Transfiguration Proteus

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
My bro and I ordered Orpheus Ls in what seems like ages ago. We'd actually given up on 'em. To my surprise the Transfiguration dealer showed up at my house today with a pair of these





It turns out the Orpheus L is gone and this is Immutable Music's new flagship. There's still practically nothing on the net about them that I could find. No pictures. These just may be the some of the first peeks of them.

No idea how these sound. My only other Transfiguration cart is the Graham Nightingale which doesn't stack up to Nighty's currently mounted stablemates. There's even a tier between. It did however have some traits that were very promising particularly the way it layered. It's glaring weakness by comparison was in stage spread and a lack of air. Small musical events were rendered with a big ol' marker, again compared directly to the others that could keep triangle notes hanging in the air with ease.

I'll probably get around to mounting this cart next week then give it some hours before I make any comments as to how they sound. This is a bought unheard thing so my fingers are crossed.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
My bro and I ordered Orpheus Ls in what seems like ages ago. We'd actually given up on 'em. To my surprise the Transfiguration dealer showed up at my house today with a pair of these





It turns out the Orpheus L is gone and this is Immutable Music's new flagship. There's still practically nothing on the net about them that I could find. No pictures. These just may be the some of the first peeks of them.

No idea how these sound. My only other Transfiguration cart is the Graham Nightingale which doesn't stack up to Nighty's currently mounted stablemates. There's even a tier between. It did however have some traits that were very promising particularly the way it layered. It's glaring weakness by comparison was in stage spread and a lack of air. Small musical events were rendered with a big ol' marker, again compared directly to the others that could keep triangle notes hanging in the air with ease.

I'll probably get around to mounting this cart next week then give it some hours before I make any comments as to how they sound. This is a bought unheard thing so my fingers are crossed.

Will hopefully have one coming in w/in the next month. Add that to the Ikeda 9TT, ZYX Universe 2 and Atlas for reviews. Can you spell B-U-S-Y? :)
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Tell me about it! Proteus is still in the box. We only get a few months of cool weather here so my daytime free time is all going to outdoor stuff. When I listen at night, the XV-1t and Atlas along with the Jade and UE BE are so good, I have little drive to unmount any of them......yet.
 

Dvuc

Well-Known Member
Apr 28, 2013
26
8
308
Hey guys!
Any news about Proteus? I heard from some folks in Canada that it sounds great, even better than Ortofon Anna.
Thx
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I've been remiss in my duties. My Proteus is still unmounted.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Jack

Have you listened to the Proteus yet.

My broken-in Proteus review sample arrives next week along with two new VPI 3D arms.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I'm embarrassed. I feel like a hoarder! Still in it's box and a GF Statement joined it yesterday. Yikes!
 

mep

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
9,481
17
0
I'm embarrassed. I feel like a hoarder! Still in it's box and a GF Statement joined it yesterday. Yikes!

I'm thrilled to have the XV-1S to listen to. I can't imagine it getting much better, but of course in this hobby it always can.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I'm thrilled to have the XV-1S to listen to. I can't imagine it getting much better, but of course in this hobby it always can.

To be honest, every time I'm about to mount the Proteus I listen to the XV and Atlas then the motivation just goes kaput. I needed this push. The GF S will have to wait. It is a very heavy cart and the Phantom and Phantom 2 counterweights can't handle it. It will go on when the Elite comes, whenever that will be. Hurry up Bob!!!!!!

Another busy day today. I have to finish a lot of stuff for three of my companies, including a site inspection, before I take off this Thursday. I get back Monday and have to get ready for a trip to the US first week of July.
 

MylesBAstor

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
11,236
81
1,725
New York City
Fascinating Myles

It'll be interesting to hear your thoughts

How does price compare to a real arm

I'm not sure about the price Steve.

In the end, though, the price of the arm will largely depend on how many VPI can make at a time and how long it takes. At present they make 6-9 arms at a time and each arm takes around 23 or so hrs to manufacture (they lay down something like 0.002" per pass). Obviously if VPI can scale the process up, the price might come down.
 

rockitman

Member Sponsor
Sep 20, 2011
7,097
412
1,210
Northern NY
To be honest, every time I'm about to mount the Proteus I listen to the XV and Atlas then the motivation just goes kaput. I needed this push. The GF S will have to wait. It is a very heavy cart and the Phantom and Phantom 2 counterweights can't handle it. It will go on when the Elite comes, whenever that will be. Hurry up Bob!!!!!!

Another busy day today. I have to finish a lot of stuff for three of my companies, including a site inspection, before I take off this Thursday. I get back Monday and have to get ready for a trip to the US first week of July.

You like your XV t ? I'm getting one for the AFO.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Love it Christian. You won't be disappointed. It's particularly fantastic with strings, both solo and massed.
 

audio.bill

Well-Known Member
May 27, 2013
547
79
340
Chicago suburbs
Can the VPI 3D Arm be swapped for say a 10.5i on a VPI table without any modifications to the arms mounting platform?
It would appear so, directly from the VPI website: The VPI JMW 3-D The arm looks like a traditional VPI Unipivot arm, except it's made in a 3D printer. The material is basically epoxy, which forms a rigid, lightweight, structure with good insulation properties. Epoxy is non-crystalline which impedes the transfer of vibration, so it’s the perfect material for tone arms. The shape of the tone arm shaft also adds rigidity to the structure and further prevents the transmission of surface vibrations. The result is a low resonance lightweight tone arm.
This tonearm is backwards compatible and will fit on all past and current VPI Turntables. It will be printed in 9, 10, and 12 inch.

JMW 3D compatibility as of May 5/16/13:
Classic 1
Classic 2
Classic 3
Classic 4 (secondary arm only)
 

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