Wave Kinetics NVS Turntable - Stereophile Review

Raul, How do you "know" that the Ondof and the NVS have perfect speed stability and accuracy? I'm not aware of any testing to prove this.

Also, does anyone know if their speeds are adjustable? After having a turntable with no speed adjustment and now one with it, this is, IMO, a necessity for all upper level turntables. The Technics SP10 MK3 has it as well as the Walker, The Dobbins Beat, the Trans Fi, etc.

Raul, you are a designer of phonolinestage and a tonearm. During the development process, don't you reject ideas that don't work and try to create the best device you are capable of making? Or are you just one more designer going down a blind path? I don't understand from your last post how you propose to improve the process.

I did experience real progress when I installed air isolation devices under my turntable and amplifiers. I have the impression that you don't find that valid or even possible.

What is AHEE?

Syntax, Did you forget to mention the SME 30? It is an old design, not mentioned much in forums, only once hyped by MF in a review, uses the dreaded belt-drive mechanism and rubber bands for suspension. It doesn't need constant tweaking. There is no bling appeal. Oh, and it can't accommodate two arms. It was designed by engineers, though. With ears ;^)

Raul, Your "main target" for TT design sounds right. Neutral, and speed stable and accurate. The latter can be verified with the Timeline or similar measuring instrument. The former is a bit more of a challenge as "neutrality" is subjective in this case. As far as internal or external vibration isolation/dampening is concerned, that too can be measure to some extent by instruments.

I have read no professional reviews which attempt to verify speed issues with the Timeline and rarely do reviewers listen with a stethescope or simlar device for vibrations. Perhaps these forums could be a place for sharing these test data for various owners tables if we really want to "know" the truth.

Syntax, Where do you find these? I especially liked the one about the gentleman asking his butler to bring his shotgun into the room so that he can put another one of his cartridges out of its misery.

Raul, I see your point. One "truth" is the 25th row center at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. If that is one's reference, we have still quite a way to go with our music reproduction systems.

Regarding the NVS turntable: Has anyone tested its speed accuracy with a Timeline? Can one adjust the speed if it is slightly off? It seems that at a minimum, Fremer could do this for his readers. Assuming it is truly a state of the art DD table, it would have to have perfect speed and that would be a huge marketing advantage over other drive types, I would think. But I don't see this stated in reviews or in advertising. This is one objective measurement of turntable performance.

I just reread the review. Fremer does like the turntable and I would love to see one and hear it in person. But I wish these reviews were more critical describing both the strengths and weaknesses of a design. There is no mention of speed adjustability and no discussion about the record clamp and if it sounds better with or without. The record/platter interface is critical. What happens to that energy?

Stable/accurate speed and energy(vibration) transfer are the real issues for a turntable. Correct speed is either maintained or it is not. Vibration is either drained, damped (absorbed) or fed back into the system, amplified and heard as distortion. What does Fremer mean by "dry"? And why does he think it sounds that way?

I agree with Raul when he writes that a turntable and arm are "slaves" to the cartridge. They should not contribute any sound themselves to the playback and they should simply allow the cartridge to "be what it wants to be" (to paraphrase Louis Kahn talking about bricks).

If one was seriously considering the NVS, Onedof and Caliburn, it seems that the NVS is the best choice simply because I think there is only one Onedof in existence and I read somewhere that the Caliburn is close to going out of production. May just be an internet rumor, and I'm not helping by passing it along, but in terms of production tables, the NVS seems the most viable.

I understand that the Technics MK3 is competitive, but that is also very difficult to acquire. Are there any NVS dealers on the East Coast?

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