Clearaudio Bluemotion

It took almost 2 hours for me to set it up. I was so worried if I would accidently damage the stylus. I hope some of the instructions were better written, but as said by others it wasn't too bad. The tonearm setup wasn't that bad either.

The first record I played (Dvorak's Cello Concerto, Rostrovich, Karajan, Berlin Phil) sound much more musical than Thorens. Deeper base, wider sound stage, and more details. Also, highs are more clear. However, it was still somehow muddy and congested in full orchestration (well, the comparison is to a $30,000 system that I had a chance to listen to about 6 months ago). Thorens was much worse on this.

For some Jazz album I tried, the difference was even bigger. I thought my Thorens/Grado Gold was pretty good in handling horns, percussions, and voices, but Bluemotion sounds much more lively. More punch base, more forthcoming horns. I haven't tried much on voices yet.

Bluemotion is also much more susceptible to sound vibration on high volumne than Thorens. The two tables sit side by side on top of a two shelf audio rack. I am not using any tweak or isolation devices. Footfalls near the table are still heard, but Bluemotions' minimum-suspension design seems to work better than Thorens (which I think is a suspension TT) on the wood floor.

I am using Clearaudio microbasic preamp. Overall, I guess the money well spent. The only catch so far is the color. I thought I would like the blue color, but it actually is very dark bule. A slightly lighter blue might have been better for me.

Ihcho, great to hear that you got you TT set-up and are having so much fun with it. Don't let the color bother you, you are supposed to listen with your eyes closed!

The color does not bother me much, so I can still listen to the music with my eyes open. ;-)
Anyway, it was the first time I've ever done a turntable setup, and I learned more about all those settings.

Does your tonearm stay still without the block used to set the height? It is still sitting on the platter to support the tonearm. I am a little bit worried if the tonearm would fall without the block.

Ihcho: Have you tighten the bolt from the side of the turntable base, that locks the Tonearm into height? if you have tighten it well then it should sit really great without any trouble at all. If you totally have missed the bolt, then you have to put it there right away!

A pickup upgrade (like "Benz Micro Ace" or "Clearaudio Virtuoso") will make a huge difference from the original pickup. Also, i would consider the upgrade feet for later on if you have any kind of trouble with vibrations from speakers and such on to the turntable.

At first trial, I thought I tightened the bolt firm enough, but after I removed the block, the tonearm was about to fall down.
I readjusted the arm and tightened again, this time a little bit tighter. But, I could not remove the block away this time. Maybe I could if I push it hard enough, but I did not. I was afraid if it would scratch the body or move the tonearm. So, it sits on the body under the tonearm. It does not particularly look good, but as long as it does not hurt, I will just leave it as it is for a while.

Well, maybe next time when I get a jack pot, I will try an upgrade. ;-) I guess I need to also upgrade my amp (Chinese Yaqin MC10L) and preamp (Clearaudio microbasic) when I upgrade to a higher cartridge. Then, my speaker (Taylo 7U) may have to be upgraded. Then, TT, ... Yeh, I know it never ends. Probably a better cartridge would be the first upgrade I will try.
Currently Tyler Woodmere is for sale at $6700. It would be a real good deal if somebody lives near Chicago area.