Happy owner of SG 1.1 and centroid. And Mr. Perkins is a wonderful human being. Very customer focused and goes the extra mile to make sure Spiral Groove owners are happy and taken care of. This means a lot to me. When buying an expensive turntable, having the master/expert/head of the company personally overseeing your table (even if bought used) is a big deal. And owning three high end tables including the AMG v12, the Spriral Groove (with Goldfinger Statement) is the most accurate and big wide open sound like being at a live event.
Brinkmann/Spiral Groove/TW Acustic Black Night...?
Hi,
I'm seriously considering one of these turntables at the moment, and I would truly appreciate any opinions regarding them related to sonics, reliability, flexibility, ease of use & maintenance etc.
The candidates are:
- Brinkmann Balance anniversary (turntable, 10.5 tonearm, Ti-cartridge, tube power supply, HRS-platform)
- Spiral Groove SG1 + Centroid tonearm
- TW Acustic Black Night + Raven 10.5 tonearm
The price for these setups (used or new) are quite similar when adding a cartridge within the 4-5000$ price range to the Spiral Groove and TW Acoustic tables. But, I can get the Black Knight + Raven 10.5 tonearm new at about the same price as the others used.
I'm using the Brinkmann Bardo today, which I believe is a very neutral and reliable table. But, to some degree it doesn't manage to engage me enough emotionally being rather correct and slightly sharp around the edges. What I'm looking for in an upgrade is first and foremost a more generous and musical presentation (warmth, scale, texture, body, flow) - more music and less hifi if you wish.
My taste in music is varied, but I tend to optimize my system based on what I listen to the most (sing- and songwriters), which means that the handling of voices, acoustical instruments and piano are critical.
So far, my gut feeling tells me that the TW Acoustics Black Night might be the answer partnered with the right cartridge.
Of the three, only the Brinkmann Balance is available locally for audition.
My phono is the Zanden 1200 MKIII. The rest of the system consists of an Aesthetix Callisto Eclipse (preamp), Karan KA M2000 (monos) and Sonus Faber Futura (speakers). Cabling is Nordost Valhalla (power) + Kubala Sosna Elation (interconnects).
Any inputs are most welcome!
I'm seriously considering one of these turntables at the moment, and I would truly appreciate any opinions regarding them related to sonics, reliability, flexibility, ease of use & maintenance etc.
The candidates are:
- Brinkmann Balance anniversary (turntable, 10.5 tonearm, Ti-cartridge, tube power supply, HRS-platform)
- Spiral Groove SG1 + Centroid tonearm
- TW Acustic Black Night + Raven 10.5 tonearm
The price for these setups (used or new) are quite similar when adding a cartridge within the 4-5000$ price range to the Spiral Groove and TW Acoustic tables. But, I can get the Black Knight + Raven 10.5 tonearm new at about the same price as the others used.
I'm using the Brinkmann Bardo today, which I believe is a very neutral and reliable table. But, to some degree it doesn't manage to engage me enough emotionally being rather correct and slightly sharp around the edges. What I'm looking for in an upgrade is first and foremost a more generous and musical presentation (warmth, scale, texture, body, flow) - more music and less hifi if you wish.
My taste in music is varied, but I tend to optimize my system based on what I listen to the most (sing- and songwriters), which means that the handling of voices, acoustical instruments and piano are critical.
So far, my gut feeling tells me that the TW Acoustics Black Night might be the answer partnered with the right cartridge.
Of the three, only the Brinkmann Balance is available locally for audition.
My phono is the Zanden 1200 MKIII. The rest of the system consists of an Aesthetix Callisto Eclipse (preamp), Karan KA M2000 (monos) and Sonus Faber Futura (speakers). Cabling is Nordost Valhalla (power) + Kubala Sosna Elation (interconnects).
Any inputs are most welcome!