Now I use Techdas Air Force 3 Premium with IKEDA IT-407CR1 arm and ZYX Ultimate Omega s cartridge.
What turntables do you use? Pictures would be nice as well :-)
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To be honest, I was perfectly happy with my previous turntable, a TW Acustic Raven One/Graham Phantom II/Etsuro Urushi Cobalt. I desired only one other table: a Kuzma Stabi R with a 4Point 11 inch arm. However, I like to buy gently used equipment and I had never seen this combination for sale in the Canadian market. A friend of mine decided to sell his though, as he desired the ease of the Rega cartridge mounting system. I have the Etsuru mounted now; early indications are that the new setup is more dynamic, quieter, and bass notes (which were already well-defined) reveal detail to a greater degree. I prefer the look of my old setup but as you can see, my turntable is hidden in an equipment room adjacent to my listening room, so looks were not a consideration. The Kuzma table and arm are beautifully engineered but looks-wise, it's as though I've traded in a nimble sports car for a Hummer. Or thinking of it another way, the Kuzma is the audio equivalent of an aircraft carrier!
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I think you'll hear a lot of different opinions on that! I love the Kuzma and I love the way you can drop it in a wood case if you want something different, although I prefer the industrial aircraft carrier look. But I'm currently in the same boat as you were: I love my current Garrard 401/SME 3012R and I'm not sure I need the Kuzma setup, but I really do!
Yes Frank Kuzma does not really do "pretty " !
Like all of the Kuzma TT's and tonearms, the Stabi R and 4Point 11" is an awesome TT set-up (especially for the money) that will last you a lifetime.
If your friend has gone from a Kuzma Stabi R and 4Point to a Rega TT and arm (assuming he went for a Rega R8 or P10), I can only assume he will be bitterly disappointed with a drop in sonic performance (assuming his Kuzma TT, Tonearm and his chosen cartridge was set-up properly in the first place), (I have had a Rega RP10 with a Rega Apheta 2 and a Rega P10 with a Rega Apheta 3, both set up by Rega Reference Dealers).
I have read reviews that even the Kuzma Stabi S TT with a Kuzma Stogi arm, performance wise, trounces on TT's and tonearms double and even triple it's price !
He’s purchasing a Naia, but apparently they aren’t available until September in Canada.
I think the Kuzma XL DC is a very handsome TT in it's standard brass lacquered finish and also being able to choose one painted with most RAL colours currently on the market today ! I love mine !Yes Frank Kuzma does not really do "pretty " !
Oooouch..... For the price of the Naiad (circa £30k) he could have bought some very very nice new or for more value for money a one careful owner second hand TT set-up !
When I spoke to one of the Rega Reference Dealers (who has many many years experience and knowledge in hifi) that I bought my new Rega P10 from a couple of years back (who also is a Dealer for other TT manufacturers that make high end TT's and also sells very high end used hifi components), I asked him what TT would he buy if money was no object and he could choose any one. His reply was a Grand Prix Monaco V2 (V3 wasn't born then) fitted with a Kuzma 4Point arm and after that TT his second choice would be a Kuzma XL DC with a 4Point arm.
It’s the Naia, which is a new model. Much cheaper but also not inexpensive.
Aah sorry 'Tangram', thought you had made a typo with 'Naia'.
You mean the new Rega TT the 'Naia' that is due to be on the market this coming Autumn / Fall with a prospective RRP of £9,200 (incl. arm) in the UK.
I think that the Kuzma Stabi R with 4Point arm will sonically trounce on the new Rega 'Naia' (going by professional and owners reviews of the Kuzma Stabi R with 4Point and comparing with TT set-ups twice and triple the price of the Stabi R !).
Hopefully your friend will be able to us all on WBF what he thinks of his new Rega when he receives it and has had some time with it.
I highly respect the Kuzma XL DC, the way they went from the fashionable (in Germany) 3 motor setup to a one good motor setup is recommendable. The air bearing upgrade made with a industrial porous media normale used in very taxing machinery is impressive too ! Yes handsome i maybe a good way to describe the brutish devil !
Being a Chartered Mechanical Engineer, I love the XL DC's design, engineering solidity, engineering simplicity (very little that can go wrong with it) , engineering and build quality, it's mass, low maintenance requirements, precise vertical tonearm tower adjustment, flexibility of having multiple tonearms and a reasonably small foot print. Then you have the wonderful looks (with not many other TT's that look the same).I highly respect the Kuzma XL DC, the way they went from the fashionable (in Germany) 3 motor setup to a one good motor setup is recommendable. The air bearing upgrade made with a industrial porous media normale used in very taxing machinery is impressive too ! Yes handsome i maybe a good way to describe the brutish devil !
The only pre-request for this lovely engineered TT is what you place it on i.e. needs to be completely isolated from structural vibrations, which for me wasn't too difficult in where it is currently sited.
My new "reference" - the DRT XV-1s from Dynavector:
Had it initially mounted on the HS-4 for optical reasons - but in the HS-5 made of titanium it plays even more sovereign and coherent than in the carbon headshell.
Had also not thought that the difference is so well to hear out.
Of course, I would prefer a black HS-5, because that simply looks more coherent on the black SA-1.2 from Sorane - but maybe there is another option...
Many thanks to my dear friend Jörg, who lent me the system for several weeks without obligation.
Yesterday evening we agreed in a once again very nice session together with another hifi friend that the DV now plays permanently with me.
I'm curious how he like it in my setup…
atb, Tom
Had it initially mounted on the HS-4 for optical reasons - but in the HS-5 made of titanium it plays even more sovereign and coherent than in the carbon headshell.
Had also not thought that the difference is so well to hear out.
Of course, I would prefer a black HS-5, because that simply looks more coherent on the black SA-1.2 from Sorane - but maybe there is another option...
Many thanks to my dear friend Jörg, who lent me the system for several weeks without obligation.
Yesterday evening we agreed in a once again very nice session together with another hifi friend that the DV now plays permanently with me.
I'm curious how he like it in my setup…
atb, Tom
I have a Rega P10 with Apheta 3. I’m quite happy with it. There seems to be some Rega hate in this thread and I’m not experienced enough with anything higher end than the P10 to know better, but I love my P10 for the fact that I don’t have to futz about with alignment, I love the looks and the fact that it matches my aesthetic, and I have zero issues with it. (ps I don’t actually use the turntable weight with it, it was for my previous turntable and I thought it just looked nice for the photo)
That’s a superb table!! If that’s not high end I don’t know what high end is.
I have been close to buying one so many times, especially when my "fancier" table needs service. I heard one at a friend's house and it sounded lovely!
I would chose a Kuzma Stabi S with a Kuzma tonearm any day of the week over a Rega P10 (having owned both a Rega RP10 and a P10 and heard and played with the Kuzma Stabi S with a Kuzma 9" Stogi S tonearm).
The Stabi S is also a highly versatile TT which can be mounted with two tonearms and capable of using all of the Kuzma tonearms (except I think the 4Point 14" - unless the extended 12" Stabi S can accommodate it ???)
However I confess that I am heavily biased towards Kuzma with now owning the XL DC (which is on another planet - at a much higher cost of course although worth every hard earned penny / cent / dime!) and the 4Point 11" tonearm. Kuzma's after sale support is also far far superior to Rega and that is from personal experience !
Sure, it's a great table but it's much less of a set and forget table if you are using a Rega cartridge on the P10 and don't need two arms.
The Rega P10 is definitely just a 'plug and play and forget' TT for people who don't want to fettle with a TT set-up to get the best out of it.
From my hands on and listening experiences, all versions of the Rega Apheta and Aphelion (especially the Aphelion) cartridges have poor performances for what they cost. There build quality is also poor for what they cost. There are far better cartridges out there for the same money.
With them having three mounting bolts doesn't help at all with set-up either for the ideal cartridge parameters.
Also all of the Rega tonearms (including the RB2000 and RB3000 tonearms) have very little adjustments to them and what adjustments they do have are very hit and miss.
So, like what has been said in previous threads and posts, the Rega TT set-ups (with a factory fitted Rega cartridge) are just plug and play and forget TTs for people who don't want to spend time in adjusting and refining the performance of their TT set-ups.
Granted, TT manufacturers like Kuzma can also set-up their TT's with their own tonearms and cartridges as a 'plug and play' solution from their factory right up to the Stabi M. However, the differences are that you have multiple upgrades or just side way moves for installing different and additional components. You can't do this with a Rega TT set-up except for the cartridge which you are heavily limited to choice due to the design and operation of the Rega tonearms !