I said I would never buy another Turntable...Argh !!!
- Thread starter rockitman
- Start date
Tang, I just googled the picture of your impressive turntable with the three tonearms. The first entry was this one:
The second entry:
And the third:
___
This came up too:
Last edited:
The SME is quite surprising to me. I was not really successful using vintage EMT banana and Ortofon 297 with modern mc carts. But the SME actually sounds terrific with the GFS regardless of some critisms about the heavy headshell I am using. For me if a new equipment doesn’t give the same level of clarity and transparency that my existing gears offer I just lose interest in listening further. The SME is still on the AS and keeps me listening. I was a bit worried about a lack of details and resolution comparing to great modern arms. David told me 3012R has all that. And he is right. It holds up itself very well to the very detail musical info that GFS exhibits. To the same level as SAT or Axiom or not, that is to be heard when I switch GFS to the other two. I will be well over my head to say anything more at this point. One thing I don’t like about the SME is the locking mechanism of its armrest. I have to use one hand holding the lock open while the othe cueing dropping the needle. Other arms are one hand operation. Silly me right?
Tang
Thank you Tang ! You are right, the automatic locking is irritating, there should be a permanent unlock position.The SME is quite surprising to me. I was not really successful using vintage EMT banana and Ortofon 297 with modern mc carts. But the SME actually sounds terrific with the GFS regardless of some critisms about the heavy headshell I am using. For me if a new equipment doesn’t give the same level of clarity and transparency that my existing gears offer I just lose interest in listening further. The SME is still on the AS and keeps me listening. I was a bit worried about a lack of details and resolution comparing to great modern arms. David told me 3012R has all that. And he is right. It holds up itself very well to the very detail musical info that GFS exhibits. To the same level as SAT or Axiom or not, that is to be heard when I switch GFS to the other two. I will be well over my head to say anything more at this point. One thing I don’t like about the SME is the locking mechanism of its armrest. I have to use one hand holding the lock open while the othe cueing dropping the needle. Other arms are one hand operation. Silly me right?
Tang
Dear Tang,
To truly get to the bottom of all of this turntable stuff, and to answer some open questions about turntable/tonearm/cartridge combinations, I really think you’re going to need to order a Vyger.
Good morning Ron,
First, you are probably right about me not being so smart inviting Bonzo. He likely irritatingly insists me to switch a to b to c...when my arms/carts are already in the zone. If he is not a sloppy face value listener, he is not going to have enough time to listen and “get” what each piece has to offer. I also have to put up with him insulting my appetite for burgers.
Funny, Gian and I never met, never heard each other systems, live continent apart, yet we seem to hear the same things from many similar gears we own. He emailed me some impressions of his Atlantis. I believe it sounds unbelievable as he said. Gian and I normally don’t rave or defend gears that we own. We just give our impressions. If he got really excited about it it means he is smacked by “that” kind of soundfrom the Vyger. Two weeks ago the AS smacked me with that kind of sound also. You will be too. And you will think like me that this is the endgame tt. There is definitely something about a really high mass, air bearing tt, that just bring you closer and draw you into the music.
Tang
The SME is quite surprising to me. I was not really successful using vintage EMT banana and Ortofon 297 with modern mc carts. But the SME actually sounds terrific with the GFS regardless of some critisms about the heavy headshell I am using. For me if a new equipment doesn’t give the same level of clarity and transparency that my existing gears offer I just lose interest in listening further. The SME is still on the AS and keeps me listening. I was a bit worried about a lack of details and resolution comparing to great modern arms. David told me 3012R has all that. And he is right. It holds up itself very well to the very detail musical info that GFS exhibits. To the same level as SAT or Axiom or not, that is to be heard when I switch GFS to the other two. I will be well over my head to say anything more at this point. One thing I don’t like about the SME is the locking mechanism of its armrest. I have to use one hand holding the lock open while the othe cueing dropping the needle. Other arms are one hand operation. Silly me right?
Tang
This statement in bold is very interesting to me. Tang, you have a laboratory for vinyl listening and turntable/arm/cartridge combinations. If what you say is true, then are you primarily listening to the AS2000 with the three arms anc cartridges and leaving alone the AF1, Kronos and 927?
I appreciate the comments about the SME 3012R. It will be interesting to read what you share after you have heard the GFS in the other two arms, or the Opus and Atlas in the 3012R. You will have to try all possible combinations in order to settle on which arm/cartridge combinations are most successful for your tastes.
At first it bothered me. Hardly notice it now and adds an extra mesasure of accident prevention. I usually lift the arm but don’t return it all the way into the rest/lock when actively listening and flipping lps
I haven’t listened to Kronos and Techdas at all since the AS arrived. Kronos, Techdas and 927 (only after I put Axiom on.) have excellent transparency. My system is tweaked to have top transparency. I would not believe anyone saying one is more transparent than the other between the three. All of them are on CMS except AS on Stacore rack. This is the only variable I don’t know for sure making contribution or not. The AS surprised me at first listening with clarity and musical involvement I didn’t get this kind of first impressions from the othe three. You didn’t read my WoW comment in this forum or other forum on the Techdas. David and I share pretty much the same opinion of AF1 and he had no influence on me about how I hear it. The AF1 and Kronos to me have strong characteristics of their own. I have difficulty characterizing the 927 except for saying it is Roger Federer. My favorable comments on 927 also came after I had changed to modern arm. But the AS is really all you need in term of front end. If I want flavor I can play with four different arm/cart combos. Christian likes tapes so he listen both AS and tapes. Ask him if he still listen to the other two of his tts in the past month.
Tang
I haven’t listened to Kronos and Techdas at all since the AS arrived. Kronos, Techdas and 927 (only after I put Axiom on.) have excellent transparency. My system is tweaked to have top transparency. I would not believe anyone saying one is more transparent than the other between the three. All of them are on CMS except AS on Stacore rack. This is the only variable I don’t know for sure making contribution or not. The AS surprised me at first listening with clarity and musical involvement I didn’t get this kind of first impressions from the othe three. You didn’t read my WoW comment in this forum or other forum on the Techdas. David and I share pretty much the same opinion of AF1 and he had no influence on me about how I hear it. The AF1 and Kronos to me have strong characteristics of their own. I have difficulty characterizing the 927 except for saying it is Roger Federer. My favorable comments on 927 also came after I had changed to modern arm. But the AS is really all you need in term of front end. If I want flavor I can play with four different arm/cart combos. Christian likes tapes so he listen both AS and tapes. Ask him if he still listen to the other two of his tts in the past month.
Tang
He sure is buying more cartridges than tapes!
david
I hope Tang is not mad @ my previous humor.
But it's true too when you Google search for his TT pic with the 3 tonearms they give you car engine pics.
But it's true too when you Google search for his TT pic with the 3 tonearms they give you car engine pics.
Christian likes tapes so he listen both AS and tapes. Ask him if he still listen to the other two of his tts in the past month.
Tang
I don't have to ask, I already know the answer. I know Christian is buying lots of cartridges. I bet he is buying more LPs than tapes.
That may have more to do with the limited availability and high cost of tapes as opposed to his preference for vinyl vs. tape.
Tang needs to get the Vyger tt, and finally put to bed the preposterous notion that air bearing linear tracking arms are somehow not to be considered at these levels of perfection.
The Vyger has two planes of air bearing as compared to the AS, and air bearing to the arm.
If he's not listening to the Kronos or AF1, then there's plenty of real estate available if he moves these tts on to pastures new.
The Vyger has two planes of air bearing as compared to the AS, and air bearing to the arm.
If he's not listening to the Kronos or AF1, then there's plenty of real estate available if he moves these tts on to pastures new.
He sure is buying more cartridges than tapes!
david
I have a great tape collection..."almost" my entire wish list on tape at this point. It is still for special occasion listening. The LP spinners are used 90% of the time for listening. The AS is about 99% with occasional AF1 listening. Once I'm moved to my new place and the stereo is in the great room, all three of my TT's will be spinning at one time or another. Lack of time is the main culprit lately for my lack of use of my other TT's, Tape and digital. I still believe variety is the spice of life...
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |