Teres 340, anyone heard / seen one in the flesh
I own a Teres 340 with Graham 2.2 and Shelter 901. Simply fabulous is all that I can say. I have been listening critially since the first of the month and I am amazed by what I have been missing. The speed, resolution and simple clarity of everything strikes me as astonishing. The imaging is fantastic and the transparency of the sound is accentuated by the darkness of the background. In fact, I have been very impressed with how low the surface has become in general. Of course, these impressions represent a combination of all of the components acting as a system in conjunction with an excellent phono preamp properly loading the cartridge, but I believe the Teres provides the platform for the rest to happen. I was fortunate to be in a shoot-out between the various Teres turntable components in January, and the 300 series tables clearly exceeded the 200 series tables hands down across categories. That was a concensus opinion I believe. In fact, it was at that time that I decided against any acrylic TT, leaded or not. This sealed my personal decision. |
Cardiackid, . Glad to hear that you are so happy with your Teres 340. Coincidentally, I have also bought a Graham 2.2 and a Shelter 901 as well. Your post only adds to my positive anticipation. Additionally, I bought a Basis Vector and a Koetsu Rosewood Platinum. The plan is to mix and match for the best pairing. . Thanks, . |
Cello: I am impressed and I am also thinking about Koetsu, but only thinking at this stage. With regard to the shoot-out, I will give you my own impressions. The arm was the top Schroeder with a 901 cartridge all mounted on the 265 plinth. (Tube amplification and horn/subwoofer speakers). All in all, very high-end. The study was performed at the home of Chris Brady, so I defer to him for the details and follow-up. The fiirst platter was pure acrylic. I thought it sounded wonderful and better than my VPI HW-MK19 with a SME-309 arm and Grado Reference. However, the next platter was lead filled acrylic, and it simply sounded better than the plain acrylic in all ways. Specifically, fuller or bigger sound with more resolution. I think were all surprised by the magnitude of the change. The next platter was the leaded/cocobolo, which was a clear improvement over the leaded acrylic but not as dramatic as the first step. To me the improvement was resolution of low level details and fullness of sound. The transparency was improved and the dynamic range seemed enhanced as I recall. Next came the switch to the 320 TT, which was a handsdown winner over the 265. It was livelier, bigger sound, more resolution of low level inputs, on and on. Just better in everyway. The next was the 340, which was like the 320 but smoother and more silky. Now, I would say the answer is more refined than the 320. We characterized the difference between the 320 and 340 as more like the difference between Fuji color (320) and Kodak color (340). In retrospect, I am glad to have purchased the T-340 because the short duration of my listening did not allow me to appreciate the full-breadth of the T-340 sound. It is like music, the best songs often take a little time to appreciate. I hope this helps. |
Doug: And, yes the shootout was held at CB's at least in part because I wanted to hear the Teres TT options before I decided on buying a TT. I was fortunate that Chris was interested in doing a full experimental listening. The T-320 will be a clear upgrade over the 265. IMHO, the T-320 and T-340 sound relatively similar but distinctly improved over the T-265, which was fabulous itself. I seriously considered the T-320 but was swayed by the group opinion. As I said before, the T-340 is more refined and the differences are in the low detail. Therefore, I imagine, the high mass TT stand / platform will have much to do with the overall sound. The problem with these comparisons is that sound which was perfectly satisfying at the time becomes woefully dlacking after you hear a major upgrade. When I came home from Denver, I had to readjust to my TT. It was kind of like going from analog to CD, and you can only imagine the grumbling and longing that went on. Chris and I made the deal in late January, but because of my travel schedule primarily, it was late May before we installed it at my home. Now I am living and listening large. Greg |
Doug, . Sorry about the snipe - I would not bid on top of anything you were already bidding on. . On the other hand thanks a hell of a lot for jacking up the price I had to pay for the LP. Was that the coveted "It's a Chipmunk's Christmas" LP that I sniped from you ? . Seriously, let me know your eBay screen name and I will avoid the items you are already bidding on. . Best Regards, Alvin |
Alvin? ALVIN!! I appreciate the kind gesture but ebay's an open market. Please bid on whatever you want. Besides, I can always barge into your office and listen to it there. Rather naively perhaps, my ebay handle is, well, the same as my A'gon and Vinyl Asylum handles. Not very clever but easy to remember. Dave |
Yes, we know what a 345 is. I tried to post a picture of the only 345 extant on the Teres forum, but I guess i didn't go through. You can see it here: Two-Armed Teres It was being set up this past weekend by Chris himself. |
A huge thank you to 'Cello' for sharing the opening weekend of his 345, oops, 340-2. Paul and I enjoyed five listening sessions with his amazing rig, usually in the company of 4-5 other audiophiles who were able to accept the invitation of our gracious host. We were also pleased to have the chance to meet Chris Brady, who attended and set everything up. Sorry you couldn't make it Joe, but I adjusted my arm height many times in your honor! Kinda tough to do it on-the-fly after a few though. Cello's 340-2, compared to my 265, offers a blacker background, more solid and stable imaging, and a notably lower noise floor. Paul and I agree that these particular differences are table related, not a function of other system differences. Pretty much as 'Cardiackid' described above. In short, the 340 is a smashingly good table. I haven't heard a Walker, Rockport, SME 30 or other reference caliber table, but if they're much better than this I'd finally be rendered speechless. (Maybe one of you should buy me one?) We heard the following arms and cartridges, in nearly all possible combinations: - Basis Vector (Cello's) - Graham 2.2 (Cello's) - Schroeder Reference (CB's) - Shelter 901 (Cello's) - Shelter 901 (mine, for quick A/B arm comparisons) - Koetsu Urushi (CB's) - Koetsu RSP (Cello's) This isn't an arm/cartridge thread so I won't go into those differences here. Suffice it to say the the 340-2 made mounting and optimizing multiple arms about as easy as it can be, and clearly displayed the sonic character of each. If you're interested in world class vinyl playback the Teres 340 is a must-hear, particularly considering its bargain basement price compared to the competitors. Contrary to the uninformed opinion expressed by at least one competitor, there is more to this table than just hunks of mass. Though it's invisible from the outside, CB has implemented purposefully selected materials and shapes in some intelligently chosen, non-obvious ways. His goal, shared with all top TT designers, was to reduce interfering resonances to the absolute minimum possible. To my ears he's succeeded to a remarkable degree. |
While I am not a regular on this forum, I am a friend of Cello's and joined Doug, Paul, Chris and a few other warm hearted audio nuts at Cello's for the weekend to hear his georgeous sounding and looking 340-2. Cello...I hope you are still cleaning those records....Remember, four times each side..... I wanted to add my two cents worth here. Suffice it to say that Chris's 340 table is a world class product. He is also a world class guy and offers customer service as good as anyones. Although I already own a great analog rig consisting of a Micro Seiki 1500 table with vacuum clamp, a Dynavector 507 arm and DRT-XV1 cartridge, if I was willing to allocate funds to a new table, this would be the one. Beside being the most gorgeous piece of audio equipment I've ever seen, (the pics do not do it justice), the table is very quiet and speed stable which enables it to sound very alive. It is in the realm of the best Micro tables in that regard and much more alive sounding than the VPI Mk 4 and Aries tables I've owned in the past. A comparison between my analog and Cello's is impossible due to the differences in listening enviornments and components. However, I believe that one of the best ways to evaluate a table is to see if it can show up differences between arms and cartridges mounted on it. This table was remarkable in that respect. As our listening started, most of us, or at least some of us, thought that we would hear a much bigger difference between cartridges than arms. With two Shelter 901's on two different arms, the sound was so different. Very easy to hear...Preference was a different matter..However, it was very revealing in that respect. While it sounded different with each rig we mounted on it, it sounded great with each of the combinations. For any of you guys who are in the market for a table, I think that this one is a bargain at it's asking price. I haven't heard Chris's other tables, but feel confident that they are also bargains at their price points. Thanks again for a great weekend, Cello. |
Hi all I was one of the privileged ones who got a chance to listen to Larrys (courtesy Chris Brady) great TERES 340-2. This is, by far, the most beautiful table I have seen. All the contours melded gracefully to create a rather compact image for a rather big table. I have done a little bit of wood-working in the past, so I now I am drawn to great finishes-- and this is as good as it gets. By comparison the finish on the wood of the Sonus Faber Extrema speakers in the system(centuries of Italian craftmenship from one of the most celebrated towns ) was not close. I nominate it for a place in the Museaum of Modern Art. ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT. Speakers: Sonus Faber Extrema. Amp: some M.Levison. Preamp: Supratek Cortese. Arms: Schroder Ref, Basis Vector, Graham. Cartridges: KoetsuRSP,Urushi,Shelter 901. THE SOUND. Well, unfortunately we did not have another table on hand to A/B. But the sound that sprang forth was gorgeous. TONS of musicality. Room-filing & expansive. Every record we tried was great. Every type of music we tried (rock,pop,opera,country,orchestra) was brilliantly presented. All the arm/cartridges we tried sounded great but all sounded different. We were able to easily pick apart the sound of the cartridges & arms used. PRICE. Well its not cheap in absolute terms. But in relative terms compared to the big-boy competition (Verdier,Loricraft 501, SME,Walker,Rockport), this is an ABSOLUTE steal. I already have 1 big-boy table so I wont be able to get a 340 any time soon but I think I might get one in 2 years (hope price does not jump on me). I just hope this table will be in production at the time I have the money ready for it. CHRIS, THE MAN. Chris is a great guy. He is very, very patient and seems to be genuinely modest. After talkin to quite a few inflated-ego audio designers, it was a great pleasure to talk to a normal guy 1-on-1. I would have no hesitation in buying from him. Regards Munna |
. Hi Cousin, . Glad you made the decision to take the plunge to order a Teres 340-2. . I am quite convinced that you will look back and feel it was one of your best audio choices you have made. . I continue to be delighted and surprised what this table can do and the detail, musicality, black background, and sound staging it puts forth. . Do let us all know when yours is up and running and how you like it. . Hope you get the Schroder. What cartridge are you thinking of getting to match up with it ? . Best Regards, Larry . |
. Hi Bill, . I love the Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum on my Graham 2.2. I did get to listen to my RSP on a Chris' Schroeder Reference and it was just heavenly. The Schroder / RSP combo was far and away more magical than my RSP / Graham set up. The Schroder Reference is anyone's dream arm IMHO. It taught me that a great tonearm makes an enormous difference. . Your decision to get the Schroder is a great way to go. I think that the cartridge decision will depend a lot on your taste in sound. The Airy should have a lot more detail and the RSP should be more musical and lush. . I would suggest getting the Schroeder Reference (as you plan to do), listen to the Airy on the Schroder for a couple of months and then make the decision whether or not to get the Koetsu after listening to the Schroeder / Airy combo. . If you want more musicality at the expense of some detail go for the RSP. If you are content with the amount of detail you get from the Airy (and don't want to give any of it up) and you don't feel the need for more ease, musicality and lushness, stay with the Airy. . I plan on auditioning an Airy on my Graham when I can get it organized. I have heard a lot of high praise for the Airy from some discerning friends with great ears. . Give me a call if you want to discuss this some more. . Rgds, Larry |
Hi Cousinbillyl, You say you already have an Airy, so you're familiar with its sound? If you can say what direction you'd like to move it would help in choosing a second cartridge. It would also help to know what your second arm will be. I second Larry's comparison of the RSP and Airy, except that calling the Airy "detailed" might leave the impression that it's a detail freak's cartridge, which of course it isn't. Rather than "more detailed" than the RSP, I'd call the ZYX slightly more lifelike or present. The RSP gently rounds leading edges, gently smooths decays. This accounts for its famed lushness. If a very sophisticated romantic's sound is what you're after, the RSP will bring you there. The Airy doesn't do that, but I don't know if this makes it any less musical. To my ears the Airy and RSP are about equally so. (Then again, Larry is a very sophisticated romantic and I'm not!) I admire Larry's idea of waiting until you've heard the Airy/Teres/Schroeder combo before choosing a second cartridge. Your second step will more likely be in the right direction if you know where your first step has you starting off from. |
