2. analog
  3. 1058745046

Who will survive? One last table til I die.

I want to buy a final turntable (call it 25 years worth of use until I can't hear or don't care). I want to be able to get parts and have it repaired for the next quarter century. I would also like the sound quality to be near the top or upgradable to near the top for that time period. I don't necessarily require that the manufacturer be solvent that long (the preferable situation), but otherwise the parts would have to be readily available and the design such that competent independent repair shops be able to fix it. I won't spend more than $10,000 and prefer (but don't require) an easy set up that doesn't need constant tweaking. I'm willing to pay for the proper stand and isolation needed over and above the initial cost.

I've got 9,000 LPs, and it doesn't make sense to start over replacing them with CD/SACDs (although I have decent digital equipment) even if I could find and afford replacements. Presently I have a CAT SL-1 III preamp and JL-2 amp, Wilson speakers, Sota Cosmos table, SME IV arm, and Koetsu/Lyra Clavis/AQ7000nsx cartridges.

Thanks in advance for your input. Steve
suttlaw

Showing 4 responses by sean

sean
6,231 posts
 
I agree with Herman. Other than the basic "wear & tear" items such as belts, bearings, springs, etc.. you might want to think about purchasing another arm and / or the parts to repair the arm that you have. Depending on which way that you go, you may need another armboard too. I would advise against "stocking up" on phono cartridges as these DO deteriorate with age. I'm primarily talking about the rubber / plastic materials used in the suspension. If you can find a way to keep them "air tight", they may last quite a while though. Sean
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sean
6,231 posts
 
Hmmm... Audioholics seems to have somewhat contradicted the information that Thomas J Norton of Stereophile presented in his article about amplifier stability / frequency response into various loads. The Stereophile article ( which i've linked to more than a few times ) shows the differences in frequency response between SS, tubed and hybrid designs when fed into the same loads. After looking at those results, it is quite obvious that a "decent" SS amp will maintain a more consistent amplitude linearity over a wider bandwidth than a "typical" tube based amp ( if there is such a thing ). Before making any further comments though, i need to read the entire Audioholics article and study their test procedures and results, not just look at an excerpt.

Thanks to Twl for bringing this to our attention. Sean
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sean
6,231 posts
 
I still haven't had a chance to read the articles, but i just want to ask you folks one question. That is, where do you think the technology came from in order to start mass producing solid state devices? I'll give you a hint. They probably didn't find tubes in the inter-galactic time travelling devices at Roswell : ) Sean
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sean
6,231 posts
 
Doppler shift would be measurable as a function of time delay. A shorter signal path would introduce less time delay, hence less potential for the Doppler effect to come into play. How many manufacturers have you ever seen quote "time delay" as a spec? I've only ever seen ONE. Sean
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