Grand Prix Parabolica, and comparison to Monaco 2.0 and 3.0

[spiritofmusic]

Having heard an amazing Monaco 3.0 setup, I'm seriously smitten, confirming my positive impression of the 1.5 from over a decade ago.
Any comments on how the Parabolica stacks up to the 3.0 and even the 1.5 and 2.0 before it?
Reviews can be read as saying it's genuine trickle down, a big slice of Monaco goodness for half the price of the 3.0
--
I'm also seriously sold on Supatrac arms, the Nighthawk really sang on the GP 3.0, again like settling for the Parabolica, I would likely only stretch to the Blackbird.
User experiences particularly appreciated.

 

[jfrech]

Hey Spirit, I had the Parabolica at home while my 2.0 was being upgraded to 3.0. It's been a year or two...but I'd say the Parabolica is close to the 2.0...It's a great table. I wonder what it'd sound like on a battery power supply or better AC supply than the cheap wall wart I used....

PS, what you put in on matters too...It'll likely appreciate your symposium rack...

 

[gordon]

Fyi, the Parabolica is now 2.0, or, as my manual states, v2. I forget what the differences are between 1.0 and 2.0. I've never heard any versions of the Monaco, so cannot compare the two. My Parabolica replaces an SME 20/2 that I've had for 19 years, and improves on it in almost every way possible, if that's any help.

 

[jfrech]

Fyi, the Parabolica is now 2.0, or, as my manual states, v2. I forget what the differences are between 1.0 and 2.0. I've never heard any versions of the Monaco, so cannot compare the two. My Parabolica replaces an SME 20/2 that I've had for 19 years, and improves on it in almost every way possible, if that's any help.

Haha, my original Monaco 1.0 with a Triplanar replace my SME 20/2 that I had for 15 years...totally agree on your assessment....

 

[spiritofmusic]

Thanks gentlemen. There are reviews that say the Parabolica is less of a "mini me" Monaco 3.0, and more like a very close analogue (sorry!) of the 1.5, close even to the 2.0
I've heard a handful of top TTs multiple times incl the dreamy Vyger, Brinkmann, SME, even an exotic Dutch belt drive with a ton of perspex, but the only TT I've heard more than once, in different systems, that truly "nails" the sound that talks to me, is the Monaco (firstly a 1.5 in a Cessaro Liszts based system 12 years ago, now the 3.0 last week).
It's fascinating that I've had the same reaction both times, a real sense this TT is going somewhere others haven't (even the venerable Vyger hasn't made me react with the same positivity).
I've also heard a hugely modded vintage Sony DD that left a very positive impression on me.
What I'm trying to glean is whether the Parabolica is absolutely cut from the same cloth as the Monaco, is one of those products where you get eg 85% of the more complex bigger brother at 50% of the entry ticket.
Ditto pairing the Parabolica with the Supatrac Blackbird that is 1/3 the cost of the Nighthawk.
What I heard of the Monaco 3.0/LPSU/Nighthawk last week was beyond astonishing.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Fyi, the Parabolica is now 2.0, or, as my manual states, v2. I forget what the differences are between 1.0 and 2.0. I've never heard any versions of the Monaco, so cannot compare the two. My Parabolica replaces an SME 20/2 that I've had for 19 years, and improves on it in almost every way possible, if that's any help.

Very good to hear. Yes, I realize there may be no direct a/b comparos.

 

[jfrech]

What I heard of the Monaco 3.0/LPSU/Nighthawk last week was beyond astonishing.

What is the LPSU? Do you know if the owner tried other power supplies or batteries?

I have the GrandPrix battery, but I am thinking of trying a Nagra Classic PSU b/c I can also use it to power my Nagra streamer and maybe NAS too. The Grandprix battery (they call it Fuel Station) was better than the OEM wall wart....conversely, the Fuel Station has two outputs so I may try it on my Nagra Streamer as well....

 

[spiritofmusic]

What is the LPSU? Do you know if the owner tried other power supplies or batteries?

I have the GrandPrix battery, but I am thinking of trying a Nagra Classic PSU b/c I can also use it to power my Nagra streamer and maybe NAS too. The Grandprix battery (they call it Fuel Station) was better than the OEM wall wart....conversely, the Fuel Station has two outputs so I may try it on my Nagra Streamer as well....

A Sean Jacobs ARC6 DC4 with silver-gold-copper wire upgrade. I believe the owner hasn't heard the Monaco battery option, comments that it's 3x the price of the one he has.

 

[stsxerses]

What is the LPSU? Do you know if the owner tried other power supplies or batteries?

I have the GrandPrix battery, but I am thinking of trying a Nagra Classic PSU b/c I can also use it to power my Nagra streamer and maybe NAS too. The Grandprix battery (they call it Fuel Station) was better than the OEM wall wart....conversely, the Fuel Station has two outputs so I may try it on my Nagra Streamer as well....

As Marc mentions below I am using a Sean Jacobs ARC6 DC4 with silver-gold-copper wire upgrade. Prior to this I had an Optima Red Top car battery (which I also used on my previous Monaco 2.0). The Optima battery was certainly a big improvement on the GPA standard wallwart PSU but not in the same league as the Sean Jacobs LPSU. I have never heard the GPA fuel station, it would be interesting to compare

 

[stsxerses]

This might be of interest. Roys experience echoes mine

Sean Jacobs ARC6 DC4 PSU - Gy8

Not just another black box...

gy8.eu

 

[jfrech]

As Marc mentions below I am using a Sean Jacobs ARC6 DC4 with silver-gold-copper wire upgrade. Prior to this I had an Optima Red Top car battery (which I also used on my previous Monaco 2.0). The Optima battery was certainly a big improvement on the GPA standard wallwart PSU but not in the same league as the Sean Jacobs LPSU. I have never heard the GPA fuel station, it would be interesting to compare

So I have the Grand Prix Fuel Station. I'll try a Nagra Classic PSU next week...I'll report back. At some point a battery is a battery I'd think...but GPA also had a LOT of isolation around the battery...it's a complex enclosure like the motor controller.

@spiritofmusic not sure if you saw this...a battery with the Parabolica is a great upgrade idea...

Sean Jacobs ARC6 DC4 PSU - Gy8

Not just another black box...

gy8.eu

 

[spiritofmusic]

I've had some experiences, mixed at best, re batteries powering HiFi.
Namely Vince Rossi Black Lightning dual mono 24V batteries to my Straingauge cartridge energizer unit.
Compared to the stock wall wart there was a definite uptick in dynamics, but compared to the bespoke LPSU that I had made for me, those dynamics were retained, but the battery PSU was shown to be poor on tone and solidity, bass extension and slam, and despite being fully isolated from the mains, the batteries sounded greyer and grittier.
It would take a lot for me to re-consider going back to batteries for any audio again.
Especially with so much choice on high quality LPSUs otherwise.
Eg, I'm very happy with my Farad Supercap LPSU powering my current TT motor controller.

 

[stsxerses]

Interesting. My experience with the car battery was that whenever I felt the sound was a bit off it was nearly always because I found the charge on my battery had fallen to circa 80% requiring a top up to restore SQ. I am very happy with my LPSU but would be interested to hear the Fuel Station in my system

 

[spiritofmusic]

Is GP's Fuel Station immune to those issues?
I believe Emile of Taiko worked long and hard to counteract the issues of charging levels on SQ of the battery system in his Olympus server.
Not sure if Alvin has gone this far.

 

[bonzo75]

The GO Monaco Parabolica I heard set up by Kevin Scott,

The whole system was fuelled by two batteries, and they are not supposed to go below 30 percent. He never had them going beyond 50 in a listening day. The TT also has 12v battery

Post in thread 'SET amp owners thread'
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/set-amp-owners-thread.27070/post-853168

 

[spiritofmusic]

I visited that somewhat faulty Apogee Divas setup w Definitive Audio rack of Kuzma 4XL, Viv, Kondo cart/phono/pre/dac and Spectral (?) amps.
If that wasn't crazy enough, a whole room full of Kevin's battery packs and inverters, for good measure.

 

[jfrech]

Is GP's Fuel Station immune to those issues?
I believe Emile of Taiko worked long and hard to counteract the issues of charging levels on SQ of the battery system in his Olympus server.
Not sure if Alvin has gone this far.

All good questions and I don't know the answer. Looking forward to hearing my Monaco 3.0 powered via a Nagra Classic PSU. Will be a good and fairly easy a/b test/listening session. I have a Nagra DC cable with a lemo at one end and bare wire at the other. I ordered the hi rose connectors from Digi--Key for the input on the Monaco motor controller...a little solder work and should be ready quickly for listening.

 

[spiritofmusic]

That will be an interesting test, for sure.
Even if it's superior, I really can't see the financial logic of $25k on a Parabolica PLUS $15k on this battery PSU.
It'll be another LPSU. Farad Supercap has served me very well, and their TOTL one goes for $2.5k.

 

[djsina2]

How does it work with the arm boards? You get one of your choice with the table? What do additional ones cost?

 

[tima]

How does it work with the arm boards? You get one of your choice with the table? What do additional ones cost?

The high precision metal arm boards are CNC machined. Coupled with the design and setup costs for that, they are expensive to make. There needs to be a certain volume (and thus demand) for GPA to make an arm board they have not made before. So you may or may not get an arm board to match your current tonearm. One-offs can be made but those may be more expensive. I have boards for my Tri-Planar, 4-Point 11" and SME 3012R.

Worth noting: Parabolica and 3.0 turntables use a different 1 bolt TT mounting design and are not interchangeable with the 6 bolt versions used in the 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 tables.

What arm do you have?