Sirius and Walker




Hi Folks:

I have first hand experience with the Walker turntable and, to this day, it's the finest I have ever heard. Can anyone compare the sound of the Walker with the Rockport with the same material? I'm very interested.

Thanks as always.

D.H.
CT Audio Society
www.ctaudio.org
danhirsh
Dear Unoear: Yes, some one prefer some kind of distortions but I'm not talking of what we prefer or what we like but about what is good or what is wrong and IMHO those weighty platters on TTs are way wrong.

I know too what better means and I'm talking of better and not only " different kind ".

As I posted sooner or latter you will learn/discern about. Our hobby is a day by day learning excercise.

Good that you are moving your face to the DD's direction, BD (any ) can't touch DD TT designs ( everything the same:good design and good execution design. ).

With BD TT all of us what we are buying is only the higgest $$$ per metal's kilos and nothing more than that. The BD designs permit to charge big dollars to the customers only because its weight and as more weight as more $$$$ for " simple " peaces of metal : nothing more.

In a DD designs there is no " floor " to charge fro that metal's peaces.

IMHO BD TT are no more than a dinosaur a pre-historic item that the AHEE refuse to " kill " once and for ever.

That's why I think that your " feel " about the Monaco is a promise one new experience.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Mike L. and myself smoked the peace-pipe late last night.

Raul, I guess some distortions are more preferred than others; that may explain the many camps of TT fanatics. As it has been pointed out by others much smarter than myself, sometimes the feeling of "better" is just synonymous with "different-in-kind."

Cheers!
Dear Unoear: +++++ " I have happily fallen into the string-driven big Micro Seiki camp; " +++++

like you I was " there " for some years till I learned more about distortions and ditortions coming from big/weigthy TT platters MS or not with the acriklyc tweak or not and from any weigthy TT.

Obviously that you as other persons are in the learning curve about and sooner or latter you will learn too, not only from the MSs but from weigthy platters on TTs and how this " damage " the cartridge signal.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Unoear has twice in the last 10 days referred to the Olympos cartridge he purchased from me with the Rockport and made a point that i crashed it on the Rockport.

01-24-12: Unoear
Yes, the Olympos shootout never came to pass...wonderful cartridge, just not a good fit with the RP tonearm. It came to light that this other fellow crashed his Olympos on his Rockport and it required sending the cartridge back to Lyra for a rebuild.

02-01-12: Unoear
........The previous owner from whom I purchased the Sirius lll, did crash his Olympos and the cartridge required a roundtrip air-lift flight from the Seattle area to Lyra for rehabilitation...no, no, no...

i'm sure his motives for mentioning this are only the most pure and honorable....as that is the sort of guy he is.

i just wanted to clarify that the reason for the factory rebuild of the Olympos had nothing to do with the Rockport as Unoear continually points out; i made the mistake of improperly installing the stylus guard (without my glasses on) and smartly sheared off the canteliver.....a bad day for sure, and expensive too.

now Unoear has another nice thing to add to his list of nice things to say. :)
Hi Lewm,

IMHO, the Rockport is really an integrated engineering marvel.

As you know, with all tonearms there are some cartridges that are just a better fit than others; otherwise, just as Syntax mentioned above, it can be a very risky endeavor when running a light VTF Olympos with the Rockport tonearm. The previous owner from whom I purchased the Sirius lll, did crash his Olympos and the cartridge required a roundtrip air-lift flight from the Seattle area to Lyra for rehabilitation...no, no, no...

...now, there is this wonderful audio chap that I know that is just really MAD about the Rockport turntables. He is building an audiophile's basketball team and needed to finish out his starting lineup...a Tex Winter Triangle Offense.

...so he now has 3 lll's, and 2 ll's...a glorious starting 5 for Team Sirius! Well, there is also the rumor of a possible one-off V.

He prefers the Koetsu Stonebodies and Goldfinger cartridges interfacing the groves with his Rockports; he tells me there is no latent hop, skip, and/or jump problems with these hold-me down babies.

Lewm, I hope this helped!

Best,
Alan
Hi Danhirsh,

IMO, BRF is a philosopher with a very, very, firm grounding...Dover has real words of wisdom...along with Syntax and Lewm having very valuable experience that has an open transparency to their learning curves on their system pages...the Walker comes with Lloyd, the cool resident mad-hatter of the audio manufacture's guild...the Sirius lll has the genius of Andy and the daily consulting rate of Tim :)...as you can see on my page, I have happily fallen into the string-driven big Micro Seiki camp; with the kind encouragement and guidance of Syntax; however, he thinks that I am mad with this ringing SX-8000 platter :).

IMHO, if I was personally looking for a modern direct drive solution, I
would Siriusly checkout this new Grand Prix Audio Monaco 1.5 solution. It is a well-thought out approach by a company that has a history of good solution sets and a broad dealer network.

So, IMHO, there is no perfect solution only a commitment to a process orientation when it comes to this audio virus.

Best,
Alan
Dear Dan, That is an admirable goal, but I am afraid it just does not work that way. Your only path to finding out what is "right" for you is to sample some good equipment in your own home, in your own system, and for a prolonged period of audition. That way, you can first find out what you don't like so much, and it seems like you are experienced enough to make good choices based on your own dataset. Such experiences are the best pathway to your own Nirvana. Whatever you do, don't blindly follow the advice or the unsupported opinion of anyone who posts on the internet. Anyway, IMO you cannot go wrong with a Walker OR a Sirius III, but there may be others in the same category for less money that might please you more.

Dear Unoear, You were right on cue with your latest pot-shot at Rockport. It doesn't help any of us neutral parties to figure out what happened between you and your Sirius, seriously speaking. So what do you want your readers to think?
Danhirsh...doing it right the first time and getting it right the first time is easier said than done.
My intentions in this thread are sincere and admiring of both Walker and Sirius' contribution to analog. The reason why you do not see anything analog in my current system is that I made a decision years ago that I wanted to get digtal right (for me) first; then turn my attention to analog. My goals for analog are very clear. I work with pro gear all the time and have archival knowledge and I want my own personal system to have resolving and EQ capabilities as good as professional studio's, especially for 78's which I adore. I have the knowledge but not the funds and compromise is always inevitable. I have done so already with digital although I am very happy with what I am working with now. Analog I am less willing to compromise. I would rather wait to do it right the "first time" then go through multiple tables and multiple phono stages to reach an end result that is crystal clear in my mind.

Thanks.

D.H.
Yes, the Olympos shootout never came to pass...wonderful cartridge, just not a good fit with the RP tonearm. It came to light that this other fellow crashed his Olympos on his Rockport and it required sending the cartridge back to Lyra for a rebuild.
Lewm, agree somethings afoot, big communication breakdown here. Nobody wins.
Dear Vicks and Hiho,
I have to admit I find this thread entertaining in a perverse sort of way. What would be the motive to denigrate the Sirius? It's not even any longer in production and is so lofty in cost as to be more of a theory to most of us than a reality. And to tout the Micro Seiki 8000 at the expense of the Sirius is equally pointless. Talk about a "fangroup". There is no snootier a fangroup than the ultra-exclusive MS8000 fangroup.

Yet, good detective work by Mr. Belchev, which reveals that Unoear has been publicly on both sides of the Sirius fence, does suggest that there is some skullduggery afoot. I say the butler did it in the kitchen with a spaghetti noodle.
Dear Danhirsh: After your last post: When do you will buy the Rockport or the Walker?

I ask because is weird that in your Agon virtual system you don't listed not only a single cartridge but no analog rig devices. So what's all about your thread?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

In the real world, I know that comparisons can be difficult but possible. In my opinion, with all other elements being equal in the audio chain for comparison purposes, it is the cartridge that makes the biggest sonic signature combined with the turntable and arm components resolving abilities.

Let me amend that statement by saying that it is relative to the quality of both units being tested. I feel that the Rockport and Walker are of equal quality in terms of construction and designed philosophy to say this.

Everything in this hobby has an audio signature no matter how good or bad it measures. There are degrees of course, and I feel that good measurement is fundamental to accuracy of recorded material but, as we all know, nothing is absolute. I know that if a cheap $80 Shure were on table 1 and a Benz LP (one of the finest I have ever heard) were on table 2; it really would not be fair, although I am convinced that both of these tables would exhibit, like the best gear, some recognizable information retrieval impressions despite it. To my ear, my decision making would have to be predicated on both cartridges being equal.

Thank you all.

D.H.
Dear Jtinn: +++++ "Dear gentlemans: whom of you can be precise/with no single doubt about and " disclose " this mixup?. " ++++++

sorry to not re-read what you posted. Anyway, at least helped to confirm your post and for everyone now knows the real true about.

Those german persons almost always posts with an agenda in hand and in this thread Unoear too. Pity and a shame of.

Where belongs honesty? where some people left it? and I say this because more and more we see and read in this forum that kind of posts moved by a commercial and corrupted agenda.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Dear Unoear: With all respect maybe you are unaware of this but from your last post I can see that you now belongs to the high/heavy distorted/colored and inaccurate Sound's Club, good for you!.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
11-18-11: Unoear
"Story goes on ..... and on ....and on .... went to bed 03.30 after listening to records and work began 09.00 again

The results are no more less than amazing....but we didn't reach the end.... next mod is in progress ...."

11-21-11: Unoear
"These are both (Rockport and D.'s enhanced dual platter Micro Seiki turntables) wonderful presentations and the comparisons ongoing."

11-21-11: Unoear
"Yes, they are fine turntables and I am fortunate to be able to find a way for the big Micros and the Sirius lll to find their way here. They both are fine examples of two possible turntable presentations done correctly."

11-23-11: Unoear
"... the comparison is in a process orientation and hopefully we will have more to report regarding our observations in a few weeks. .....A friendly fellow has offered to make his personal Olympos SL available so we can have two of the Lyra cartridges available during the comparison, thank you for your kind offer Dlanselm.
More to come on the comparison later."

I see in "Rockport Sirius III & Micro Seiki 8000 comparison" Rockport was in perfect condition. BUT in "Sirius and Walker" Rockport was not able to successfully navigate the inner groves. Obviously Giant killer come :-)
Raul: You stated "Unoear posted: +++++ " I have had the Sirius System lll in my room. The same Sirius that JTinn is discussing. As JTinn has told me, the Sirius, as it was setup by its previous owner, was not able to successfully navigate the inner groves. " ++++++ and he add that Tim Sheridan gives his blessing on the Unoear Sirius tonearm set up.

We can assume Jtinn talked about this subject with M.Lavigne."

As I stated in my earlier post, what Unoear is saying is entirely not true and a complete lie. I never said anything of the sort.

My suggestion to you is to just ignore what Unoear and Syntax post. They are not here with any good intentions.

Best Regards,
Jonathan
Vicks7: "This is a ridiculous thread. If there is an issue it should be resolved privately between the relevant parties and not be the subject of an endless and inane thread."
I agree.

I would like to read comments relate to the opening post and questions.

_____
Dear Unoear: Could be my ignorance about but: that T.Sheridan was the Sirius motor controller designer means for sure that he is an expert on tonearm set up or whole Sirius set up?

Btw, that inner groove mistracking was already solved in your unit?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Maybe this will help...the Rockport is nice for visitors; it spent good quality time in my kitchen system. This turntable/arm combo is really happy with the Denon 103r cartridge that I bought for it; it looks great and hangs in there nicely...fun to help pass the time while cooking up a nice plate of pasta.

When I am getting serious and wanting to spend time with the Lyra Olympos, I enjoy that this cartridge is really a nice delicious fit and enjoys riding a silver-wired Fidelity Research 66S. I am finding that this is the superior system match, especially when it is sitting atop a well-tuned big Micro Seiki machine...these synergies are known to alleviate the blues.

This is a ridiculous thread. If there is an issue it should be resolved privately between the relevant parties and not be the subject of an endless and inane thread.
Dear Unoear: +++++ "Other possibility could be that from the M.Lavigne place to Unoear's place somethinf was damaged on the tonearm but seems this was not happened because Unoear is enjoying it with no more " problem ". " +++++

is that true or only a misunderstood from my part?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Dear Syntax: Always exist stupid and ignorant people, this " privilege " belongs to everywhere including Germany.

+++++ " my hope is that Unoear enjoys the Rockport completely. until a few days ago i was not aware of this mis-tracking.......... ..... at various times i did observe each one of those conditions.....although all of those were in the first few years of ownership....the learning curve. since that time there has been no problems with this issue. " +++++

that was what M.Lavigne posted. With those statements I understand and assume that after that " learning curve " his Sirius does not showed that problem.

you posted: +++++++" I looked at Lavignes Systems page and wrote to a few of his visors who listened to his Rockport and asked a simple question:
"Did you listen a complete Side from first to last track or only one or two?"
The answers were all the same, none of them listened to a full side, the Demo was always one or two tracks and then something different was used...
Made sense for me. " +++++

MADE SENSE TO ME : IMHO an explanation is in order because if not then that " sense to me " could means everything including that that Sirius was faulty and either ML already knew it and did not disclose it or he never was aware of that problem even that the mistracking existed.

Unoear posted: +++++ " I have had the Sirius System lll in my room. The same Sirius that JTinn is discussing. As JTinn has told me, the Sirius, as it was setup by its previous owner, was not able to successfully navigate the inner groves. " ++++++ and he add that Tim Sheridan gives his blessing on the Unoear Sirius tonearm set up.

We can assume Jtinn talked about this subject with M.Lavigne.

Then IMHO some one of them is not saying the whole " true/history ".

Dear gentlemans: whom of you can be precise/with no single doubt about and " disclose " this mixup?.

Btw, good to know that you are an expert in that Sirius 3.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Well, in the end it is always the unexperienced user who has the money for an object others can't afford, but he is simply too stupid to use it properly. High End is full with such explanations (same with driving cars, playing Gold, Surfing and so on...). You always have choices, some use simple, vibrating MM Systems because they have no Phonostage which can do a decent job for cheaper MC's, some use expensive cables because only with these a huge soundstage is possible, others own 8000 records and listen maybe to 50...a Forum is always an exchange of experience, Ego, Tips, Marketing, Sales promotion, Religion, Opinion...
I looked at Lavignes Systems page and wrote to a few of his visors who listened to his Rockport and asked a simple question:
"Did you listen a complete Side from first to last track or only one or two?"
The answers were all the same, none of them listened to a full side, the Demo was always one or two tracks and then something different was used...
Made sense for me.

I think, there are maybe specialists for everything in Mexico but unfortunately no one asks them. Internet can help but sometimes it can be a shot in the own foot also.
The Walker is an interesting unit. Some replaced it with a old 800$ Technics Turntable and invested in Plinths and more...Audiophile rating has its own rules :-)
Raul - no I didn't know who Jtinn was, I dont live in the US and yes when you read the comments on turntables in his system where he states the NVS is better than ...., there is no disclosure of his commercial interest in NVS.
Dear Lewm: I agree with you. In the other side M.lavigne put " things " on perspective with factors and advise when what Unoear experienced happen to fix it.
The Rockport is a laboratory instrument and needs and ask for persons with the right know how to make the right set up. It is obvious that Unoear and friends that intented were inexperienced about.
of course that today Unoear already learn about and this fact is good for him because now he will enjoy his Sorius.

btw, I heard that Sirius tonearm three times and three times with out single trouble about tracking at any time and with three different cartridges.

As you Thekong is right about. Unexperienced people were the ones that failed and not the Rockport.

Other possibility could be that from the M.Lavigne place to Unoear's place somethinf was damaged on the tonearm but seems this was not happened because Unoear is enjoying it with no more " problem ".

regards and enjoy the music,
R.
Dear Dover: I can't see why you already made a " big deal " about who is Jtinn when you as almost all here in the thread knew who is him.

It will be different if you was unaware that he is a manufacturer of TTs and suddenly some one disclose Jtinn and this was a big surprise to you. This not happen so, again, why that " big deal " to you or any one that already knows Jtinn?

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.
I've never heard the Rockport, but I have heard the Walker and it was part of a
system that sounded very convincing. So I have little experience with the two
turntables discussed in this thread. However, I agree with Dover that Jtinn, or
any representative of a competing brand, should disclose his interest when
discussing or criticizing turntables in the analog forum that compete with his
brand.

Same for a speaker distributer or manufacturer who criticizes competing brands
in speaker forums.

Where is the disclaimer? It would help to put comments in perspective.
Dear Unoear, I have no dog in this fight, but do I correctly understand the following?
(1) You went to Mike's home and listened to the Sirius prior to purchase.
(2) You evidently liked what you heard, because you then bought it from Mike.
(3) You were present during the disassembly and packing of the Sirius at Mike's home.
(4) You reassembled the Sirius in your own listening room, AND the reassembled unit was then blessed by a member of Rockport's original design team.
(5) Now you and Dertonearm find that the Sirius "cannot track" more than 3 cuts from the outer edge of an LP before seriously mistracking.

And you are saying what? The Sirius is an overpriced fraud? Someone deceived you in this process? Given that you can be credited with due diligence all along the way (assuming my assumptions above are correct), I would say that you have no one to blame but yourself. But I also tend to think or guess that the tracking issue you describe can be resolved. There is something missing from this story that is of key importance.

Dear Syntax, You are too droll. So droll that I don't understand the true meaning of your posts on this subject, save that there are a lot of overpriced and underperforming audio products, of which I do not think the Sirius is one.
Yes, bias a part of the makeup of this audio hobby...

I like the hueristic that can play out in an escalation of a confirmation bias.

For example, how else could one explain loving a transducer so much that one would destroy and replace the innocent other...violently removing the Sheetrock covering of the container to ineffectively pay for the sins of a highly loved and promoted wired out-of-phase speaker.

Audiophiles do find unusual ways of mimicking life; maybe, more so in the glorious northwest.
Jtinn,
As you have acknowledged we are all biased in some way or another. Context is important in trying to understand the views that people put forward. In your system you have made the following statement
"The Wave Kinetics NVS Direct Drive Turntable is absolutely in a league of it's own. Having a great deal of experience with the likes of the Rockport Sirius III, Continuum, SME 30, Forsell Reference, Grand Prix Audio Monaco, VPI HRX, Nottingham Hyperspace, Basis Debut, Lodo Audio The Beat, Kuzma Stabi XL, Vyger Indian Signature, Walker Proscenium and many others, this turntable is truly unique. It is immediately noticeable. "
I have been given to understand that you are the manufacturer of the NVS. If you are then that should be stated to give context around your statements on turntables. This does not mean what you say is true or not, it merely provides context for readers of your observations and posts.
If you are not the manufacturer of the NVS, then I have been misinformed and would be happy to retract my comments.
Dover: Everyone here is biased. You are biased to the products you own as is everyone else. I am not talking about my product in any way. I am talking about two products with much different approaches and am simply answering the question based on my experience with each table. Nothing wrong with that.

You do not know what you are talking about and you should research the word libel. Do you really want to continue this?
my hope is that Unoear enjoys the Rockport completely. until a few days ago i was not aware of this mis-tracking problem.

in that context, as the 8 year owner of that particular Rockport, i know that there are a few different issues which could potentially cause this mis-tracking that is mentioned. as i recall, i did cover most of these issues with Unoear when he visited me. i suppose that Andy Payor may know of other possible causes.

(1) looking at the picture i'd guess that the wires are twisted compared to my memory and pictures. somehow when the arm wand was moved or installed an extra twist might have occured. this is the most obvious reason for the mis-tracking.
(2) there might be some sort of contamination on the arm shaft. cleaning with acetone would resolve that.
(3) the arm might not be level. leveling the plinth would solve that.
(4) mositure in the compressor. if left on for more than 2 hours without stopping, the air lines will accumulate moisture. the mositure would get on the arm shaft. the air lines would need to be dryed out with compressed air.
(5) the arm is too high and the cartridge actually does not have enough VTF on the inner grooves.
(6) the nut on the end of the arm shaft might be loose. the arm could bind up.
(7) dust build-up on the arm shaft. always move the arm back and forth once before using so any dust is moved aside.

#2 thru #7 are unlikely based on the 'talent' that has observed the Rockport at Unoear's place; but possible. at various times i did observe each one of those conditions.....although all of those were in the first few years of ownership....the learning curve. since that time there has been no problems with this issue.

i sincerely hope that this 'problem' can get resolved and Unoear can be fully happy with this great tt.
What am I missing…. You auditioned the Sirius table at the former owner’s home and you did not experience any tracking problems. You purchase the table and set it up in your own home and now you have tracking problems. Sounds like a setup problem, plain and simple.
Jonathan Tinn should be declaring his interest as a manufacturer when passing comment on turntable performance. Reading his profile and system it is clear he makes subjective comments on competing products performance without declaring his interest.
By contrast J Carr when commenting on cartridges restricts himself to design aspects and does not tend to make comment on overall performance.
My advice to you all is to ignore JTinn comments as it is biased and certainly I wouldn't take advice from one who designs turntables that cannot be transported without damaging the main bearing and goes on to present a faulty turntable as a state of the art product as he did with the NVS.

Syntax said: The table was in a condition which was unable to navigate more than 3 tracks...

First the disclosure, other than a happy user of the Rockport Capella II and the 6000 arm in Hong Kong, I have no connection with Andy Payor, Jonathan Tinn or Mike Lavigne.

If what Syntax said is true, then I am absolutely sure this Sirius III, at least the arm, is not set up properly or it is somehow defected! While we can have difference preference on tables, and one could prefer XXX over the Rockport etc., it is hard to imagine a highly regarded table like the Sirius III cannot navigate more than 3 tracks?!!! The Sirius III was in production for many years before it was discontinued, how could it have this serious problem and kept on selling, especially at $75,000 if I remember correctly!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, if Unoear’s Sirius III arm is set up like what he posted in another thread

http://i44.tinypic.com/cj5s8.jpg

then I am sure the wire arrangement is not what Rockport has intended. As a matter of fact, I have never seen wires arranged like that on any Rockport arms.

Again, I am not claiming the wire does not affect the arm’s tracking at all, but I have had no problem with my 6000 arm for nearly 10 years, so it is unbelievable to me that the wire, if set up as Rockport has intended, has such an effect as to prevent the arm from navigating more than 3 tracks!
The table was in a condition which was unable to navigate more than 3 tracks (and it never was able to do more without destroying the cantilever of a cartridge).
When your technical understanding is so limited, then you should be lucky that you are able to survive from your sales.
You are responsible to the deletion of the NVS thread, so please don't try to discredit others who have a bit of intelligence for given facts.
Hi JTinn,

Nice to hear from you! Are you the same chap that is slamming the Walker TT in this thread? You do tend to discount others efforts for the appearance of your own benefit. Please see your comments that you posted above regarding the Walker TT ( you build the NVS turntable; a new and and untested by time turntable)...then there are all of those Magico comments.

Maybe you missed my earlier post, Tim Sheridan was here in December checking out the Rockport and told me that it was setup properly. You may know of Tim, he is the designer of the motor controller and, if course, is intimately familiar with the Rockport. He gave it a good "bill of health" and fine-tuned the MDA.

I know that you are a busy man and maybe you forgot the comments from the conversation that we had last June. You were selling the benefits and features of your new turntable and mentioned the issue regarding inner groves with linear trackers. Maybe I misunderstood your comment...

Cheers! (a happy and pleseant comment!)
Unoear: I never said any such thing. You are misquoting me and manipulating the truth as you have in this past as it suits you. I have heard the Rockport many, many times in many different configurations. I have even spent quite a bit of time listening to it at Andy Payor's house as well as Mike Lavigne's and I am intimately familiar with it. Many different cartridges were used and setup at different times by numerous people including Mike Lavigne himself, Steve Dobbins, Joel Durand, and Scott Sheaffer to name just a few.

There was nothing wrong with the turntable when it was at Mike's and you were even there listnening to it before purchasing. You even packed up the table and arm with Mike. The only thing you did not pack was possibly the compressor and air hose. Are you saying you bought it knowing it did not track well after hearing it? Or, did it take someone else to tell you this at your house after you set up this very "finely-tuned machine"? I suggest you improperly setup the table / arm and you yourself are not hearing its true potential.

If any of the users here on Audiogon take a look at your posts and threads, it will be clear to them that you have an agenda to discredit me and those who own my products or even those who speak positively of my products.

Your posts, in regards to my products or my customers, show like a wolf in sheep's clothing and always attack in a very shrewd and sly manner and finish off as it is friendly banter. You have nothing to lose and therefore you keep coming. I have avoided any engagement with you because for me it is a losing battle and a complete waste of time since I am in the industry and therefore an easy target. I just thought it was time to clarify things and I sure hope you do not perpetuate this.

Jonathan Tinn
In a way ...
A cerainly not acceptable way, mostly Zombie like dead.
Alive ... (for the market yes), but with such a rotten blood inside, that makes it nothing but a lost hope for the users and their illusory dreams. Means no progress and therefore no hope for the future if we continue to connive at. We have to resist. We owe this as a respect to our hobby and to our self. We must remind allways that the good sound is growing slowly after toilsomeness work and it can't just rise suddenly (just because we throw a fortune) from within the next boutique TT. For how long are we going to give food to the corrupt market monster?
Stop to assume by the looks & price. At the end of the day we are alone with only this (THE great!) piece of shit that we have bought. Fun counts? For the market a big one. Maybe also for the decorator. Βut where are we in all of this fraud? Why we choose to accept the pioneer moron role?
AMAZING indeed! Some of us we've allready pay for this, but as we tend to forget these days, our new world is motivated only after the premise of the profit growth. There is no room for reseach & development in our times. So, have we trained enough to distinguish the genuine from the fake? No we would never be able to predict the market's next surprise. Αll we can do is to listen & compare before we buy, but even in this field of listening, we must to learn "what is going on in front of us and what is responsible for what" as Syntax pointed. This is the foremost necessity and our only wheapon in this battle of faulse dreams and delusional auditions.
What amazes me always in those discussions, is, how many name a turntable "great design" and have absolutely no idea from its Performance (see here, or NVS, or Continuum and more).
Let's face it, most of us (I am an exception) hear with their eyes. And when the price tag is in the upper region, well, then we have it. THE great design.
And it is absolutely not necessary to insist, that for such a comparison each Turntable has to have the same Arm. A typical excuse from an "Audiophile" who does not know what is responsible for what.
In a way, it is very good because it keeps that hobby alive, specially for those who want to spend big money and for those who do not have that money but dream of these "machines".
Fun counts. Or?
Hi Sarcher30, the tonearm wire insulation was fine - that kind of insulation used on the Sirius' tonearm wire will only "harden" ages after our bones have turned to dust ....
Unoear, I'm afraid my experience is limited to some of the older Denon's, the Nakamichi centering turntable, the $400 Technics that you can still buy new, and some needle-drops of the Technics sp10 mk11. I cannot afford $12.5k. Since I'm speaking my mind, the way that Salvador speaks of Linn turntables, comes to mind with the direct-drives that I've heard. In the relentless quest of absolute drive(equivalent to Linn's simplification of music, i.e.playing the tune), it comes to mind that music might be simplified. My example is a needle drop that I heard comparing(I think it was)"Let if Be", by the Beatles. One version was, I think, a direct-drive, the other was a well-sorted Linn(maybe a Radikal?). I believe I heard this on Pink Fish media.
What amazes me always in those discussions, is how many name a turntable "great design" and have absolutely no idea from its Performance (see here, or NVS, or Continuum and more).
Let's face it, most of us (I am an exception) hear with their eyes. And when the price tag is in the upper region, well, then we have it. THE great design.
And it is absolutely not necessary to insist, that for such a comparison each Turntable has to have the same Arm. A typical excuse from an "Audiophile" who does not know what is responsible for what.
In a way, it is very good because it keeps that hobby alive, specially for those who want to spend big money and for those who do not have that money but dream of these "machines".
This fact amazes me most all over the years. It is not difficult to hear imo, but most can't hear what is going on in front of them and that's fact. Nice toys (same for Continuum, Kuzma XL & more). Now I believe that some prefer a 800$ Technics SP-10 Turntable (with a 12k plinth to make it serious).
Don't get me wrong, all is compensated by "reviews". Sometimes I think, the manufacturer writes them and
Dear Unoear,

I took a careful look at the photos of your tone arm, and here are a couple of suggestions:

1. I see that the wire are nearly completely covered by the black shrink wrap (or it may actually be a host, I am not sure as I don’t have my 6000 arm right in front of me), and only a couple inches of the bare wire was showing. In my 6000 arm the shrink wrap only covers the wire an inch or so where it exits the guider at the back and before it enters the armtube holder, so there was mainly bare wire hanging all the way. I think it you could strip out the shrink wrap (or it can be pulled back if it is a host), there will be much less resistance.

Curiously, I have seen a photo of Mike’s Rockport, which seems to show a lot of bare wires hanging:
http://pic8.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1297789006.jpg

2. In your photo, the black airhost was leaning on one side. If you can arrange it to hang like an n, then there will be much less resistance. There is actually a small nozzle where the airhost enter the armtube holder, and the airhost can be pulled free. So, you can do a little twisting on the airhost at the nozzle to make it hang like an n. The same applies to the wire, but it needs more coaxing!

This is how it looks like in my system:
http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f20/daiwok/Hi%20Fi/IMG_1823.jpg

Hope these help.

Cheers!
Dear Unoear, Dertonarm,

Do you mean the Rockport arm would “skip track” or has serious distortion towards the end of the LPs?

I have been using the Rockport 6000 arm on their Capella II turntable for nearly 10 years now. While I can’t say the wire has no effect on tracking, I have never had any problem with the arm tracking the whole record. Of course, I need to clean the spindle with alcohol occasionally.

As such, it is quite unimaginable that it would happen to the Sirius III !

Cheers!
Hello Raul, yes, it appears that your observation is correct.

Hi Daniel, yes, we did really try. Daniel and myself were going to either rewire the tonearm on the Rockport or utilize the template that we had manufactured for a replacement FR-64s silver tonearm. The later was simply called blasphemy by Syntax, and former would have not been acceptable to the new custodian; a fine chap that has a small collection of Rockports and has a propensity for Stonebody cartridges.

Mmakshak, IMHO, the directdrive unit with the Rockport is top of the class! When you refer to cheaper ones...are you thinking of the recapped/ newplinth SP-Mk3 and/or this other new one? They were both being offered for around $12.5k a few months ago.

Cheers!
Maybe the tonearm wire insulation on the Sirius hardened up over time? I find it hard to believe it was like that when new.

01-11-12: Mmakshak:
"I find direct-drives to have a relentless quality to them. Does anyone else hear this? Do the more expensive, or well-sorted ones, eliminate this quality?"

The answers are yes and yes. I have to assume this "relentless" quality is a negative thing in your experience.

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