I just set up my AF3 yesterday and absolutely love it! I went with the AF3 because I felt it had everything I was looking for. I liked the way it looked compared to the AF1 or AF2, and really didn't want to spend the extra money for the more expensive tables. Plus, I felt with proper set up and accessories it would provide all the quality sound I could want. The arm is a 10.5" Graham Phantom Elite with the TechDas cartridge, all mounted on an Artesania Tandem Rack with the TT shelf. The phono cable is a crazy expensive Stealth.
I went with the TechDas instead of a Kronos for a lot of reasons. First I like how Japanese Audiophiles have embraced vinyl with a deep passion and long history; Koetsu, Ikeda, Jeff's continual references to Yazaki-san (
http://jeffsplace.me/wordpress/. Plus, I am a fanatic about cartridge set up and the suction feature just made sense. I can't imagine the stress on a cartridge while tracking a warped record. After spending hours dialing in Azimuth and then watching the arm contort sideways as it tries to follow a warped groove, its almost unbearable. And I'd bet many of our records have even minor amounts of warp that may not be all that apparent. The air bearing is another feature that is pure genius and again makes good sense. In fact it makes me wonder about the condition of the bearings in my VPI? Or any metal bearings for that matter......
Set up was really simple and all of the packaging of the TT, the arm, and the Artesania rack were exceptional. I also appreciated the detail and clarity of the owners manuals. TechDas in particular did a spectacular job in organizing the set up and operation manuals and the translation to English was impeccable. To me, these details are very reassuring in addition to smoothing out set up, which can be quite intimidating. I'd bet I'm not the only audiophile who cringes with a mixture of anxiety and eager anticipation when opening a TT or tonearm box, knowing that set up could be a Bear. TechDas and Graham made it a pleasure. Bob Graham has been terrific and totally available and accommodating for any help I've needed.
All of this is earmarked for a new system that is slowly coming together. My dedicated room is done but that's another story. For now the rest of the system I'm listening to includes a pair of Maggie 3.7i's, Carver Black Beauty amps, and a CAT Legend preamp with phono stage. Just with those components sort of thrown together, it sounds fantastic. I'll be upgrading to Vivid Spirits and Cat Amps soon. Even though I'm a vinyl guy, I also just ordered a new CD/Dac; the MBL N31. Once everything is here, Jim Smith is coming over to help dial it all in.
Anyway, I could not be more pleased with the AF3, tonearm, cartridge, phono cable, and the rack. They all seem to work perfectly together and the whole seems to be much greater than the sum the parts. I'll report back when the Spirits are in place and then again when the amps and the N31 arrive. One final thought. I'd like to give a shout out to my dealer George at Kyomi Audio. He has been fantastic to work with and really knows his stuff. Happy listening!