Are there other Artisan Fidelity TT owners aorund?


So after being an audio hobbyist since my uncle got me going down this demented path some 17 years ago I finally purchased a TT. I had flirted with the idea for a very long time but honestly I've heard a number of TT's at shows and at buddies homes and none of them moved me. Now obviously many many variables are involved. Lets start with, was their TT setup correctly (superlatively).., I don't know. Was the arm/cartridge combination simpatico.., again, I don't know. Was the phono preamp just so-so or great and if it was great was the cartridge loaded correctly.., you get my drift.

So with my digital down through the years easily besting (to my ears) the analog I'd been privy to, I found no reason to spend the money required to involve myself with analog. My former Bidat easily dispatched a SOTA Cosmos Vacuum TT in a head to head listening session. Ditto for my former Dynavox Dynastation.., same with my AMR DP777...etc.

At Axpona last year I listened to the $170K Clearaudio TT along with about $85K worth of Pass Amplification and perhaps $200K worth of JM Labs speaker and cabling only to be more moved by the sound from the Playback Design MPD-5 in the same room.

Finally I realized the only way I would ever find out for myself would be to purchase my OWN TT and make sure it was expertly setup and dialed-in. I had a rare chance to purchase a latest-revision-pristine example of a Graaf GM70 Phono Preamplifier. I have a soft spot for Graaf as Mr. Mariani simply builds the finest gear I have laid ears on. So now I have this phono pre sitting in the box for a few months when I see a SP 10 MK III come up for sale in Agon. So, I threw caution to the wind and contacted Chris at Artisan Fidelity; after some conversation I hung up having just commissioned the building of a SP10 MKIII Next Gen TT.

I was happy for about a month then the fear started to creep in, "what have I done?". What if this thing SUCKS!!!! and my digital system which is very very very good if I do say so myself stomps it!

During the build I researched and read tons of user reviews (I don't really pay attention to so-called pro reviewers) on arms and cartridges. I finally settled (with a lot of talking to Chris and other friends and a lot of late night web searching) on the Kuzma 4 Point and the Ortofon MC Anna.

So, here we are today and I have had my TT for a little over 3 weeks now and I have about 150 - 160 hours on the rig. Early on it sounded ok, you know.., good but nothing special. I liked it but my digital was fully up to the task and in some cases much better :) (now I'm scared)

Ok, so fast forward to 100 hours.., ok, I think I'm starting to understand all this analog hype :) better and better. now we are at 150 hours.., the word SUBLIME comes to mind. The spaciousness, openness and natural continuity of the analog is addictive. The dynamics seem to go on forever along with a naturalness that is very difficult to put into words. I did purchase the Furutech Demag, the Destat II, a scale..., all the toys to go along with it :) Again, I wanted to know for myself and the only way to do that was to take the plunge.

So how does my digital hold up? Well, my well run-in long time AMR DP777 has NOTHING to be ashamed of. It sounds great and I can easily go from the TT to the DP without too much shock (the AMR guys are big vinyl heads and use vinyl as a reference when designing) BUT... when I have two equally well recorded pieces of music (Best of Eva Cassidy comes to mind or Diana Krall Live in Paris 24/96 vs 180g/45) as good as my digital sounds the SP10MK III simply walks away. Again the digital is not trodden underfoot and indeed 20 seconds of the digital and you will be into it fully, but the analog rig beguiles with its effervescent ease and infinite continuity of musical flow.

Ok, so to end this long synopses.., I am now deeply into analog and have been going to local used record stores and burning up my cc on Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds...etc.

The folks at Artisan Fidelity are the real deal and they built me a museum quality +180 pound Porsche Basalt Black TT/piece of art that sounds AMAZING!!!!

I also ordered a Bassocontinuo Apogeo rack for the table which should arrive in about 2 weeks. I am enjoying my foray into the land of analog!!!

THANKS CHRIS!!!!!!!
audiofun
The projector is a Runco actually and is old enough it really could be upgraded. It still has a good picture though and at some point you have to consider yourself lucky just to have what you do. My wife can only take so much.

You'll love love play and display frames. The bottoms of some of mine stuck a bit far out from the wall for my taste. If you find this to be the case, I recommend sticking the bottom corners down with small squares of adhesive Velcro available at any hardware store. They make the whole assembly more solid and stable. The ease of switching out album art and playing the records can't be beat.
Hi Everyone,
I have always been and have never deviated from being a vinyl only audiophile. Never gave up on it and never looked for an alternative. In the many years in this hobby, I have owned many turntables, but never really knew what all the unending accolades were really about.
That ended when I received my Lenco DCHM from Chris Thornton. The fantastic sound reproduction was unlike anything else I had ever heard and it was breathtakingly beautiful to boot. Run don't walk, you will not be sorry.
Steve Blinn
Although I do not own or plan to buy anything from Chris I drove over to one of his show house in Hammond IN I live in portage...spend several hours talking about audio, music, the industry and listening to music...a first class guy If i had the money or i could not make what I wanted I would talk with Chris first and see what he can do....

Lawrence
Fidelity_Forward
Thanks Audiofun. I forgot to mention one other thing that impressed me about the tt. The on and off switch. It does not feel like a cheap switch. It has an usually solid feel to it. Chris recommended The Panzerholz plinth if I wanted the ultimate. Having had this table for four months now, I would recommend the Panzerholz plinth also. When he was explaining what Panzerholz is, it was like listening to science fiction. The materials that are used today to make the highest quality components is really something.
Sonofjim, same reason I still have the Seleco.., sometimes you just have to stop. Sounds like there are a lot of satisfied people out there :)