Or how about Triplanar on SP10R (comes with no plinth and no tonearm)? That would fall within the OP's budget, if one can find a suitable high quality plinth for the SP10R. Technics charge about an extra $10K for the SL1000R (the SP10R in a plinth with a tonearm) over the SP10R, which I think is a bit excessive in light of the bargain that is the SP10R .
Table and arm combos in 13k range
What turntable/arm combos in the 13k range would you choose? I never thought I would be looking in this area but have decided to look for my final turntable purchase. I know the SME Model 12 with the 309 is 12k, and Clearaudio Compact Wood is there too, also Dr. Feickert. I have not heard these but maybe you kind folks could offer your insight, I have no need for multiple arms and current cart is Soundsmith The Voice though I could see an upgrade next year. Also, any input on arm length, I am intrigued by the Kuzma 4point9 which would be a great match for the Dr. Feickert Woodpecker. What say you?
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My platter is magnetically suspended. I wasn’t suggesting he get a Sapphire. Just saying I am happy with mine. They also have a new motor controller system. I am not sure if they addressed the mechanical issue. I need to listen to more piano. I haven’t noticed a problem. I need the suspension for my Decware Imperials. I do respect your opinion. You had one and lived with it. You found something you felt was better and you are happy with what you have. |
Brock, That’s a nice story, but the OP is talking about a $13K expenditure. For that much dough, he can do a whole lot better. I only bring this up, because mijo is constantly praising the SOTA products. While I agree that they are an excellent company, and their turntables are well thought out, I would note that for about 10 years I owned a sota star sapphire with vacuum. It was only after I moved on to a Nottingham analog Hyperspace with a motor controller that I realized how poor was the speed regulation on the sota. By comparison between the two, the bass response of the Sota was consistently muddy and piano notes were routinely unstable in pitch, for two examples. All suspended turntables are subject to this dilemma: when you mount the motor on the base and the platter and subassembly are on springs, the belt is subject to stretching as the suspension reacts to external energy. The stretching of the belt inevitably results in speed irregularity. Different companies including sota now address this issue in different ways, but one ought to be aware of it.The simplest solution of course is to mount the motor on the same suspension as the platter, but that brings with it issues related to the vibration of the motor itself, etc. |
+1 on the SOTA I wanted a new turntable. I was originally looking at their Moonbeam and Comet (leaning towards the Comet). I did ask what they had in refurbished turntables. I ended up getting a Sapphire with an Origin Live Silver tonearm and an Ortifon 2m red. I got to order it from Donna (the owner). She knows her stuff. When she found out where I lived she told me I could pick it up on Sunday. I live an hour away from the factory. It was a nice Sunday drive. I got it home and set it up. When I played my first record. I knew I got it right. I had done a lot of research before my purchase and this is the first turntable I have ever bought. All my others were free cast offs and hand me downs. It replaced a late 70's Panasonic. A month later I upgraded to a Soundsmith the Voice cartridge. The 2m Red is now installed on my parents' Sansui turntable. I had already decided not to go down the MC cartridge rabbit hole. This is a phenomenal setup. Could I do better? The short answer is yes. I feel that I am at my own point of diminishing returns. I could buy a better tonearm and cartridge, but I would probably spend more on that than I did on the whole setup. It is nice to know that I have room to grow. In all I am very happy with my SOTA. Their customer service is excellent. I got to meet the owner. I can always trade up or have my table upgraded. I don't have the vacuum platter. I like to keep things simple. If you feel you need to spend all of your $13k get Nova or Cosmos. Their Millennia Eclipse with the vacuum platter, Enterprise tonearm and Dynavector XV-1s is $12,860. They do stock the Origin Live Enterprise. They can get Soundsmith. If you don't spend all of the $13k on the table you would have some money to spend on other vinyl related stuff. Like a better phono preamp, step up transformer and MC cartridge, or a record cleaner. Even better yet... more records! |
I am also aspiring to get something in that price range and looking at the Thales Slim II. Does anyone have experience with this set up? https://www.thales-audio.com/products/ttt-slim-ii |
For 13K I would get a Sota Nova with vacuum and put a Schroder CB arm on it. Far superior to anything you have mentioned so far. The 4 points are great arms but the Schroder is an amazing arm. Some even prefer it to the SAT arm. I had a 4 point by the way. For Koetsu's the 4 Point 14 is the arm to have. People argue about length with some preferring shorter arms because they are stiffer and have lower polar moments of inertia. Others prefer the lower tracking error of the longer arms. Frankly, I think it is a wash. I would never buy a turntable that was not adequately suspended and isolated. Examples are Sota, SME, Basis and Dohmann. If you wanted a sharp table you could also get a Basis 2200 and put the Schroder CB on it. I prefer the look of the Sota. It also has vacuum record clamping and a really nice dust cover. All these things make it a joy to use. You can put it on a card table, jump up and down in front of it, hit it's plinth with a hammer and it will play on without a hint of trouble. It is totally oblivious to the environment. I do not recommend the Linn LP12 because it's suspension was poorly designed and it is not stable. Other arms that are excellent are the Origin Live Conqueror and Enterprise, the Reed 2G and my favorite the Schroder LT. The LT requires a table that can take a 12 inch arm. |