passed customs, on my way home, still very healthy and looking forward to unpacking after having made all clearance procedures |
Fcrowder, you may not get too much enlightment, how should you - but I do like your positive attitude. Stay positive anyhow... |
Melbourne, Singapur, Las Vegas or Herne - where to go first?
the problem is all those important guys are at CES right now and lay foundations for the analogue future, hopefully...
as I am very much addicted to the Far East I will start with Melbourne ! |
Rushton, thanks for your advise. I will give Jay a call and tell you about my assessment.
Peter, you are right. I am interested in the technology and maybe Continuum offers more than the simple modern attempts which are in my eyes more a less a marketing campaingn in the top notch.
It is not about spending money but looking for convincing technolgy solutions.
I doubt whether the magnetic field of the Caliburn is an advantage or disadvantage? Some people tend to avoid magnetic solutions due to their possible impact on the cartridge. |
Narrod and Elinor, of course you are right too and I do see from your statements you have quite an understanding of analogue business in this segment.
we might see some improvements, also on the design side, in this week. So it is an ongoing journey... |
Before all TTs are listed here, pls. wait two more days.
But what is so special with the Saskia except of good looking? |
Halcro, pls. let me add good stands for the TT, amps etc. -meaningly vibration control and decoupling treatments! |
good idea! I have been in Vegas three years ago after the RMFA in Denver having met Thomas there too- but this time it should be a bit quiter.
I heard there should be an upcoming analogue event in Portugal (analogue only), maybe before I touch down in Westfalia I have a short look at this event. Looks like I have to visit a travel agency first - oh dear! |
Thuchan would never spent so much money on just one table. So maybe when I have finished my suggested show-schedule prices have melted down as well - Australia is the country of dreams I learned...
Stringreen, my friends at Porsche always try to sell a Panamera to me which is not a bad car at all. It comes with a Burmester-system. I had to finish the discussion when I was offered only the Bumester system as a first installment of my services for Porsche... |
Stringreen, this is of course a statement and you maybe be very fast. My vintage Z8 will stay a little behind you...
Raul, to be honest: Raven, SME or Monaco do not push my emotions very much. They are good machines but what is so special regarding technological inventions? |
Lewm, the Omegas have 2000 Watt per channel, maybe enough power for the Grand Slamm III ?
I do understand and you are all fully right in the way asking why does it need a new table? I come back to this - need to shovel snow outside... |
it is of course an extreme hobby and maybe we all are not judged by average parameters as it is the case of other extreme hobbies too - also regarding prices and money! I just had a book in hands called "Toys For Boys", the Caliburn is displayed carrying a not connected Lyra Olympos...
as we are human beings living together with humans & good friends our hobby does have a certain impact on their life too. My dog loves the music but not all of my family members regard the TTs of "that afficinado" as a sane issue.
When it comes to buying the next TT this could become not only a matter of pleasure as Breuninger described it (agree completely!!!) but we are responsible to define the conditions how it may become a joyful enterprise.
Raul, I was going the path you followed and considered bying the Cobra tonearm or maybe the Copperhead as Halcro did. Then I thought why should I add another arm without having the mounting space. Of course I could dismount one of my arms. I am currently so happy with this armada (sorry!) I would not like to change anything.
Lewm, I am also very happy with the sound. The Wilsons are matched with the Omegas and the ML-32 using Stealth Dream and Crystal Cable Dreamline silver cables. It sounds warm but with a punchy background especially when you are using a FR-7fz in a FR-66s.
Nevertheless the Caliburn is a big instrument incoporating very interesting technolgies in TT-building. Michael Fremer has described this very well in his two articles on the Caliburn and Criterion. What I don`t like is the old fashioned looking Castellan stand. It is not a plug & play table. Some people say you need two days to build it up.
So maybe looking for a smaller solution? |
Halcro,
yes it is a really time consuming expedition. I know it from Chris (& Steve) in Atlanta, who really knows how to build it up. But in any case I would not do it without the support of Continuum people.
It is a bit easier with the Criterion. You are right one may use other stands like the Castellan. Maybe I am going to use a Copulare Grand Porto in black & silver... have to think about it...
enjoy your excellent system - Eckart |
Peter, amazing video. wow -you are walking between machines. Looks like a studio with warm and nice atmosphere |
very good architect - beautiful hall - as the city is |
great report Mike, did you have the chance to audit the Caliburn playing with the Wilson loudspeakers? |
its so heavy - puuh! why I am doing this? I remember Clint Eastwood carrying a large wooden coffin behind him. Maybe I am looking like him now - in the outback... |
Mike and Kipdent, thanks for your valuable reports and insights. That`s fantastic. How small the world can be !!
The small Wilsons are different to the big ones - but the Sasha is the new model - hmm
Halcro, this is a fantastically designed living room. The High-End equipment is integrated in a very special way. Your pictures enable views of the Caliburn I did not have so far. Nevertheless what is your friend cooking on the table? :-) |
Sam, you mean the VTA tower of the Cobra I suppose.
They tested the Cobra arm seperately in a German magazine with very good results - but in German magazines you´ll find only positive statements - no balanced comments or suggestions for improvements, tss.
I am leaving now Vegas heading towards my next stop on this Continuum journey - Singapore. |
I had very good talkings in Singapore and now I am quite sure what I will be faced with. Tomorrow morning I will take a great leap forward and go to Australia.
Halcro, I might ring your bell in the evening, if you don`t mind. I will then head forward to Melbourne on my virtual tour... |
Thanks Halcro, David and Ldvalve. I had a very nice exchange with Henry in Sydney and I am now heading to Melbourne.
I will take a car. I made this trip some 25 years ago, it took me 2 weeks ending up at Pinguin island and I do remember very well I burned my head completely. This will not happen again. And I will be faster this time.
But maybe something else will start arousing heat in me... I will report. Ldalve I give you a call |
Having arrived in Melbourne I had the opportunity to audition this TT. All I have to say is: I am very much impressed - but also by the price. If I would get this piece for half the price "deal done". Maybe I have to stay some more days... |
Rcprince, yes I do think it costs too much! But what should you do?
Mikelavinge, you`re right -maybe it is a matter of getting to know if a Continuum is playing such wonderful in one`s own system. You already made this experience. I envy you.
As some good friends of me say I am a friend of quick decision I only needed one more night and I don`t know what really drove me today`s morning, is it the good seafood & the excellent wine in Melbourne or the wonderful relaxed people overhere? - in Germany there should be lots of snow I heard.
Luckily I rented a station wagon and had some room left, so I put this little wooden crate behind me and I`m now now heading back to Sydney - maybe getting a flight back home.
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/UHMRwc5EVezTYm2rNFIRuw?feat=directlink |
it is a long journey from the other side of the world back to snowy Bavaria. Patience, Patience my dear friends. You already provided me with so many helpful advises and of course moral backing (!!!) on this journey... Thanks
when you open the small box you will see this on top...
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/5QkGKS1D2VjQSNssgvoy3A?feat=directlink |
Dbcooper, in the outback you are not allowed to talk about value you are carrying behind you. Otherwise the result will be a very final one. Never tell anyone with how many coins you arrived.
But you are right. I had some travel costs. So we had a long night drinking German and Australian Beer and finally the seller agreed paying the bill... |
my journey comes to an end mirroring the exact time-schedule of the new machine having arrived at my home. It may look cloak and dagger but there is a final result - hope it convinces you.
I learned from friends that you should not open a parcel containing a musical instrument before the room temperature has reached the instruments - so I still have to be patient for a little while, just a little... |
David, hope I find some bottles in the crate. I guess your wine cellar is filled with those... |
unpacking finished!
looks like a turntable!?
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/ZLgkIbwN-9oQ_lPeao5UGA?feat=directlink
now I go for penfolds grange...
|
Thanks David, Thanks Peter,
at the moment the Copulare stand arrived. this is a very special Grand Porto for a very special table...and very heavy too
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/MtqGmLiA-4finbpSN2dxKg?feat=directlink
it might take some time to puzzle everything together... but this will be fun |
The Criterion manual is one of the best of its kind like the Copperhead manual, the arm I will mount on the Criterion. Redscouser, it seems you have experience with that table. Thanks for the advice. You mean using the four screws and moving the board a little I guess. Does it work like a flywheel? It should have some impact on the platter. Dietrich, you are right, this is a somehow dangerous job - keeping the hands not in the right position when lowering the heavy platter - uuh. As I am sitting in a train right now there is no risk at the moment... |
Breuninger, I have to study this click-click-clock system deeper. Maybe I am saving some sport activities between the units of my system and some more advantages will come up...
David, you are on a good track. This is my first TT I bought when I returned from Japan in 1995. I paid the amount of 5.000 Euro. No one was interested in analogue in those times... |
Kostas, my decision making started in 2006 at the High End show in Munich. It was more a long time process than a sudden impulse. Nevertheless the thread and the good advices helped me to settle my decision in the end.
I cannot give a judgement right now, I need some time of listening but Mike is on the right track. We have to compare it with a Caliburn some day - maybe in the same system...
I am slowly proceeding. The neodymium tabletts which keep the floating armboard in position is a wonderful invention, especially in the completion of Continuum. I dismounted everything and assembled it again. The difference on impact it has on the sound I will figure out when everything is in place - and then maybe changing the distance between the tabletts from underneath the chassis.
At the moment I have a more stiffer calibration by reducing the distance to the near minimum.
http://picasaweb.google.de/caochan1/Criterion |
It´s done! Everything is fine. The Copperhead is a delicate but excellent tonearm. I wouldn`t like to change the cartridge too many times in the Copperhead.
From my experience the weight scales in the manual are not exact.
I have put some pics under my system |
Breuninger,
you are absolutely right. I have to think about a new position for the stand and the caliburn. The current position is sub-optimal. Nevertheless this looks like a luxury problem but I have to reach the transformers and phono stages.
You see it never ends... |
as a first measurement I pulled the loudspeakers some 25 cm into the room - not bad.
BTW - it`s fun moving the Wilsons around... |
Thanks Soundlistening, C1ferrari, Halcro and all other supporting friends.
It was a very pleasant trip. I enjoyed a lot.
Some of the travelling companions still believe I was lost in Down Under - and somehow I am. Salut
Eckart
|
Dear Lewm, it`s aContinuum Criterion with a Copperhead tonearm carrying a Lyra Olympos.
You`re right you cannot see details on the website of Continuum. Maybe the pic under the following link helps to answer your question. It´s a usual type drive, the belt runs around the big sub-platter which has not a smaller diameter than the top-platter.
The armboard is mounted on neodym tablets. You may change the distance between the armboards magnets and the lower magnets by turning a screw from underneath the chassis, so also when running the Criterion. This will change the sound if you like. Mark has told me this, it is not written in the manual.
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/fomE6Ej0CEmJ4D-WeqU3EQ?feat=directlink
... hope the link works |
It depends whom you ask, but from my experience the Caliburn is bigger, heavier, got a magnetic support for the really heavy platter, a different air system with air bearing, the control unit and vacuum are different and it is equipped with the Cobra. On top of it you get the Castellan stand which is part of the system as Continuum says. Ah forgot, the amount in Dollars you may save runs a little over a 6 digit number... but you got to get the big brother...
There are some new inventions especially realized in the Criterion, also a better vacuum unit.
For building up a Caliburn system you should invest two days, a little less for the little brother.
Did you make your decision? |
I am married Peter, yes - but not to Continuum. They are using a somehow transparent belt which fits quite well. One could also use a VPI round belt. I am not sure about the material. We have to search for. You can move the motor unit just a little to raise the tension - but it`s all right. Experimenting here needs to dismount the arm and remove the cover.
here is a closer pic of the Continuum belt
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/RD60Hg3DnfiNeevifG98GA?feat=directlink |
I got the information of which material the belt is, it is Pyrathane (see article of MF March 2008).
I read in Mike Fremers article that the feet of the Criterion are very special and keep vibrations under control.
This they do not very good as my experiment with RDC-feet showed. I am using the lower half of the RDC feet of Clearlight-Audio putting it under the Criterion feet - and the result is a dramatic one. All quiet at the western front!
Maybe this was a kind of saving measurement by Continuum in contrast to the Caliburn concept.
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/tksLGRX4sT9DLC0eOZVEKw?feat=directlink |
a good friend of mine living a little more than 10.000 miles away asked me for a verdict on the Criteron/Copperhead. Everyone who knows me does understand that this is a very difficult job to do regarding the different cartridges, arms, pre-amps etc. i am using on and with the TTs. Nevertheless I used the same chain (Kondo KSL & M7) comparing the Micros with the Continuum.
Here is my result: As the Micros supported by the VPI flywheels are transporting the sound in a very brutal, but not cool or hard and never disguising way (you nearly hear everything) the Criterion is more on the elegant side. The Copperhead with the Olympos creates a very open and transparent sound picture. The quiteness and stableness might be a result of the precison of the electronics as well as of the new vaccuum and the platter design.
It is really fun as it is with the Micros and you may start whipping your feet cause the system plays the records in a fascinating and overwhelming way. I never enjoyed my beloved jazz-records but also other music as I do with this TT. I think it is the first time the Lyra Olympos met its perfect partner in my system - in the Copperhead.
All parts of this TT are pretty well manufactured also the Copperhead. I would recommend anyone who is using the Copperhead to be very careful when moving the tail to the right side which is recommended. Using too long screws when mounting the weights you might touch the tails surface (maybe a hint for a small design change...??).
The unshielded cooper litz might deserve a better solution in the future. I also heard that Continuum is considering providing shielded cables as DaVinci does it in a proper way. Maybe I will exchange it to a Ikeda silver litz and shield the cable when it sees the light. Some of the Criterions or Caliburn owners reported me they are sometimes able to listen to radio.
Using many vacuums I was very surprised how silent the Continuum vacuum works. The design how the vaccum tube leaves the Criterion convinces me much more than with the Caliburn.
I am happy that the Criterion does not need as much servive (hopefully) as the Caliburn does due to its bearing design. I did not want to go for a big magnetic field underneath the table, one reason why I went to the Criterion. Nevertheless it takes nearly the same amount of time to build up the system as it does with the Caliburn. It is in no way a plug and play player. The management and the possibilites of the neodym tablets for the armboard should be mentioned in the next manual. I know that Continuum service people usually do build up the tables. I like to mention this topic because it is a wonderful invention and pretty well executed.
I rather would like to use a second armboard not knowing whether it might touch the top side of the motor pulley. I didn´t see an external hole in the rear of the body for an additional tonearm cable. I guess one should bring it very close to the motor... so maybe some questions I should discuss.
As this is definitely the best modern TT I have listened to so far I will not give away the Micros in the next week...
http://picasaweb.google.de/lh/photo/wkgiDekA80lVbDTyXivgVg?feat=directlink |
Hi Nilthepill, here is my final verdict:
The Continuum Criterion is musically elegant, whilst remaining dynamic. The Copperhead, partnered with the Lyra Olympos, delivers an extremely open and transparent musical soundstage. The quiet, precise and stable sound is most probably due to the precise electronics partnered with the vacuum platter.
I have never enjoyed my cherished records as much as with the Continuum Criterion, this includes, jazz, vocal, rock and roll as well as other genres. It may well be the first time the Lyra Olympos encounters its soul mate in my system, the Copperhead.
The build and construction of all the parts serves the mechanical needs as well as being aesthetical appealing.
The unshielded cooper litz wire did benefit from an improved design which I was able to test; it is the least protected and aesthetical part of the Copperhead. I cut the wire shorter at the point it connects with the larger part of the cable. The signal has a shorter path to the Kondo KSL/SFZ transformer; the sound is improved dramatically.
A further step was taken by replacing the copper wire with a silver litz, this took the improvements further in the direction I wanted, I have learnt to appreciate the gain when silver is introduced at this stage in the signals' path.
Having used quite a few vacuum turntables, I was pleasantly surprised how silent the Continuum vacuum system is. The particular design of the vacuum system is very well designed.
This is by no means a plug and play system. A day or two with an experienced analog fan enabled complete and satisfactory installation. The variables made possible with neodymium armboard should be explained in the manual. I mention this again because its a magnificent design that is carefully and well executed.
This is definitely the best modern TT I have had the pleasure to listen to in my system. It will, I am certain, remain for a long time here in my listening room.
http://picasaweb.google.de/caochan1/ContinuumCriterion?authkey=Gv1sRgCPPGseyShuS7SA |
Dear Raul,
returning from the High End 2010 in Munich yesterday I was a little dissapointed that the overall interest in analogue gear declined a little (!) in comparison to last years`s show. Of course nearly everyone runs a TT in the showroom but some contenders are missing this time, Continuum too.
Maybe most of the analogue friends are well equipped at the moment. I saw a new Thales arm and the new TW Acoustic arm. Both sounded good. |
I am considering testing a Cobra arm on my Criterion. I learned that I need a special bases for the Cobra. Does anybody have experience with a Cobra mounted on a Criterion.? Maybe someone could provide me with his assessment how the two arms differ in sound on this TT...?! |
It was interesting to have the opportunity to compare the Continuum Copperhead and the Cobra tone arms on the Criterion. After sometime setting up the tone arms I got a point were critical listening was finally possible.
The Cobra portrays a broader sound, to some extent rounder, with a stunning foundation to top the musical experience. It does however concede a little against the Copperhead in the arenas of speed and higher frequency timbre; perhaps this is the silver wiring that the Copperhead hosts? Nothing is over emphasized such as the dynamics with idler drives.
Yes I enjoy the Copperhead immensely!
The Cobra is hosting a Clearaudio Goldfinger v2 that requires almost 87grms counter weight
Regarding ergonomics I have to say that Azimuth adjustment is far better with the Cobra, lift is not as well placed, and this should really be redesigned given the price tag!
Names? Well I would name the Cobra a Whale and the Copperhead a Dolphin
. Not that exotic I guess but that will give you an idea!
|
It is interesting to learn right now from the engineers having developed Cobra and Copperhead that those great arms are 3D designs. |
Having aligned a my sonic ultra Bc cartridge in the Copperhead recently I believe that the Continuum tonearms are not only rare animals but among the best sounding tonearms ever designed.
|
Halcro,
I guess MF was getting tired on exchanging carts in the Cobra, which I understand. I use a Goldfinger v2 in my Cobra via the Boulder 2008 and will never change this line. As a reviewer I would keep an arm with exchangable headshells like the Axiom or FR66s. The Kuzma 4point isn’t really bad, nevertheless I prefer the Airline, using only matching carts for tangential scanning (without rubber).
|
Halcro,
You're right, MF could mount a second arm. The Swedish arm looks not pretty much matching but he seems not caring a lot. I guess he likes the Caliburn which I do understand. He is borrowing still for a long time, why not? 😇 |
Dear Raul,
Having owned and tested many (and still own some very good) tables, tonearms, phono-pres and carts I am pretty sure that the table is the basis to build upon. The virtual journey I made to Continuum in Melbourne some 6 years ago was a very funny one as you might remember. Having ended up with a Continuum Criterion I put this unit on a very special stand also improving vibration control. I never regret having done this investment. It is a pitty that a company like Continuum ended up with a small unit today, which should have seen the light of the day much earlier. The success story of these tables were ingenious people improving the design, especially the electronics continuously. Since today I never had a problem with my Continuum. |
