Grand Prix Monaco review in new Stereophile- OUCH

dying in the pages of an audio mag for the sins(or nature) of all direct drive tables had to happen to somebody at some point.

Khrys - I'm the dealer who Mtkhl567 (Hi Henry) is referring to. I use the Grand Prix Monaco table in my personal system and am in total agreement with you regarding the table. I'm using it on a Grand Prix Monaco with carbon fiber shelves. Myself and others that have listened to the system do not hear any of the shortcomings as described in the review, even using the same GPA stand. Did you replace the Avid Acutus with the Monaco? Curious to know how you would describe the sonic differences (with same arm and cartridge I would assume?)

Lets be fair to Mr. Fremer. He did NOT at any time suggest that reviewing of the GPM or any other product can or should be done by listening to a CD-R copy. What he did say (better you should read what he said above) is that he made such recordings at very high bit rates and bandwidth of the same music being reproduced by BOTH the Caliburn and the GPM, that to his (very experienced) ears these recordings preserved the differences between the two turntables as he heard them and that others to whom he sent or demonstrated the CDs also heard the differences, even though those individuals were not told what they were listening to or what to listen for. It is a well accepted fact that high resolution digital recordings (not talking about RedBook here) can preserve the sonic character of LP reproduction. (Read about the Tascam and Masterlink on the Vinyl Asylum.) I know those of you who own or sell the GPM are anxious to repair any possible damage to the reputation of that product, but give Fremer a break. He did his job properly. That does not invalidate your buying decision in the least.

No one has commented on my question regarding using digital playback sources to determine the sonic additions/subtractions of a vinyl playback rig.

Since MF is stating that digital recordings of the table's signal can detect a signature, doesn't it seem that a digital release can be compared for some insight?

I'm also a bit dissapointed that the discussion here has been so civil. No death threats, name calling, etc. I guess there's the H-cat thread for that.

Also in case anyone is a structural engineer, please see my "jackhammering" thread in "tech talk" forum about some upcoming construction that might damage my gear.

A "digital release" is likely to be produced according to Redbook specifications. Then you are back to the same old hash. There are people in this universe (if you can imagine it) who prefer RBCD to LP, because they are obsessed with surface noise. If you refer to DVD-A or SACD "releases", there are lots of folks who prefer one or the other of those sources to LP. Then it boils down to a matter of opinion. But there are several posters on the Vinyl Asylum who use Tascam or Masterlink digital recordings to preserve their vinyl in hi-rez. Most claim that those (not too expensive) devices do generate copies that are indistinguishable from the LP source. I've heard some such recordings on a friend's rig, and they are indeed remarkable, but we never sat there and compared the digital recording to the original vinyl played on the same system. Mike Fremer appears to be someone who also believes that hi-rez digital reproduction captures the essence of the best vinyl reproduction. I don't think he mentioned what device he uses to make his digital recordings and at what resolution.