So...the decision's been made

jeezzz, that sounds like my wife!

 

Me myself I

Why yes, it surely does . I am the local NAS/Accuphase/Harbeth tart, you know.

 

And I was most indeed quoting mine!

And now the very thought of you and Gromit struttin' your wares together simply makes my skin crawl!

 

You're just glad to see me

 

Hello Gromit,

Another interesting write-up yet again, thanks, particularly as I have Spendor S5e's on the end of my own system!

Unfortunately the only UK stockist I've found for VPI turntables, apart from Cherished Record Co that is, are here:-

http://www.kevingallowayaudio.co.uk/products.asp?CatID=2&ManuID=49

..and they are in err...Scotland!

Oh well...

Regards,

JonR

 

If it helps, Midland Audio Exchange also stock VPI http://www.midlandaudiox-change.co.uk (Based in the Midlands, surprise, surprise!!)

Clint

 

Erm, mebbe so, but I feel ashamed nevertheless!

 

Yup. Got my Spacearm (old aluminium tube model) rejigged with the new pin and cup before Christmas - made a noticable difference (easily worth 70 notes anyway).

I see a wavemechanic in my stars (or maybe the Heed Orbit - which seems to do the same thing for half the price)

PS. What's the hefty kit - is it a clever scheme to further reduce my bank balance?

 

But seriously folks

A trip over to Merlin's would be worth the bus fare IMO. And if you really like what Merl's rig does, you can lean on him a bit to get a price.

 

It's what Joel's trying to get rid of, at the behest of his wife.

 

Hefty Kit

I've come off the diet already. This is a photo of sideshow and myself preparing to Arm the Hadcock:

 

Can highly recommend MAX - I bought my Michell Mycro from there a few years ago when he was still in Kidderminster and had a very enjoyable demo chat - he stock loads of decks.

May be worth a trip up to the midlands as ,I think, he also stocks the kuzma turntables and the stabi/stogi is well worth a listen in the price range you are talking about. I think he also stocks the Avid decks (or he used to) ?????? In which case the Diva may also be worth a listen.

Although it's a hell of a long bike ride - esp. if it rains.

 

As I recall, they still stock Avid, Kuzma, Michell and VPI.

Good luck!!

 

I really must start wearing a bra.

-- Ian

 

I'd have another listen - for the NAS money you could get a Reference Solution, or even a Revolution with a "cheapish" arm like an SME 3009 or Rega RB300.
My Revolution has all the deep bass of a spacedeck without that "dark" tonal clour, i.e. it's much more light and airy, and dare I say it, transparent
And do listen to a Kuzma - MAX are selling them for about £1100, and they sound very musical.. My only problem with it was the Kuzma arm (Stogi?) - it doesn't have a cue arm so you've got to awkwardly hold the arm in order to cue it!
And if you're at Walrus don't forget to listen to his Amazons - there's often one on sale, (like a German spacedeck!), and in order to spoil yourself for any other TT, the Verdier...

 

Many thanks for the input everyone - as usual it's very much appreciated.

Well....today, believe it or not, I managed to get a listen to a VPI; not a Scout but a Scoutmaster. Turns out one of the guys at work has one (I'd advertised my Gyro on the work noticeboard and he'd never realised there was another vinyl nut in the band).

So...off I trundle round to his gaff this lunchtime and had a bit of a listen. And Very Nice it was too...in fact it's a good job we had the afternoon off

He has a Beard BB100 valve integrated and a pair of the old (but still rather funky) AE1's, both being fed by a Tom Evans phono pre-amp. Managed to persuade him to wack my DL103 into the turntable, seeing as it's a fairly easy job.

I can certainly see what all the fuss is about - the VPI's got a hell of a lot going for it, being fast and light on its feet. Not as airy as a Gyro perhaps but with a surprisingly Linn-like drawing of the listener into the mix, but without that TT's knack of 'I'll play music how I want to and sod the rest'. The one and only thing which did bug me though was the fact that it didn't have the body of the NAS. I fully admit that an A/B comparo should be done, but it's proving nigh on impossible - the one thing which the Spacedeck did for me was this (excuse me for going on a bit)...

When a wind player, be it wood or brass, plays his instrument there's a lot abdominal pressure built up behind the production of the final sound. It sort of adds a tension, the feeling of air being put under pressure and manipulated by the player's embouchure - listening to the sort of music that I've used for the demo's recently (ie a fair bit of saxophone and a couple of clarinet - my instrument - pieces) it's been reasonably clear that the Spacedeck is the only one to re-create that feeling. That matters a lot to me, although I didn't realise a turntable could do so until I first heard it on monday. It was definitely a 'bloody hell!' moment I can say.

Which is why I've now ordered my Spacedeck...still not sure about the arm though but we've 3 or 4 weeks to decide on that.

 

Welcome onboard Gromit. An excellent choice if I may say so

 

How about a Hadcock or a Morch?

I went for a Kuzma arm, but TBH theres loads of good unipivots out there now.

As long as the compliance is good for your cart, I'm sure you'll be laughing.

Chris

NB I used to have some Beard amps. They were my first valve amps. I met Bill Beard once, and even persuaded him to service my amps. Great bloke. The BB100 you heard is decent, but reliability was always a problem. Still, I bet he likes it, and its got power enough for AE1's which is saying something. I had a pair of them once too. Great for near field listening and detail.

Its hard to make an apples and oranges comparison, especially in different systems.

Good luck with your new deck.

 

J & C - thanks

Yup - my mate's BB100 hasn't always been sweetness and light, but when fettled and given a 'once-over' it seems to settle down for another 12 months or so. I'm also a big fan of the AE1's - in fact I've tried to persude him to sell them to me on a few occasions. Great little speakers, even if they do soak up current like a hungry sponge.

I'm quite interested in the unipivot thing - and haven't ruled out a GH242 or 228. I did hear an Aro on an LP12 a few years ago and felt it chewed up and spat out an Ekos without even trying. It's just that I quite like what a Tecnoarm/OL Silver does and am somewhat reluctant to 'make the leap' as it were.

 

FWIW, Gromit, the TecnoArm should be quite an advance upward from your RB-300 (modded as it is) if you're not quite ready to join the unipivot-of-the-month club!

Now, tell me something about that DL103...

Cheers, Dex