Avid has become a joke. The company has made the decision to become totally inflexible, in requiring their customers to purchase TT bundled with their choice of tonearm and cartridge. There is no option for upgrading the classic PSU (which weighs 3.5kg) to one of their 2 reference grade PSUs which are SUBSTANTIAL upgrades. Ya wanna change out tonearms after the fact, good luck finding an arm board. Who was the fast food franchise with the ad campaign, "Have it your way...."??
Kuzma Stabi Reference vs Avid Acutus
I have a Kuzma Stabi Reference with 4 Point arm and Dynavector XV-1S cartridge. I like this combination a lot. I have been through a few high end turntables before ending up with this set up, including the full spec Linn LP12/Ekos SE/Radikal/Keel, the AMG Viella and the Rega RP10. The Kuzma is to my ears a clear step up on all of these turntables and sounds extremely good.
But I've had the turntable for a few years and that is a long time for any component in my system. I tend to lose interest in components after 2-3 years - and often a lot sooner - and start looking for something else. I have found myself listening to more digital than vinyl for some time (I have the excellent Lumin X1 streamer). I have therefore been giving some thought to trying a different turntable, and perhaps something with a bit more character than the very neutral Kuzma. I am willing to trade off some accuracy for a "musical" sound - one which is fast, dynamic and tonally rich - and can tolerate some coloration or inaccuracy.
The Avid turntables seem to be very highly regarded, and I am thinking of the Acutus or even the lower priced Sequel SP (I have read that some prefer the latter). I would probably keep the 4 Point arm.
I doubt that the Avid turntables would be a real upgrade on the Kuzma in absolute terms. But would it be a significant enough change of direction, and would it be the right direction?
Getting a demo against my Kuzma is going to be difficult, so I would be interested to hear from anyone who has heard both the Kuzma and Avid turntables and can comment on how they differ.
But I've had the turntable for a few years and that is a long time for any component in my system. I tend to lose interest in components after 2-3 years - and often a lot sooner - and start looking for something else. I have found myself listening to more digital than vinyl for some time (I have the excellent Lumin X1 streamer). I have therefore been giving some thought to trying a different turntable, and perhaps something with a bit more character than the very neutral Kuzma. I am willing to trade off some accuracy for a "musical" sound - one which is fast, dynamic and tonally rich - and can tolerate some coloration or inaccuracy.
The Avid turntables seem to be very highly regarded, and I am thinking of the Acutus or even the lower priced Sequel SP (I have read that some prefer the latter). I would probably keep the 4 Point arm.
I doubt that the Avid turntables would be a real upgrade on the Kuzma in absolute terms. But would it be a significant enough change of direction, and would it be the right direction?
Getting a demo against my Kuzma is going to be difficult, so I would be interested to hear from anyone who has heard both the Kuzma and Avid turntables and can comment on how they differ.