Please Help T3F problems

I saw the Reference ensemble at a high end dealer's showroom, once, but do not recall having heard it.  It was really a milestone product in the sense that it blew away previous conceptions of what even "expensive" turntables should cost.  I would parallel it with the Infinity Servo-Statik One (a shocking $2000!!!) or the later multi-drive Heil/ESL from Infinity (with the massive rosewood wings to block phase cancellation), which was even more costly, for those days.  And from there, prices only went more crazy in the 21st century.

I wonder if Frank Kuzma was copying the Goldmund Studio when he designed the Stabi M. Remarkably similar tables. 

You have got to be joking.

Goldmund is direct drive, Kuzma belt drive

Goldmund has conventional bearing, Kuzma has inverted.

Goldmund has conventional thrust pad/ball, Kuzma has ruby ball

Goldmund has sprung suspension, Kuzma has non sprung damped suspension

The only commonality is that they are both turntables, and black in colour.

Clearly you know nothing about these turntables and I very much doubt you have actually seen either.

lewm - I love the sound of the Studio/T3F. Comparing it to my LP12/Ittok is like floating in a 3 dimensional sea of sound on the Goldmund vs the sound of a $300 cd player (going through a Krell DAC), lifeless and lacking tons of detail. 

There a huge difference in cartridges on the 2 tables. The Goldmund has a Koetsu Onyx and the LP12 has a Mission 773.

The cheapest fix would be to repair/replace the motor on my LP12 and move the Koetsu to the LP12. I just don't have any faith that it would sound anywhere close to the sound of the Goldmund.

Thats why I'm trying so hard to fix the T3F.

rauliruegas Do you by chance have Apogee speakers?

I knew a guy years ago in the Apogee forum that had a set,

I can tell you that Raul does not have Apogee speakers.

You are correct in noting that there is a huge difference between your two cartridges.  You could, in the interim until you can get the T3F fixed, move the Koetsu to the LP12, but you need a very high effective mass tonearm to get the most out of the Koetsu, and I don't know anything about the Ittok.  The good news is you can increase the mass of the Ittok in any of several ways, as simply as putting a coin on the top of the headshell.  A US nickel weighs 5g, for example.