables.

TW Acustic Raven AC with Kuzma Stogi and an old AQ 7000 Fe5 over here. I actually wanted an Oracle Delphi at first, simply because of its looks, but the Company that imports them to Germany didn't answer my mail inquiry and didn't pick up their phone whenever i called them... quite the contrary to Thomas Woschnick, he did answer the phone. And he's very nice and very knowledgeable.

I won't insult you with a picture of my messy room right now, my System is going thorugh somewhat of a transition and i guess everybody on here knows what the Raven looks like. It's not like there haven't been enough Ravens in this thread already :D I especially loved the Black Night, one of my dream TT's.
 
new platter and bearing for my TW Raven AC-3. Looks more like a Micro Seiki copy than before :)

9325868642_8284c14b3e_b.jpg

9325836730_a2d60f7e88_b.jpg

9325817762_7376c2afa5_b.jpg
 
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^ its gorgeous. what do you do with the old platter??

lead weight :D

I would have normally traded it in, however got a very good deal so it will sit of the floor. I guess I could sell it to someone who wanted an upgrade for a Raven One or GT.
 
Win,

I have extremely fond memories of the Saskia at RMAF a few years ago; especially spinning Prince and Barbra Streisand back to back :^0 !

Hope to hear the Saskia II at RMAF (hint, hint). Are you at liberty to discuss the changes??

I'm a little late to the party for RMAF, but I think I'll get there with it. :)

One addition is 78 RPM, which is especially nice with the new releases out there. I admit that isn't a big deal for most people, but those few records will knock your socks off, so I had to include it. Another change is a redesigned spindle and bearing assembly. The spindle is ceramic, so it will never wear, and it has more drag than the original. That's because the new motor has twice the torque, so it needs more drag by my way of thinking. (It's one place where I agree with Verdier, although our ideas differ in other ways.)

The motor also produces a lot more eddy current, three times more than the original, which brings us to the big change, and that is eddy current management. Eddy currents are tweaked at various frequencies as needed for optimal performance. I don't know of another turntable that does that. In fact, the new controller is wild with innovation. It has a service mode, is user upgradeable through a USB port, and it maintains accuracy to satisfy a Sutherland Timeline, regardless of conditions without a lot of constant feedback that might get in the way of the music. It even accounts for wear on the idler surface, as well as temperature, humidity, etc. It also regenerates new three-phase power with three linear amplifiers that get their power from a linear supply. It was designed by Bryan Edewaard who truly gets speed control. It's amazing what he can do with a microprocessor.

Really, everything has been improved from the tip of the spindle to the bottom of the feet. I don't believe there is a single thing that isn't refined in some way. Even the linkage has been totally redone. I did try to keep the overall look as close to the first as I could because I prefer that traditional look.

I'm really proud of this one, so thanks for asking.
 
I'm a little late to the party for RMAF, but I think I'll get there with it. :)

One addition is 78 RPM, which is especially nice with the new releases out there. I admit that isn't a big deal for most people, but those few records will knock your socks off, so I had to include it. Another change is a redesigned spindle and bearing assembly. The spindle is ceramic, so it will never wear, and it has more drag than the original. That's because the new motor has twice the torque, so it needs more drag by my way of thinking. (It's one place where I agree with Verdier, although our ideas differ in other ways.)

The motor also produces a lot more eddy current, three times more than the original, which brings us to the big change, and that is eddy current management. Eddy currents are tweaked at various frequencies as needed for optimal performance. I don't know of another turntable that does that. In fact, the new controller is wild with innovation. It has a service mode, is user upgradeable through a USB port, and it maintains accuracy to satisfy a Sutherland Timeline, regardless of conditions without a lot of constant feedback that might get in the way of the music. It even accounts for wear on the idler surface, as well as temperature, humidity, etc. It also regenerates new three-phase power with three linear amplifiers that get their power from a linear supply. It was designed by Bryan Edewaard who truly gets speed control. It's amazing what he can do with a microprocessor.

Really, everything has been improved from the tip of the spindle to the bottom of the feet. I don't believe there is a single thing that isn't refined in some way. Even the linkage has been totally redone. I did try to keep the overall look as close to the first as I could because I prefer that traditional look.

I'm really proud of this one, so thanks for asking.

I always thought it was Bill Firebaugh who popularized the concept of adding drag to the drive system in order to achieve a more stable platter speed?

In actuality though, Linn did ithe same thing accidentally with what they called at the time their static electricity discharge piece ;)
 
I always thought it was Bill Firebaugh who popularized the concept of adding drag to the drive system in order to achieve a more stable platter speed?

In actuality though, Linn did ithe same thing accidentally with what they called at the time their static electricity discharge piece ;)

Actually, I believe you are right. Even further back, the Garrard 301 grease bearing turntables were tuned for dynamic drag by varying the pressure of the grease. Verdier wrote a white paper about the drag concept, which is a very good read, and that is what I was referring to. In any case, I believe both Firebaugh and Verdier are correct when it comes to the benefit of dynamic drag.

On the other hand, Linn may have developed their implementation because of the use of synthetics in the Linn bearing assembly. Like them, I use non-conductive components in my bearing, so I needed to find a good way for static drain at the spindle. I decided to fit a felt washer at the top of the bearing that is covered with electrically conductive grease, and that works quite well. (The bearing well is connected to other grounds in the turntable.) The greased washer adds some resistance to the system, although it is not the primary source of drag. The dynamic drag is created within the bearing assembly itself. I don't know, but any drag in the Linn could be a side effect, or what I call a "happy accident", so we are in agreement there.

I apologize for the diversion in the thread.
 
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lead weight :D

I would have normally traded it in, however got a very good deal so it will sit of the floor. I guess I could sell it to someone who wanted an upgrade for a Raven One or GT.

offer it to syntax, it might improve the sound of hi his micro seiki ;)
 
I always thought it was Bill Firebaugh who popularized the concept of adding drag to the drive system in order to achieve a more stable platter speed?

In actuality though, Linn did ithe same thing accidentally with what they called at the time their static electricity discharge piece ;)

allen perkins current tables use resistance for this rerason. the versa dynamics 1.0 had a greased ceramic bearing, which wouldnt spin more than a couple rotations with the belt off and a good nudge.
 
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allen perkins current tables use resistance for this rerason. the versa dynamics 1.0 had a greased ceramic bearing, which wouldnt spin more than a couple rotations with the belt off and a good nudge.

I'm not familiar with the Versa Dynamics, but Allen Perkins makes a very good turntable. The concept is a valid one, maybe even necessary for top performance, but it can be a hard sell to some audiophiles because they have been sold the notion that a platter needs to spin freely. Whenever I see some manufacturer's copy claiming a seven minute spin-down time, or whatever, I cringe.
 
This is potentially not out of the realm of possibilities for me in a year or two, and I simply love the design. My dream would be an Oracle Deplhi, but that's a bit too much for my pocket. Any thoughts ?

Hans T-30 ( one arm version though)

Hans T-30.jpg
 
The Elite arm will not be ready until the fall. The Supreme 12" is 3 weeks out. I may have the table w/o an arm for a week or two as my current arms are not sme mount. Patience is a virtue.

Christian, maybe you have already answered this but, are you selling your previous clearaudio TT? - congrats for the new table!
 
I'm not familiar with the Versa Dynamics, but Allen Perkins makes a very good turntable. The concept is a valid one, maybe even necessary for top performance, but it can be a hard sell to some audiophiles because they have been sold the notion that a platter needs to spin freely. Whenever I see some manufacturer's copy claiming a seven minute spin-down time, or whatever, I cringe.

Mosin, will you keep the previous model as well in your product line?
 
Mosin, will you keep the previous model as well in your product line?

Nope. The original Saskia is discontinued. Progress marches on. Still, Saskia II retains the original look. It is better in most ways, though.
 
offer it to syntax, it might improve the sound of hi his micro seiki ;)


Ha ha. Well you never know, not that he would ever admit it. Btw my TW keeps perfect speed :)
 
Nope. The original Saskia is discontinued. Progress marches on. Still, Saskia II retains the original look. It is better in most ways, though.

Beyond everything else, Win is a true gentleman and "discontinued" is a rather kind summation of what led to his current table. I've heard both now and while I've always coveted the first I'll go on record as saying that Saskia II is the only table I know that would tempt me to trade one of "my babies". I know this thread is a show and tell so here's one of mine.



IMG_0491.jpg
 
Beyond everything else, Win is a true gentleman and "discontinued" is a rather kind summation of what led to his current table. I've heard both now and while I've always coveted the first I'll go on record as saying that Saskia II is the only table I know that would tempt me to trade one of "my babies". I know this thread is a show and tell so here's one of mine.



View attachment 10847

Thanks for the pic and welcome to WBF?

But do you play the table or keep it and worship it? Looks like the deck sits by itself in the middle of the room :)
 

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