lug your TT to the friends…….
i agree on refining your thinking about what was different…..and discerning how that relates to strengths / deficiencies in your gear and or setup….
Enjoy the music and the journey…
Do I buy an upscale TT?
I recently heard a $50K TT at a friend’s and was floored by the performance.
It was a sound from a system I have never heard.
I have a very nice Woodsong Garrard 301, Tri-Planar arm and Grado Epoch 3 cartridge. Going into an Atma-Sphere MP-1 pre wt phono.
Discovered an affordable TT based on the Legendary Commonwealth idler drive TT (said to be among the best). One is $8500 and the other more elaborate one is $15K.
And there is another highly modified brass Garrard 401 for $10K. (said to be as good as the Commonwealth)
The big question is whether or not I am going to be pleased with the improvement in sound? There will certainly be a lot of hassle to change TTs!
63 responses Add your response
@mglik you have a very nice system. Whether the Commonwealth or the tricked out 401 are better than what you have will be very much down to the details of their builds, how far they have been taken. Hard to know on paper. Do you feel your table/arm/cart are setup to a high level? I know that's a hard question to answer. Its possible setup could account for some difference. btw what table / arm / cart / phono blew you away? Just curious :) Lastly, and I see you have fondness for idlers, which I totally understand, have you heard good direct drive ?
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I have found tables to make an enormous difference in sound. Obviously not just the table though, it's the whole rig from the table to the arm to the cartridge as well as the phono stage. Like any other component tho, different units will have different signatures. As someone else said, what was the 50k table and it's constituent parts? I'd say I less it was a Garrard that's not the way I'd go. I know there's a whole cohort or people that love idlers but if you look at current technology, idler isn't it. Take the Thorens for example. The original version of that table was an idler but when they resurrected it they made it a direct drive. I'd say that the DD technology has come a long long way and is as good as or better than many belt or idler drives. I have a brinkmann Bardo and it's absolutely amazing. In the end, what I'd say is try and listen to some high end analog rigs and see what YOU like before dropping 10k or more |
There are world class turntables based on idler arm, sprung, and unsprung. Personally, unless one is strongly rewarded by nostalgia for a youthful experience or reproducing a “sound” from your history, it makes no sense to buy old tables. The formula has not been lost. But the available tooling and parts as well as designs have leaped forward over the last fifty years. Especially around the turn of the century there was a huge advancement in turntables. I would recommend taking advantage of new technology. The Tri-Planar is a very well respected tone arm… I would recommend using it on a contemporary turntable. Go listen to some high end tables. |
there are a number of people who have traveled down the road of simply buying improved levels of Garrard 301. they love the 301 sound and want better, but don’t really want a different sort of sound. and they get to a place where it’s an ultimate for them. done. and the 301 is that good to be an end spot. had one and loved it. and others who want something different and more all around transparent and refined. is the Commonwealth a ’better’ Garrard? or is it something else that goes to a high level? don’t know. if it’s a better Garrard then make sure that’s the direction you want to go or it might not be worth the trouble. maybe depends on your choice of music. will a different type sound take you someplace you really want to go? be of value to you? the guy with the $50k tt sounds like trouble to me.
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