Dr. Feickert Turntable

Max out the arm choice if you can. 

I heard it with the OL arm. I thought it was competitive with all the other choices in its price point.

You're y aware the phono stage will make or break your investment?

tablejockey- are you saying it was competent at it’s price point, but perhaps not exceeding like priced competitors. I see quite a few choices in the 3-4K price range. The ones I would consider would be a Polytable/Sorane arm, a Well Tempered Amadeus, or the Volare. Other popular choices would be 1200GR, and VPI. But then the next jump up to $5K-$7K, there seems to be less to choose. It’s almost like you spend $4k, or jump up to the $8K-$11K range....Woodpecker, Stabi R...even a Stabi S with Kuzma arm will run well over $4K. I’d love to hear a Volare, and plan to soon. The OL live arm is supposed to offer excellent performance for the $.

fjn04-

IMO, difficult to say "X" is "best" at the $4K PP. As you mention, the others will compete with it.

You can nitpick every choice. I should have said in the initial post-I think it' a solid buy with the OL arm.

I purchased a used Luxman a month or so ago. The seller brought it over and we got to talking turntables. He recently purchased the Volare and I asked what he thought. Giant “meh”. I was stunned. He preferred his old Rega. That’s with his new upgrade, a class A Luxman. He said the Volare was too soft/smooth. He was big into garage rock.

Ptp Lenco is in that $$ range

I’ve had my Volare since April or so. Bought it with the OL arm, but tried it with 2 others as well and settled on an Audiomods arm, strictly due to ergonomics. The OL Silver actually sounded a touch better, but I prefer the handling of the Audiomods. 

As far as the table goes, it’s likely my last. I’ve been through a bunch of them the last couple years and this one just does it for me. Recently put a Hana ML on, and I’ve hit end game status. 

Double bonus that it is beautiful to look at (in my opinion).

I will also echo what was stated above, phono stage should match the quality of the table/cart.

From what I've read, the Feickert tables are on the warm side of neutral. That might not be everyone's cup of tea 

I like the Volare—heard it at Andy Singer’s shop. The OL arms are great. I decided to go up one level to the Pure Fidelity Harmony with the OL Conqueror. Couldn’t be happier. PF is set to launch an upgraded speed controller, the Conductor, which improves on the one area for growth with their tables. Absolutely check out their line.

That's a nice table @dodgealum 

j_husker,

I have a new Hana ML and a new Sutherland 20/20 phono preamp I’m planning to use.

Heard a Woodpecker vs Volare and Woodpecker had better PACE and overall a fuller sound IMO. 

Over $5000 more expensive.

I too purchased Dr Feickert Volare. I purchase it with the OL Silver arm with the idea of upgrading it to the Kuzma 4Point 9 down the road.  I love it just as it is (but will still upgrade). The table itself is solid as a tank and with the Soundsmith Zephyr Star MC it has great detail. Instead of the symbol "sound" I can now hear the head of the stick strike the symbol with the ring after. It's tight.  Bass is beefed up, but more forward than I am used to. Looking at treatment to calm it down. I am currently running it through my McIntosh MA 8900 but should be getting a new phono stage from Decware in the next few months.  Yes, it does take a year.  Can't wait to hear the difference in quality and the difference from SS to tubes.

I was originally saving up for the Blackbird because I wanted 2 arms. After much discussion I pulled the trigger on the Volare, due to the idea of diminishing returns on quality vs soaking up my budget. Who knows...someday.

Highly recommended.

Great table, I’ve owned two Volares, one with a Jelco the other with the OL Silver.

I also owned a Woodpecker but didn’t like the handling on the Kuzma 12VTA that came with it.

Feickert has a house sound for sure. I ran my Volare alongside a Origin Live Resolution and the Volare had a more solid and impactful sound where the OL deck had more detail and air. There’s a review kicking around if anyone is interested in the comparison.…

.….pick your poison.

I heard the Woodpecker with the Kuzma Unipivot 12" VTA arm. Cartridge was standard Koetsu Rosewood. I can see the comment above that they veer to the warm side, but with the Koetsu and an all tube system, it would be hard to make a blanket statement. Those Pure Fidelity tables look gorgeous in photos. I'd love to see and hear one in person. 

I’ve ordered the Feickert Volare turntable from Music Direct
Here are the details:

Excellent.  Let us know how things turn out. What tools(s) are you using for setup? I'd recommend the AS SmaTractor - it's the best in my experience, 

Agree the SmarTracker is simple, quick and very accurate

Music Direct is setting it up and installing my cartridge.

Thank you everyone for your help.

You will be happy! Let us know what you think.

I certainly will!

@rvpiano wish you luck but have not seen great results of a TT/arm/cartridge pre-installed then shipped that stays perfectly aligned. You will at a minimum have to adjust tracking force but you should also recheck all settings, just my 2 cents worth.

rsf507,

I have a tracking force gauge, but am not sure what other parameters to check.

Stylus overhang, VTA, and anti-skating to name just 3. Getting all settings exact is crucial for optimum sound IMHO. Get anything wrong and you end up with just ok sound. 

Good luck

I am having the Feickert turntable and Origin arm set up by my local stereo establishment, not by Music Direct. It should be done properly.

Well, it’s assembled. Right away I, hearing a big improvement. Of course it could be new component syndrome. But right now it sounds gorgeous.

One big problem: Anti skating mechanism was missing from the order.
‘Right now listening without it.
How much am I missing without it?

I’m, of course, getting a replacement.

I had no idea how much of a difference a turntable could make.

Congrats, @rvpiano! 

Cheers,

Spencer

Thanks!

Antiskate is an option? Or what? Seems your setup team should have noticed a priori. Some eschew antiskate and say they’re getting great results, but it’s undeniable that there IS a skating force generated by any conventional pivoted tonearm, and long term you’ll have aberrant stylus wear without some AS externally applied. Also you will often hear R channel distortion. I say “often” because AS deniers seem not to hear it. The trick is not to use excessive AS once you have installed a/the AS device but do install it.

From a review on Upscale site.

"The only gripe I had was setting up the anti-skate portion, as it was shipped with a Origin Live Silver Mk 3a manual that really was not specific on the set up of this anti-skate section. TIP: there is a 'grub screw' directly on the UNDERSIDE (not made clear in the manual -- otherwise I wouldn't have taken over 8+ hours within the first 2 days trying to figure out WHY it was going loose within moments of *supposedly* tightening the *top side* screw so much I thought I would break the piece it was mounted to..."

Please correct me if I don't have this right...but there was a modification/change with this package where you no longer had to go under the table to loosen a screw to adjust VTA. I learned this info from an Upscale Audio You Tube video on the Volare. At the time of this change (maybe a year ago), the retail increased $200. I'm considering a Volare, and if I find a used/demo, I want to make sure I get the new version where you can access the VTA screw on top near the arm. Not trying to confuse the matter here about Anti-Skate, but thought I would chime in. This will be a second table for me along side my Kuzma Stabi Ref. Certainly the OP got the updated version, but still figured it was worth mentioning.