Bang for the buck

Well, I felt I've reached a plateau with the Gyro and decided to get another table.

I've bought an SME 20/2a with an SME V arm. The price was so good I just couldn't pass it up! It was a b'day present to myself.

I felt a little bad being at Michell's factory on Monday and chatting with the guys....great bunch!

Now, what can I expect as an improvement?

Cheers!

Hi, Dave; your right, my perspective is based on prices charged for upgrades in the USA. In Great Britain the upgrades are much more reasonable.

I'll reinforce your recommendation for a good speed strobe and adjusting the speed controller as needed. And I'm not critisizing the Gyro SE; I think it's a great turntable as is.

Regards,
Tom

Let's keep things in perspective: The spindle/clamp upgrade is 80 GBP. Upgrading to an Orbe costs a little more than that.

I'd also suggest a good speed strobe like the Kab. As I mentioned, the stock Gyro power supply does have speed adjustment screw that you can get to by removing the case.

http://www.kabusa.com/strobe.htm

There's a cheaper one here:

http://www.sleevetown.com/turntable-accessories.shtml

(Neither depends on the mains power, which might not be at the right or even a consistent frequency.)

Hi, Misnomer; if I was going to start spending much more money on a Gyro SE I would probably just buy the Orbe or another table. I'm not a believer in putting lots of money into turntable upgrades. The cost of the Orbe spindle and clamp was pushing it as it was. The way I see it, why not just buy the better turntable in the first place?

Just an opinion, not based on real world experience, so take it for what it is.

Regards,
Tom

Thanks Tom,

So you didn't go whole hog for the platter? On another list a member says it deadens the sound.

I don't want to splash out £400 only to regret it.

Hi, Misnomer; you cannot go wrong with the Orbe spindle and clamp upgrade. I made the switch with my Gyro SE and the screw-down clamp is a big improvement over the stock clamp. You can make fine adjustments to clamping pressure as needed to get just the right "tuning".

Regards,
Tom

I also already have the tonearm decoupling kit installed. I'm just curious to see how far I can take this table.

I've been reading reports of the Orbe platter upgrade dampening the sound too much.

Anyone have any experience here?

Music tastes vary but I usually listen to jazz, electronic, classical, soul, blues...

My pre is an Audible Illusions Modulus 3a and I'm very happy with it. Running Pearl Cryo tubes in the output stage and Amperex Orange Globes in the phono stage.

I've been playing a lot over the last week or so and have made good progress. Paying lots of attention to levelling the table, tracking weight, VTA, and anti-skate. Lots of replaying reference music. Great fun!

The new EVO III is starting to settle in nicely and the technoarm has made a big improvement to the sound.

I might go with the clamp and am currently looking at power supply options. I am, currently in the UK.

Cheers!

Oops, I missed that you got a Technoarm. So I suggest researching cartridges. You haven't said anything about your phono preamplification.

You can get the Orbe clamp at a reasonable price from UK online retailers like Analogue Seduction (if you're not in the UK already.) It's a simple upgrade that I wouldn't hesitate to do first.

http://www.analogueseduction.net/product/Michell_Engineering_Orbe_Record_Clamp_Upgrade_Kit_For_GyroDec_and_GyroDec_SE_ME-OCK

I've bought several Michell upgrades and parts from them.

With this upgrade you keep the Gyro platter and replace only the spindle and clamp.

The tonearm de-coupling kit is also cheap and effective.

You also get the Orbe clamp if you upgrade to the Orbe platter, but not everyone seems to like the effect of the fatter platter (well at least one guy I know of who complains that it has negative effect on PRaT).

After that, the HR power supply upgrade (PSU) is rather expensive. I got mine on ebay for about $500. You could also get this from UK if you don't mind modding for the voltage difference yourself

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?eanlg&1168816683

By the way, the stock power supply does have a speed adjustment, but you have to open it up to get to it.

I think the Audio Note/Rega arm is a good base from which to explore other cartridges. (I don't know anything about Sumiko cartridges.)

A new tonearm would probably be the most expensive upgrade and could cost more than the table itself.

Room treatments are a non-issue. Taken care of.

I've just picked up a technoarm and am listening as I write.

Big improvement! No comparison!

So what's next?

How do you know he's not listening through headphones? Yeah, get some room treatments. Get some new shoes while you're at it. Couldn't hurt, right?

Plus 1 on the room treatments.
Theres not enough money in the world to spend on equipment, that a room correctly treated will accomplish.

Think room treatments, still the best bang.