@2psyop The turntable was on my shortlist due to being aware of it from videos on Youtube from trade shows and chatgpt flagging it as a suitable option. Ultimately, I was hearing all kinds of things from all different people, many of them really saying that which table you buy doesn’t matter a ton in the sound (at least within a price point), but that a good tonearm is important.
I was hearing that VPI project big stages, but that their arms are polarizing and something that some people really seem hate and move on. I considered vpi prime x, but wasn’t sure I wanted to jump in blind into a love it or hate it tonearm. It also was at the top end of my budget which made it harder to get behind without any doubt.
I considered Technics SL-1200mkii and 1200g. Ultimately the problem was sort of the same for both. A number of people say that the perfect timing of the technics leads to a more digital sounding presentation compared to belt drive. This bothered me because I wanted to create a different flavor than my digital not just a faithful vinyl rendition of digital feel. Some might say this is bogus and there is no difference between belt drive and direct drive on high end technics, but it bothered me. I felt like I didn’t want to leave anything on the table here especially since naturalness with vocals is sort of the dragon I chase. Also, people have said that technics, including the 1200g (compared to comparably priced tables) tend to have flatter soundstages. Since I have a heavily treated room, I felt like this was a strike against them. I pretty much eliminated technics for these reasons. And while i know the 1200g surely would have been good enough for me since it is good enough for Steve Gutenberg, and I do now own his reference amp and preamp, so there is plenty of trust there, i just didn’t like having the aforementioned nagging at me in my mind at that price point. And while it is built like a tank, i cant say I loved the aesthetic at the 1200g price point either. Technics was out.
I strongly considered Rega P8, but I was a bit unsure of how their supposed vocal forward presentation would jive with my rich vocal centric dirac eq (although I could just make a new filter for vinyl so this was no biggie). Ultimately, i was turned off by two things. The light somewhat cheap build quality in some respects even though I like the modern styling and the sound is reportedly great. Yes I know the materials are chosen to keep mass down, but when you look at the bottoms of some of their tables they just didn’t look/feel premium to me. The second reason I couldn’t quite get behind this is the stock rega tonearm doesn’t really allow for full vta so it meant limitations on carts, using shims, or being locked into a rega cartridge world that I found slightly gimmicky from a review standpoint, pricing standpoint, abd a comparisons standpoint. The third reason is pricing. In the USA, we are paying significantly mire for the same table is in the UK (like 1k i think on the P8), which rubs me the wrong way since I have always tried to maximize value when buying in my system (Kantas came as closeouts on color from Germany, Pass xa25 was preowned, my lta level 1 was preowned that i upgraded to level 3) so paying an extra 1k just cuz rubbed me wrong. The Michell Tecnodec for $2200 in the USA actually sells for more in the UK, and is sold at similar prices as Rega P8. This bothered me. Finally, the blonde chick Melinda from Florida on Youtube bought one after considering all her options, and since I haven’t been impressed with logic in anything she has done with anything in her system I figured I had to do better.
I very strongly considered the Michell Tecnodec. It is priced very competively in the USA, and unlike the P8 this gave me the impression of having solidity and intent to last for decades and value for money spent. I also liked the small family company bit and the John Michell backstory. Michael Fremer has also said nice things about the inverted archmedes bearing which i thought was cool. I liked the minimalist modern aesthetic. It was at the top of my shortlist.
The turntable I probably would have bought (although it still could have been the Tecnodec) was the Dr. Feickert Volare. Lots of great reviews on this company and model. Only real strike against it was that Steve Huff bought one (which is concerning since nothing he buys lasts in his system for more than about 3 weeks) but aside from that there was lots of love out there. It was at the top of my budget again. I probably would have ultimately went for the Volare, but I was still strongly considering the Michell Tecnodec which I liked the design of and thought the value proposition of.
I didn’t really think I could swing a Michell Gyro SE at $6500 retail (or didn’t want to given the need for quality phono pre too). I was always smitten by the at once minimalistic, futuristic, and retro design of this uniquely engineered table. Like the suspended design, the inverted archimedes bearing, and spinning weights because they are cool designs (regardless of what they do or don’t do with respect to the sound) sort of like over-engineering in a German car. Again, the same things that appealed for the Tecnodec about the small family run company and back story with John Michell, also pertained. I also like that this is reputed to have a wide and dimensional soundstage. Really the only knock against it is having to move the belt down when playing 45’s (not really a big deal) and the price. Really, I just couldn’t get to $6500 in my mind. When a mint preowned table with a low hours decent cartridge caught my attention for less than Rega P8 money, I decided to make the move. Whether it will be better ir even as good as the other options, I do not know, but what was guaranteed withe the Gyro SE was a look and design that I think is amazing. That alone makes it the best choice for me - and I have to think that sonically it is in the same league if a bit different in certain ways than any of the others.
So there you have it, the rationale for why I went for the Gyro SE.