Top Analogue Set Up?

I had been pondering just what people consider to be their ultimate vinyl spinner.

I'd like to set a maximum budget of say £5K to include deck arm and cart- can include ex dem or s/h. Anyone care to rate their own personal choices? Reasoning would be good too. Aestetics. Ease of use. Ultimate performance. Piccies would be nice!

There seems to be such a wide choice but little opportunity to dem. Phono stage is likely to be a Groove Pulse.

So if Santa gives you a whapping great bonus, what would you get as your final deck?

 

I have three Turntables set up;

I) Oracle IV with SME V and a Mr Brier MC;

2) Technics SP10 II with Alphason HR100 and a Supex SD900;

3) Technics SP 10II with the original Mission 774 and a Grace F9 Ruby.

IMO they all sound wonderfull, but very very different.

If I had to keep only one I would choose number two, but I would probably swap the Supex for the Mr. Brier.

Phono Amp is a Sonic Frontiers SFP-1.

So no T/T for me this Christmas, but amps, I wonder how much he can fit in his sack for me.

Ken

 

The worlds your lobster at 5k phone www.walrus.co.uk

If it were my money I'd go for a Scheu with a Morch.

 

Used Well tempered Ref Merlin.

 

No time for a WT Tony - can't be arsed with that damping thing. Plus, pride of ownership doesn't really score highly does it?

Who sells these Scheu things over here? Anyone heard good things about Teres?

 

I think Scheu only sell direct.

£5K? Hmm. Have a listen to an Amazon Model One with a Morch arm (Walrus stock them). And I suppose an SME, although people who don''t like them seem to think they're a bit sterile (I dunno, I've never heard one). And, of course, an Orbe, mebbe with an SME IV or V arm. And a Notts Hyperspace. And a Kuzma. And one of the new Roksans. And a fully-Loricrafted Garrard (that would be my first port of call if I was in the market for a new deck, although I freely admit that's mainly because they're such beautiful objects, I've never actually heard one).

-- Ian

 

LP12/Lingo/Ekos

Usable, comes with a lid, works with lid down, nice piece of real wood surround.

But I guess you're looking for something a bit more overt?

Paul

 

Merlin,
Scheu will sell direct from Germany, no dealers in the UK.
http://www.scheu-analog.com

Chris Feickhert (sp) is the guy who answers email, very friendly chap.
I looked into Teres when i was researching for my DIY parts as they will also sell individual components. I came to the conclusion that they are more or less based on scheu, and a fair bit more in cost. Obviously the Terest platter has the added lead shot on some models, wieghs more, but the 80mm scheu platter is around 7KG (i may need to check that). I have heard reports of some people having problems with the strobe feedback on the motor for Teres.

 

Nouvelle Platine Verdier with arm and cartridge to taste. Ekos/Ariva reportedly works great. A bit over budget, but hey, this is a hi-fi forum.

 

Walrus have/had a secondhand Verdier with a Morch DP6 for a shade over £2K.



-- Ian

 

I can't believe I just posted on a TT thread , this is bad, I'll buying an upsamping japanese cdp next :SLEEP:

 

how about a forsell air force one? you might be lucky and get one for 5k if you haggle hard enough.
other than that - i say get 1tb of hard drive storage rip all your cd's and vinyl and get a decent dac (2k at the most) then fok off to thailand for a month or three.
cheers


julian.

 

and a bit less like a coffin

Can only go on looks as I've never been in a position to audition anything that costly, but looks wise (I know I know ), I like the look of the Oracle Delphi. Especially those speed change buttons, which are so beyond cool, they are sub zero.

 

Mike,

My analogue front end runs slightly over your £5K budget but the deck is no longer available new and could be come by used!

Oxford Acoustics Crystal Reference turntable (1987) SME V & Koetsu Red Signature mc phono cartridge.

I bought the turntable new and it replaced an original Oracle Delphi turntable that I bought in 1980 (which replaced an LP12).

As a non-suspended design, the Oxford is pretty much set up and forget and will accept any size/design of pickup arm (it would be nice to try the new Kuzma air bearing arm!!). The two-piece platter (acrylic/phosphur bronze) weighs 15 kgs and is quite inert. The oil-filled inverted bearing is fitted to an MDF sub-chassis which incorporates an acrylic/steel arm mounting and engages the sand-filled 50Kg integral stand via three spikes which locate sockets suspended in stiff sorbothane.

Very little in the way of floor-borne vibration affects the player and mated to the SME/Koetsu combo it produces a very detailed expansive and transparent soundstage with deep bass!!

I use the Tom Evans Groove phono stage into a Tom Evans Vibe/Pulse preamp.

Cost of the Oxford new was £1795 and it was around the £2.5K mark when production ceased in the early nineties. One half of the partnership, Jonathan Harker, now runs Oxford Audio Consultants. Fraser Shaw, the designer, was a surgeon by trade and as far as I know went back to medicine.

It has served me well for vinyl replay these past 17 years and I see no reason for change!

Picture, with my old equipment rack, at:-

http://www.the-missing-link.net/wpeC1.jpg

Regards,

Steve

 

Well Done Tony! That's the hard bit over with.

Now I have owned the Orbe/SME combo and it was great. Didn't really bowl me over though - I'd say the little Vpi is more open sounding in the mids.

I've also owned an LP12 and don't want to go there again. I prefer a more open presentation to be honest.

So I guess we need to think outside of the box. Has anyone actually heard a SME20a at length? What about these Verdiers, any comments on what their strenghts are?

 

OK dream time for S&C; and aesthetics might be playing a bigger role than sound quality, also I'm not even sure if my effort could be done for under £5K but here goes:

Deck: Teres DIY/Kit Turntable in a real wooden plinth with a complicated and highly polished grain structure ( The finish of the wood is most important )
Arm: One of them Schroeder 'Hanging by a thread' Unipivots.
Cart: fancy MC either skeleton construction or solid with wooden cheeks (that match the Plinth exactly )
Support: Mana Acoustics Reference wallshelf- All Cadmium Plated, as I think Cadmium plating looks great when the light catches it, showing up a miriad of different irredescent colours.

Lets face it when things look this good who cares about the sound
Some links:
http://www.teresaudio.com/
http://www.soundscapehifi.com/schroder.htm#pics

Failing all this then genuine Transcriptors Hydraulic Reference TT complete with Fluid Arm and all of the Brushes. Again mounted on a Mana Ref wall shelf and some fancy cart. All lovingly overhauled to 'As new' stanadard by Transcriptors of course.

 

On looks alone I'd want an Oracle Delphi Mk V

Michael.

 

Well, the Oracle Delphi V doesn't just have the looks. For up to GBP 5K, I'd say the Oracle Delphi V (markedly improved over all earlier Oracle decks) with an SME IV or V arm and cartridge to suit your tastes is a very strong competitor sonically. The Graham arms, notably, versions 2.0 & 2.2 work better with the deck but are much more dollars. Add the optional turbo power supply and granite plinth and it's superb music all the way. This vinyl spinner is on my list as a future replacement for my current deck and yes, I prefer it to the Michell Orbe but then it is also much more expensive. I figured that my CDP upgrade cash (original budget around GBP 5,500) would be better spent on a turntable deck such as the Oracle (or other turntable) rather than on a sub GBP 5,000 upsampling CD player which lacks musical soul but OMMV.

Now, if Santa gave me a whopping great bonus beyond the GBP 5,000 that was specified, then I will consider the likes of the N.A. Anna Log or even the Brinkmann La Grange TT although things like speakers and amp would have to change too to show off just what these decks can really do. Again, I'm saving.

Some piccies of the Oracle Delphi V:

http://www.oracle-audio.com/gallery/photo/rcheong-3.jpg

http://www.oracle-audio.com/gallery/photo/oracle delphi.jpg

http://www.oracle-audio.com/gallery/photo/DELPHI_MKV.jpg



Enjoy the music,

Lawrie.

 

Simon Yorke.



The best TT I've heard,about 8K though new,so maybe cheaper S/H,but exellent sounds

 

Its a hard question Mike.

So many turntables were designed for rich tarts.


At 5k the decks that would appeal most for audition would be..

Garrard 501

A Platine Verdier (I nearly bought that very Nouvelle from Walrus, theyve had it yonks!. Ive never regreted the deck I bought instead though)

A Kuzma reference

SME 20

A NOS Anna-Log - if you can find one used.

Avid Acutus. Never heard one, but if Dean bought one, thats good enough to make it a must-audition for me.


I'd love to audition the Kuzma air bearing arm (theres a great review of it at Stereophile's website). They comment on its nervousness with less than perfect pressings/dirty records - so I'd have to try it and see for myself. Its an awesome piece of engineering that I'd love to be able to try.

At that points I'd be looking for -
1) A deck with a serperate power supply, not a wall wart in sight.
2) If suspended, not with springs - preferably mass loaded.
3) Interchangeabililty (is that a word?!) of arms. Id probably end up with a unipivot on a rock solid deck. A 3k arm would scupper the deck budget otherwise.
4) Obviously a fantastic sound!

I would definately have a wall mounted platform for it too. A wish to sell my house in less than 3 years is all that has stopped me from doing this (and having a very stable granite rack)