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3 New UBER Decks - Is this Turntable's SwanSong? 🦢

Michael Fremer has recently reviewed three new turntables designed to be the 'Last Word', 'Cost no Object' STATEMENTS!!!!........Do I recall hearing this claim before??
I love Mikey and have followed (and trusted) him for decades.
He has been the longest and foremost published 'champion' of the superiority of vinyl (uber alles) in the world.
I am thus ecstatic that he has been able to listen and compare these decks in his own room, with his own equipment virtually side-by-side
It's almost a 'given' that he will be the ONLY person on earth given that privilege....

So what Mikey HEARS.....is indisputable

Given his 'character' and desire for accuracy and honesty.....years ago, Mikey started including some 'objective' measurements in his turntable reviews.
These measurements were done utilising the Dr Feikert PlatterSpeed App which has since been discontinued.
As the App only worked with the Mac iOS of many variations ago.....Mikey has kept an old iPhone which can still operate the App.
The PlatterSpeed App had a few technical limitations.....
Foremost amongst these, was its dependence on a 7" record with an embedded 3150 Hz Frequency track to produce a test-tone which the App could process through its algorithm to produce the graphs and all the corresponding numbers.
To stamp hundreds of 7" discs with perfectly 'centred' HOLES is a nigh impossibility.
It's almost impossible to do it with a 12" disc!!!

This means that ALL the figures produced in their Chart Info are dubious and mostly UNREPEATABLE!!!!
I have Chart Infos for the same turntable/arm combination but with the 7" disc moved slightly producing different figures.
I even have Chart Infos produced with the same turntable but different arms ALL with different figures (the arms are in different positions surrounding my TURNTABLE).

So what is my point......?
The GRAPH produced with the PlatterSpeed App is accurate and USEABLE when looking at the 'Green' Lowpass-Filtered Frequency.
If the hole was PERFECTLY centred.....this 'Green' line would be perfectly STRAIGHT......but only if the turntable was maintaining its speed PERFECTLY.
The wobbles in the 'Green' line are due to the hole's eccentricity as well as any speed aberrations.
So the best performing turntables are those with the most constant and even wobbles approaching as closely as possible a STRAIGHT LINE.

Now the SAT Direct Drive Motor is actually the same as Technics developed for their latest SL-1000R except with some bespoke modifications.
It appears that SAT have corrupted what is a very good DD Motor unit....🥴

Mikey says that the OMA-K3 produced the best PlatterApp figures of any turntable he has tested đź‘Ź
Does this mean that the OMA-K3 is the most accurate turntable of these three decks.....or maybe of ALL turntables?

Mikey can't (and won't) test and review products from the past which are no longer produced because that's not his job!
But wouldn't it be great if someone WOULD review products from the past against the modern equivalent?
Classic turntables with reputations....gravitas...like the legendary EMT 927 and Micro Seiki SX-5000 and SX-8000.
And what about the NOW lauded Japanese DD Turntables from the '80s...the 'Golden Age' of Analogue?
  • Technics SP-10Mk3
  • Kenwood L-07D
  • Pioneer P3
  • Victor TT-101
  • Yamaha GT-2000
Because we know that Direct Drive is now 'Flavour of the Month' for the new Uber Decks due to their superior speed accuracy....a 'Flavour' that started with the legendary Rockport Sirius III.
But what about Belt-Drive units like my 20 year-old Raven?
So much for science and technology.......

We can do things today that were only dreamt of even 10 years ago
Except learn from history, harvest experience, expertise and craftsmanship......

Here endeth the Sermon for today 🤗


128x128halcro
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rauliruegas
12,868 posts
 
Dear @halcro  : ""  Platterspeed measurements are for “entertainment purposes only”. All test records are faulty...""

Got it?.  Maybe we took/take audio critical issues really seriously and is how we have to do it.

My worried about is because the platterspeed  charts came fom him in his TT reviews.

As a fact I took it in more than one time those charts as a " reference " in some threads.

R.
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rauliruegas
12,868 posts
 
Dear @edgewear : "" However, charging $150.000 for a dressed up Technics turntable is sort of offensive ....""

Yes if you consider the facts of the main whole TT design that in 2020 was analised here on a thread where one of many posts about is this one:

This is what was posted by some one or maybe in the review ( I can't remember. ):
:

""""" is an acceptable price for pushing the boundaries of what is possible with hifi and sound quality """""

Here Agoner comments about:

Who told you that the SAT TT " pushed the boundaries of what is possible....".

The TT apports almost nothing to the TT kind of designs, exist nothing new/novelty or unique that appears for the very first time in the audio history and antinn resumed it in his statements:


""""" this table is not breaking any new state of the art. The motor is a modified Technics; the base is a modified Minus-K isolation platform and as far as the plinth, magnesium alloy has been known for over 50 years to provide superior damping qualities """""

and neither for the hold down LP mechanism.

R.

antinn
381 posts
 
@rauliruegas,

Please do not bring me back into this conversation.  But, for the record, this is what I said about the SAT:

"However, from my perspective as someone with an engineering background, this table is not breaking any new state of the art. The motor is a modified Technics; the base is a modified Minus-K isolation platform and as far as the plinth, magnesium alloy has been known for over 50 years to provide superior damping qualities....But the review does indicate that a lot of machining was done in Switzerland by the same group that machines parts for Hasselblad (that has a $48K camera w/o lens). So, it is an object where no expense was been spared.

It would have been nice to know how much benefit did the modified Minus-K base provided...Otherwise, the design is very compact and compared to others could be very appealing, especially those that already have a SAT arm. Is this table going to be trickle-down - no; the primary technologies - the motor, the base, the plinth are all tried and true - but not necessarily together. And, it is entirely possible that the table & arm form a ’magical’ synergy that the whole exceeds the sum of the parts and it sounds awesome.".

Otherwise for a blast from the past - here is the Audio 1985 review of the Technics SP -10MK3 TURNTABLE -  Audio-1985-02.pdf (worldradiohistory.com).  
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rauliruegas
12,868 posts
 
@antinn  , got it. Last time for sure. Don't worry and sorry to disturb you. Apologizes for that.
R.
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rauliruegas
12,868 posts
 
Btw and only for your records, I'm not guilty about because what I posted came from one of my my posts,  in 2020,  in that thread where you participated too and where you read what I posted there and even that you read it don't tell me nothing.

Never mind. I will not post your moniker in Agon.


R.
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