Goldmund Reference versus Walker

Thanks to all of you who responded. It's very helpful. I cannot wait for the opportunity to hear a Walker again, hopefully this time around with the black diamond tonearm.

Best:

D.H.

i agree generally with the comments above. i would add that the Walker is still supported as a current product which has it's advantages. Lloyd continues to work at improving the design and there are various versions with particular upgrades.

OTOH you will still pay quite large dollars for even a used Walker, whereas the Goldmund Reference sometimes goes for much less.

ultimately these type questions come down to performace at particular levels of investment. the Goldmund likely offers the potential of more bang for the buck if one purchases the right one. while the Walker likely has the higher pure potential performance (particularly if Lloyd gets involved in the set-up).

that's just my totally subjective viewpoint.

Dear D.H: IMHO a Goldmund Reference vs Walker is almost useless comparison because the Walker comes with a dedicated tonearm and almost always the Reference too but a different tonearm, so a comparison is heavy dependent on those tonearms.

IMHO even in either TT and with the same cartridge the performance with two different tonearms means two different performances mainly because the tonearm that because the TT.

You ask for the sound of these top TT's, IMHO if these TT's has a " sound " other than neutrality a Rega can even its quality performance as stand alone units.

Anyway, always is interesting hear opinions on the subject.

Regards and enjoy the music,
Raul.

I compared the Walker to the Studio with T3F arm (same arm as on the ref). The ref was not a big seller so I don't know if you'll get an exact response. The Walker is more accurate and ss like, while the Goldmund is more romantic sounding. Short of writing a vintage capsule review I would go with the one that mimics your tastes. Romance vs. accuracy, tubes vs. SS. One of my 5 set-ups is a slightly romantic table with a very accurate cartridge. I enjoy this combo very much.

Peter