Gyrodec vs PT Export vs Xerxes

Trawling the second hand options These seem to be the best vfm.
What are your views on the best sound?
Heard the Gyro/RB300 & unkown cartridge. Good but felt lacking in something. Heard Orbe/SMEV/MC30 supreme good, seducing but .....not it. Again it didn't seem to keep my attention. Could be cartridge.
Heard a SME 10 with strangely a MC30 (they'd broken a VdHull item) and it sounded marvellous. Alot more life than the Orbe to my ears.

Hopefully there is some grey hair out there that can give me a good idea on these or still have them. I was always told the Pink Triangle would be the one to go for. Help.

 

Get yourself to Walrus (http://www.walrus.co.uk/) and listen to their entire stock, they sell all the TTs you've mentioned and many more (they also have a s/h Pink Triangle ATM, or did last time I looked, and always have a fair selection of s/h decks in, not generally listed on their website, which is never up to date).

I thought the only SME10 I've heard was deathly dull, but that's just my opinion.

-- Ian

 

Hi A1000,

In many ways, it's never been a better time to buy a turntable. There is a wide choice of new & 2nd hand decks to be had. Ian has made a good point about going to Walrus. They have the biggest range of new decks in the country.

Gyrodecks are fairly common 2nd hand & can be uprated to an Orbe & with power supplies. I have heard the Orbe sounding enjoyable but I do think there are better decks. The downside is that these are usually more expensive.

You could look at the LP12 as a good starter. These are plentiful but come in many forms. 2nd hand prices start under £500. This deck may give you that attention grabbing feature you are after. There are plenty people on this forum who own or have owned an LP12 in it's many combinations.

The Roksan Xerxes is another deck that can be had at similar price 2nd hand. These can sound top notch. They work well with the Rega arms & SME IV & V as well as the Roksan arms. There seemed to be a problem with plinth sagging but I think this was on really early ones. Most people I know who have had a Roksan have not had major problems. I remember hearing a shoot out between a Xerxes & a LP12. The Xerxes had more resolution, more detail, better stereo, less colouration, wider soundstage, etc. It made the music more vivid sounding. The LP12 had a better toe tapping tunefulness.

Also look at the Nottingham Analogue decks. These offer high levels of sound quality. These are not as common as LP12s, Roksans or Gyrodecks but well worth hunting down. Built like tanks & will last a long time. There are a few happy users on this forum, one went from a Gyrodeck & another from a LP12. Look out for the Hyperspace or the Mentor as these can be had for under £2000. These have excellent solid music making abilities with a lot of strengths.

The Pink Triangle can be one to look at. The downside is that Pink Triangle have gone out of business. Also there is big variation on the quality control of these decks. I would stick with a later one unless you can give it the once over. These can give you a neutral sound that gives off a lot of fine detail & resolution. I had a Pink for short while when I had a Townshend Rock. The Pink had a very wide soundstage with very good detail but suffered with pitch. The Rock sounded more solid & more even across the range.



The above decks are the most common ones but there are others to look out for.

The Townshend Rock was one deck I owned in the 80s. A very solid performer which I enjoyed using. The prices of these have shot up. These came in a few forms.

The Voyd is a deck that offers, IMO, very good performance. Can be picked up from around £600 upwards. The 3 motor design can be a pain. The one to go for is the Voyd 0.5. which has a better bearing & platter plus a huge power supply. Audionote took over Voyd but have stopped making them. There is a new Audionote deck out which is heavily based on the Voyd.

Garrard 301 & 401s are worth looking at. Ones with Bastin, Slate or Lorricraft Plinths. Beware of ones in old plinths as these can rumble. These can be excellent value for money. Very easy to setup.

You could look at the Avid Volvere which I have seen 2nd hand (£2000 new). This is based around my weapon of choose, the Avid Acutus. I have heard this sound wonderful.

Other decks such as the Rega P9, Kuzma, WT, SME, VPI, Verdier etc all add for a wide choice.


The big downside is getting to hear as many of these decks. It's not easy at all. Also getting to hear them in your own system may be possible without buying.

I would try & listen to an LP12 & a Nottingham Analogue as these will give you two bench marks that will help you judge other decks. What is your budget? The decks mentioned can be had 2nd hand for under £2000.

Have fun getting your deck.


SCIDB

 

Good advice from everyone so far. Looking specifically at the question I would say the Xerxes would be the best of the decks you mentioned. I have heard a Gyro with RB300 and DV20H in my system as a direct comparison with my Xerxes and I have to say it was a bit dull, too slow and not as clean.

The PT is a good deck. I have not heard one in my own system but did hear one a few years back with an amp and speakers I was familiar with, very good detail and speed but a bit "light" for me it seemed to lack balls and had a cerebal sound not very physical at all....

You could get a Xerxes for about 600 complete with Artemiz (This arm is so under-rated it's a crime, it's easily the match of anything out there for the money) the constant whinge you'll hear is that the armboard sags but frankly an investment in a factory service/set up at about £100 will completely address any issues (If you are competent it's a DIY job)a mm or so of sag certainly does not make the deck unuseable it just needs to be set up properly don't believe the naysayers it's a simple job and once done set up will last years with minimal adjustment. PM me if you want more information on what to look for, there are a lot of very poorly set up Roksans out there going for a song. One final point to note is you can have your Xerxes factory upgraded to the latest model X for 700 quid in the future.

Obviously I'm biased as I have one but AFAIC they are very, very good decks for the cash. Sound is just as already described fast, tight, clean and has very fast bass nothing like most people expect vinyl to sound.

Needs a wall shelf for best results.

 

The new Roksan Radius is good, lilolee has one and it sounds very good indeed. Nice arm, too. About £850 with arm I believe.

-- Ian

 

Thanks

I have a dizzy head. Thanks for the advice. I limited my choice to the original three because they were the most likely to find second hand.
Garrard 301 would suit my art deco interior but I never considered it as a choice because I expected the sound qualtiy to be poorer thatn modern decks. I might have to get to hear one noe its suggested in the same breath as the others.
I don't like Linns. Yep my foot taps but I also always notice a tonal thing that to my ears sound dark, or lumpy in the base. Perhaps the ones I've heard were poor set up or poorly matched.

 

Further thanks

Thankyou Triode Man for the suggestion of Voyd. It is actually a preference. I did hear one of these once with an AN cartridge (can't remember the arm) and it was magnificent. Finding one second hand though is very difficult.
Avid would be nice!!! but cost prohibitive.

A new Radius 5 is a good choice too. I can't help thinking the Voyd would sound much better for similar money second hand. True?

And does a 301 really match the performance of these later decks?

Budget: Grand at the most for arm and deck but if I go on past experience I tend to keep getting my wallet out as my ears get further pleased.

I will use my current old cartridge ARP77 until after the summer and invest in a good (£500 is good for me) cartridge.

 

Re: Further thanks

IMO 301/401 a good choice for the budget conscious.

If my budget were tight, I would contact Leicester Hifi.

They have motor units for about 100 pounds. They do an excellent plinth for around 200. Add a Rega arm, or a SME if you can stretch to it. Budget also for a service of the motor.

You could be ''all in'' for 400-500. Excellent for the money.

I think so much with this question depends on the budget that you have to spend. More money will give you a better deck as a rule of thumb IMO.

I saw a classified advert recently for the Kuzma Stabi/Stogi S. This deck costs around 1300 new. It is often sold with Benz cartridges - a combination which retails at around 2000. The classified advert (including cart) was 600 pounds. There is one (without cart) at the emporium for 750.

I heard it (with the same amp, speakers, and cartridge) against a Nottingham analogue space deck and space arm. My preference was for the Kuzma. I put this largely down to the arm. The Stogi S arm is a superb piece of engineering... a liquid damped unipivot, with a single piece of wire from cartridge tags to RCA plugs.

So much so, that I chose this arm (brand new) over any other arm in the sub 600 price bracket to go on my Nottingham Analogue Mentor.

Unipivots really seem to work well on high mass decks like this.

SCIDB knows more about turntables than me (than most IMHO!) and Id take his post to heart.

Id also encourage you to look out for second hand Kuzma decks. The quality/price ratio on them is quite incredible.

Here is a Kuzma Stabi/Stogi S.

http://shopping.netsuite.com/s.nl/c.ACCT106601/sc.2/category.350/it.A/id.899/.f

 

Whilst this might not be your pref, I thought the combo was interesting: LP12, Ittok, Lingo

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3070693904&category=3283&rd=1

21 hours left though!