Jonathan, Did you own the SME 30 or the SME 30/12 with V-12 arm? I know a gentleman who currently owns both and he has described them as sounding quite different. How would you describe the sound of the SME that you used to own? Thanks.
I had the SME 30/2 with the V and IV arms. I liked the compact nature of the table and enjoyed my time with it, but no matter what I did, there was always a bloatiness to the sound. I hear it with all of the SME arms.
I am a firm believer in a proper direct drive implementation. I have listened carefully to most of the elite tables out there and while quite enjoyable, they just do not compare.
You should have come to say Hi, and I would have played you anything you wanted, instead of having to form an opinion of a turntable listening to a fraction of one track in an unfamiliar system.
You should have come to say Hi, and I would have played you anything you wanted, instead of having to form an opinion of a turntable listening to a fraction of one track in an unfamiliar system.
So it's back to the DD versus belt debate. How does one deal with motor noise on the bearing from DD ? I can't see how a DD could ever be as quiet as a well executed belt.
So it's back to the DD versus belt debate. How does one deal with motor noise on the bearing from DD ? I can't see how a DD could ever be as quiet as a well executed belt.
I haven't heard them, yet I always hear DD are supposed to be the best. I think it's more a matter of taste. That said I hear there is a new belt drive out that may be the best table yet....the subject of this thread...
I think the take home message is that one can't be too dogmatic about the choice of drive system (belt, rim, magnetic, DD, idler) any more (though there still could be a debate between AC vs DC). There are so many variables that go into the design of a turntable and I'd opine that it's the designer's properly balancing these parameters that is most important.
I think the take home message is that one can't be too dogmatic about the choice of drive system (belt, rim, magnetic, DD, idler) any more (though there still could be a debate between AC vs DC). There are so many variables that go into the design of a turntable and I'd opine that it's the designer's properly balancing these parameters that is most important.
So it's back to the DD versus belt debate. How does one deal with motor noise on the bearing from DD ? I can't see how a DD could ever be as quiet as a well executed belt.
I think the take home message is that one can't be too dogmatic about the choice of drive system (belt, rim, magnetic, DD, idler) any more (though there still could be a debate between AC vs DC). There are so many variables that go into the design of a turntable and I'd opine that it's the designer's properly balancing these parameters that is most important.
Absolutely! It is the end result that counts - not the choice of drive system.
Nishikawa-san has over 50 years of experience in high-end audio, IMHO he has done the work in properly balancing between perfection and paralysis. Over dinner, he ticked off on his fingers the products he was the CHIEF designer of, and just on analog bits and pieces, he ran out of fingers. One stuck to my mind, and that was the Infinity Black Widow - so I'm eagerly anticipating his matching tonearm.
One thing that the design shared with the Vertere Reference Tonearm that I used together in CES this year, they were both cost-no-object exercises to see how much can be done in producing the absolute best. Nishikawa-san is developing a "junior" version of the Air Force One that will incorporate everything he learned in designing the Air Force One, but at a lower price-point. Touraj is also doing the same thing with the tonearm.
I wonder how Touraj's tonearm is going to stack up against Nishikawa's tonearm
That will make for an interesting shootout.... but considering that both are friends, I'm going to have to wear a fire-proof suit.
"With its air-suspension isolation stand, air-bearing platter (both the axial and radial loads are supported by air), captured air-bearing arm, and direct-drive brushless motor, the System III Sirius's only mechanical contact is that of stylus and record. No belt, no springs, no thrust plate and ball bearing, no bushings—and, unfortunately, no way most of us will ever be able to afford the thing." Fremer/Stereophile
I know the DD motor going to be used in the new top-of-the-line VPI Vanquish comes out of the US Navy submarine service where quietness is of the utmost importance Motor alone for the new table is around $4000.
I know the DD motor going to be used in the new top-of-the-line VPI Vanquish comes out of the US Navy submarine service where quietness is of the utmost importance Motor alone for the new table is around $4000.
I had the SME 30/2 with the V and IV arms. I liked the compact nature of the table and enjoyed my time with it, but no matter what I did, there was always a bloatiness to the sound. I hear it with all of the SME arms.
I am a firm believer in a proper direct drive implementation. I have listened carefully to most of the elite tables out there and while quite enjoyable, they just do not compare.
Thanks Jonathan. I've often heard this description of SME from others, but I and also those who have heard my SME based system have never described my system that way. Is your observation that all SME arms sound bloated based on those SME arms on SME tables only or did you audition the SME arms on other tables as well? And did you ever try other arms on your SME 30/2 table? I'm curious if you can conclude from you experience with SME that an SME arm on your NVS table or a Durand Telos arm on an SME 30/12 would also sound bloated. Your response seems to describe the SME arms, but then you praise the proper implementation of direct drive which is a turntable, not arm, issue. Perhaps you could clarify the arm/table distinction. Thanks.
The "technology" used in the design of the VPI motor was derived from military use.
Remember all those days after "Star Wars" was eliminated and military contractors scrambled to find civilian uses for their technologies? Same machining technologies later lead the the improved machining, say in turntable bearings and platters and air bearing arm tolerances.
