2. analog
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Are there other Artisan Fidelity TT owners aorund?

So after being an audio hobbyist since my uncle got me going down this demented path some 17 years ago I finally purchased a TT. I had flirted with the idea for a very long time but honestly I've heard a number of TT's at shows and at buddies homes and none of them moved me. Now obviously many many variables are involved. Lets start with, was their TT setup correctly (superlatively).., I don't know. Was the arm/cartridge combination simpatico.., again, I don't know. Was the phono preamp just so-so or great and if it was great was the cartridge loaded correctly.., you get my drift.

So with my digital down through the years easily besting (to my ears) the analog I'd been privy to, I found no reason to spend the money required to involve myself with analog. My former Bidat easily dispatched a SOTA Cosmos Vacuum TT in a head to head listening session. Ditto for my former Dynavox Dynastation.., same with my AMR DP777...etc.

At Axpona last year I listened to the $170K Clearaudio TT along with about $85K worth of Pass Amplification and perhaps $200K worth of JM Labs speaker and cabling only to be more moved by the sound from the Playback Design MPD-5 in the same room.

Finally I realized the only way I would ever find out for myself would be to purchase my OWN TT and make sure it was expertly setup and dialed-in. I had a rare chance to purchase a latest-revision-pristine example of a Graaf GM70 Phono Preamplifier. I have a soft spot for Graaf as Mr. Mariani simply builds the finest gear I have laid ears on. So now I have this phono pre sitting in the box for a few months when I see a SP 10 MK III come up for sale in Agon. So, I threw caution to the wind and contacted Chris at Artisan Fidelity; after some conversation I hung up having just commissioned the building of a SP10 MKIII Next Gen TT.

I was happy for about a month then the fear started to creep in, "what have I done?". What if this thing SUCKS!!!! and my digital system which is very very very good if I do say so myself stomps it!

During the build I researched and read tons of user reviews (I don't really pay attention to so-called pro reviewers) on arms and cartridges. I finally settled (with a lot of talking to Chris and other friends and a lot of late night web searching) on the Kuzma 4 Point and the Ortofon MC Anna.

So, here we are today and I have had my TT for a little over 3 weeks now and I have about 150 - 160 hours on the rig. Early on it sounded ok, you know.., good but nothing special. I liked it but my digital was fully up to the task and in some cases much better :) (now I'm scared)

Ok, so fast forward to 100 hours.., ok, I think I'm starting to understand all this analog hype :) better and better. now we are at 150 hours.., the word SUBLIME comes to mind. The spaciousness, openness and natural continuity of the analog is addictive. The dynamics seem to go on forever along with a naturalness that is very difficult to put into words. I did purchase the Furutech Demag, the Destat II, a scale..., all the toys to go along with it :) Again, I wanted to know for myself and the only way to do that was to take the plunge.

So how does my digital hold up? Well, my well run-in long time AMR DP777 has NOTHING to be ashamed of. It sounds great and I can easily go from the TT to the DP without too much shock (the AMR guys are big vinyl heads and use vinyl as a reference when designing) BUT... when I have two equally well recorded pieces of music (Best of Eva Cassidy comes to mind or Diana Krall Live in Paris 24/96 vs 180g/45) as good as my digital sounds the SP10MK III simply walks away. Again the digital is not trodden underfoot and indeed 20 seconds of the digital and you will be into it fully, but the analog rig beguiles with its effervescent ease and infinite continuity of musical flow.

Ok, so to end this long synopses.., I am now deeply into analog and have been going to local used record stores and burning up my cc on Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds...etc.

The folks at Artisan Fidelity are the real deal and they built me a museum quality +180 pound Porsche Basalt Black TT/piece of art that sounds AMAZING!!!!

I also ordered a Bassocontinuo Apogeo rack for the table which should arrive in about 2 weeks. I am enjoying my foray into the land of analog!!!

THANKS CHRIS!!!!!!!
audiofun

Showing 13 responses by sonofjim

sonofjim
557 posts
 
I have worked with Chris in the past and will again in the future, most likely on an NG MKlll very similar to yours. His work is gorgeous. The MKlll has great flexibility and in my opinion, when well implemented, there really is no better table. Reliable, simple to operate and reference quality playback. Congratulations on your table. You're very lucky to have one.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Audiofun,

Sounds like you're seeking out good sounding vinyl to play on your new table. Consider the Stockfisch titles for sale at Elusive Disc. Any of their samplers or any Sara K title (Waterfalls or In The Groove) will sound amazing on your system. They are direct metal mastered. Not sure of the source, nor do I care. They have amazing sound quality.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
No problem, I myself own two MKllls. If I were single, I'm sure I'd have an idler drive and maybe even a DP-100. Still, I don't think a well implemented MKlll can be beat. Every time I see one up for sale it pains me that I can't buy another one, even though I have no need for another. I'm glad you found one and appreciate it. I really don't think a better drive mechanism has ever been devised. I anticipate I'll be making another drive to Hammond to have my second MKlll put in Chris's NG plinth soon. You could easily spend twice what these two MKllls cost me to put together another table that doesn't perform as well. Pictures of my current set up are available on my system page if interested.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
The projector is a Runco actually and is old enough it really could be upgraded. It still has a good picture though and at some point you have to consider yourself lucky just to have what you do. My wife can only take so much.

You'll love love play and display frames. The bottoms of some of mine stuck a bit far out from the wall for my taste. If you find this to be the case, I recommend sticking the bottom corners down with small squares of adhesive Velcro available at any hardware store. They make the whole assembly more solid and stable. The ease of switching out album art and playing the records can't be beat.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
No experience with Koetsu. I can speak for the Reed 3P arm as probably the best arm I've ever had. I use mine with the Benz LP-s which is a great cartridge as well but the 3P is the only arm I have that's kept it under control(very heavy cartridge with a relatively high compliance). The 3P is a beautiful and well designed arm. Mine is cocabolo and palladium. Pictures do it no justice. No experience with Ikeda either although I know they tend to be high mass arms that would work well with a Koetsu also. My suggestion would be to audition a Koetsu somewhere first. They are pricey and don't seem to be everyone's cup of tea. Don't be afraid to try a moderately priced MM cartridge on your second arm. That's why one of my four arms is the EPA 500. I can switch out arm wands in less than a minute and some of the most fun you can have in vinyl is trying out $150-800 MM cartridges. You just may start wondering why you spent so much on a LOMC. Granted, I enjoy both but my eyes have been opened. The Ortofon M20 fl Super is one of the best cartridges I have and cost me $180 NOS and I have two NOS stylus replacements. In no way is expensive always better.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Sorry, I forgot to mention that the Ortofon m20 fl Super, if you can find one, works quite well on the Reed 3P as well. In fact, Dobbins used to recommend the m20 fl super to buyers with the Reed arm until they could afford something more expensive. My take from this is that the Reed arm may be much more flexible than the Ikeda. My advise is mostly anecdotal so investigate for yourself as seen fit. I just think if you only try expensive LOMC cartridges you may be spending more than you need to. A relatively inexpensive MM can really perform and in a second arm I would certainly want to leave that option open. What do you have to lose? $200 vs $5,000?
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Just dropped my MKIII off at Chris's this weekend for NG upgrades and spent a couple hours seeing a few things he has in the works. As impressive as the plinths are, they're really doing some amazing metal machining. Constantly looking for ways to make it better too.
It was also my first look at a Kuzma 4 point which is an impressive piece of machinery in itself. I have no idea if that arm will ever fit into my system or budget but it certainly inspires gear lust.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
The Live in Paris LP is really good. If you like that sonically try a Stockfisch Sara K LP, Waterfalls or In the Groove. These German LPs may be digitally sourced, I really don't know or care. They sound significantly better than any Diana Krall recording ever did and her sadly departed backup guitarist, Chris Jones, was amazing. Seriously, if you don't like these send them to me with the bill. I'll give them to a friend or keep them as a backup. I can send you my address in a PM if needed but I doubt that will be necessary.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
I should have more sense than to jump in on a flame war and I make no claim of engineering genious but here's my opinion.
I'm a big fan of the Mklll. I own two and have enjoyed them every day. One of the best designs ever? Probably. It's too bad they're so hard to find and not available to more people. When I first acquired one I reguarded it as a precious relic to not be blastphemed by further modification and I would understand anyone seeing it that way. My outlook has since changed though and I no longer put it on a pedestal. It is my turntable, a music machine. As good as it was when it was produced there is no creation out there that cannot be improved upon either with new materials, things overlooked or higher quality parts.
If the original Mklll was perfect why would we use after market plinths as Richard mentioned. Why do we strip away the factory chassis for direct mounting and rebuild the power supply using modern parts? One of my Mkllls has even had the sinister Krebs mod to no ill effect I can assure you. I don't think guys like Bill Thalman and Albert Porter would be on board with the mod if it was destroying national treasures. What of Chris Thornton's remarkable modifications to the venerable 301 in his Statement design? Is that desecration? I think it's improvement.
It's up to the individual owner to do what they see fit. If you find a classic car in your grandma's garage you can restore it to factory specs or chop it and hot rod the engine. Either approach is acceptable and neither destroys the car. I choose to optimize performance and not worry about whether I have a museum piece or not. I think the mods in question were well thought out and concerns over this oil have been blown out of proportion. I say do what you prefer and enjoy the music. The Mklll itself is near bullet proof.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
I do finally have my MKlll NG in place and am in the process of setting up the tonearms and cartridges. So far I just have the mono set up but it sounds great. It's clear that the whole assembly was built meticulously to very tight tolerances. The table operates smoothly and is dead silent in this plinth which is how it was intended to run.

The NG-S looks incredibly cool but I'm afraid as a guy with a family it just isn't a realistic option at that price. It might also just crush my equipment stand(over 200#). What an impressive construction though.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
On the subject of mats, I'm sure Chris's copper mat is very well made and fits the platter perfectly. I'm also certain that it sounds better than the stock rubber mat. Just about anything does. I never use my stock mat. Also consider trying the Saec-s300, Micro Seiki CU-180 and the Boston Audio Mat 2 if you can find one. The first two are vintage products and, sadly, it appears that Boston Audio is now also out of business. Changing mats is one of the easiest, quickest and most fun tweaks available.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
By and large, I agree that no weight or clamp is often my preference. Only when certain records seem like they may slip a bit do I use my weight. I don't know if certain discs are more prone to slipping because of texture/weight or maybe a looser fit at the spindle or both. When they seem stable though I think things are more open and "alive" sounding without the clamp. This the way I use both the Boston and Saec SS300 mats.
I also have two Micro Seiki CU-180 mats which would appear to be similar to the AF mat although they aren't pure copper but gun metal (whatever that is it looks like copper). These I'm currently not using. It would be fun to compare all these with the AF but for now cost is a prohibiting factor. Having seen many of Chris's latest creations I'm sure it's a sharp looking piece too.
sonofjim
557 posts
 
Chris would be happy to help you figure that out Downunder, I'm sure. Check out the AF site and send him an email inquiry.
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