2. analog
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Possible turntable upgrade....

Hi All,

So it started as a simple, 'buy some new speakers' impulse. Well, that escalated quickly!

Now, I am looking at my turntable as the possible weakest link. Would love your help/advice/input/experience on whether it's time to give up on my old, beloved c.1980's Linn LP12 that I have had since the mid 80s. The deck has Lingo 1 and Cirkus/Valhalla upgrades of note.

Details: LP12 as above, Graham Phantom arm, Clearaudio Concerto cart.

System: Aesthetix Janus (brand new) pre, BAT 250SE (w BAT-PAK) amp. Tara Labs throughout (recent upgrade) including phono cables, Vivid B1 speakers (Tara The 2 cables).

So, it seems that the Graham Phantom may be too much arm for the Linn (been told Linn is better with a lighter arm) so should I upgrade the deck to build the analog around the arm and take it to the level of the Aesthetix/Vivids etc? Basically, is my money better spent on a new deck as opposed to trying to upgrade an old design such as the Linn? Is the Linn now the weakest link in my system? 

If so, recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I know tastes come into it etc but hopefully my choice of Vivids etc give an insight. Especially love to hear from anyone with a Graham Phantom arm. Price range: as low as possible to make the necessary difference, definitely under $10k. Preferably closer to $5k. Of particular interest (but little listening experience) would be Clearaudio and Transrotor. Open to all ideas. All positive input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you all.  
denjer1

Showing 1 response by audiotroy

audiotroy's avatar
audiotroy
3,875 posts
 
Denjer

The best turntable we have found in 30 years of professional audio design and sales is the Merrill Wiliams Real 101.3

https://www.realturntable.com/

This table is a complete rethinking of the the problems in vinyl playback.

A turntable is a vibration dissipation system and must do two tasks:

Task Number One: is to isolate the groove from all the energy being fed into the system from the world, this includes any noise generated by the motor, and any airborne and or surface feed vibrations.

Task Number Two: is to take the extra contact energy being fed into the tonearm and dissipate that energy.

Task Number Three: is spin at precisily the correct speed.

The Merrill Wiliams REAL table is made out of rubber. The plinth is a composite of different rubber elasomers pressed into a dense energy absorbing layer.

The motor is isolated by rubber.

The support feet are isolated by rubber.

The outclamp is damped by rubber.

Event the main clamp is damped.

If you build your turntable to turn all excess energy into heat you are going to get a much cleaner sound.

This turntable is affordable and sounds absolutely remarkable.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ Merrill Williams dealer, Rega and Notthingham dealers


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