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Brinkmann Bardo

I just replaced a Clearaudio Avantgarde Magnum with a Brinkmann Bardo. Both had the Phantom tonearm II.

Wondering if anyone else has bought this table and what their thoughts are?

My initial impressions are that it grabs your attention and does not let you wander off in thoughts as you listen to music. Maybe a little less open then the Clearaudio, but more grounded and solid as a result.
I definitely like it more than the Balance, which I found to be too "damped" and a bit boring to listen too.

I also felt that changing the arm to the Graham resulted in a more profound change and improvement to the character of the system than the table swap.
dbjain

Showing 4 responses by audiofeil

audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>06-16-10: Downunder
Are Brinkman serious that it takes 12 seconds for the platter to reach 33.3 rpm's?
That is insane<<

Shane, perhaps but the Bardo's drive system is a bit different than your P3 so the comparison is apples to oranges. It's like comparing Bardo to my Technics SP-25 which comes to speed almost instantly.

I display the Brinkmann Oasis (model above Bardo) and it's start up time is similiar. It does take a bit of getting used to but in reality given that most album sides are 20+ minutes, 12 seconds is really a pittance. You become accustomed to it quickly and it's a small price to pay for superior performance IMO.

To address your "affect (sp) speed stability" question, the Brinkmann drive systems are incredibly accurate. The motor controllers and heavy platters ensure precise speed- far more accurate than most belt drives.

YMMV

Dealer disclosure
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>06-16-10: Downunder
Lew, for me, yes it would.
I use my two DD's and really appreciate the ultra quick start up/start down time.<<

Right. It's very important to begin and end a listening session with as few delays as possible.

Let's assume for grins and giggles that you listen to 8 (eight) album sides in a listening session. Assuming each side is 20 minutes, your total listening time is 160 minutes or 2 1/3 hours.

Now the difference between the Bardo start up time (12 seconds x 8 album sides= 96 seconds) and your table (0.3 seconds x 8 album sides= 2.4 seconds) is 93.6 seconds or 0.9% of your listening time.

Makes sense to me. You could spend all of that extra time cutting your toenails or perhaps taking a bathroom break
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
It was all in fun.

The P3 is a terrific product.

And it saves a lot of time. If you listened to 8 album sides every day for a month, there would be a 46.8 minute surplus using Shane's P3 vs. the Bardo.

Enough time to read one of these useless threads.

:-)))
audiofeil
4,011 posts
 
>>06-18-10: Dbjain
I think the tonearm match with these tables is probably a very important factor<<

Totally agree.

I'm using a Dynavector 507 II and Triplanar on an Oasis with wonderful results.

Dealer disclaimer.
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