Turntables...

Mr Pig used to (and still may do, for all I know) attack his cartridge vigorously with a hairdryer, claiming that this improved matters. Small wonder he is mad.

 

I'm still in two minds - is it tenterhooks or tenderhooks? Evidence should be provided. (I'm sounding like Johnny now)

 

Tenterhooks, because I say so.

 

Good one!



..... really?

 

Googlefight agrees it's tenterhooks.

 

According to him, that's the sort of thing that went on, yes. But everything sounded miiiles better afterwards, and they all lived happily ever after, which was a nice bonus.

 

Tenterhooks were used around a large frame for tentering wool, in the wool industry. They may still be in use today, for all I know.

 

Rather amused by some of this. The Bryston/PMC comments maybe a bit of a strange considering how many recordings are made out there using this combination for monitoring recordings. Must be a reason why they are so popular in the professional world - and yes I am aware of pro vs. home gear.

Bub's comments on wanting an SME due it being British, likes the look and SME's engineering skills are all valid - except for the sound quality as he hasn't heard it. Nothing against Bub here but to rename the Brinkmann - LaPonce cos BBV rants about it is a bit of a put down to the engineering skills and build quailty of the Brinkmann, which from what I can make out from other sources is easily as well engineered, if not better, than the SME - whether or not you believe in the benefits of heated bearings.

I've heard neither of these decks - and probably wouldn't want to as my system couldn't do justice to either one of them. The fact Bub can get the 20 for a home demo makes more sense than going to a dealer demo as he can directly compare it what he already has and decide whether it is worth the outlay.

 

Yes, that's the sort of thing I had in mind. I can also take the time to set it up properly, and listen to any of my records on it, over a period of a few days, making adjustments to the set-up along the way, if necessary.

Do you understand why I think dealer demos are a waste of time?

 

Great. I'll try that tonight as well.

 

I'm not necessarily recommending it.

 

Sounded like an endorsement.

 

According to Googlefight, SME stuffs LaPonce, so Bub I think you've got the wrong deck

 

Bub,
I totally agree with why you are doing this. If you plan to purchase something like this then the ONLY way to decide if you want it is to demo it within your own system.

After all you know the quirks/benefits of your setup/listening.

If you were buying a car you would want a test drive - take it out for an hour or a day around roads you are familiar with to get a feel for road handling etc.. You wouldn't just go around the dealer's parking lot for 5 mins. Why should hifi be any different ?

If you are willing to have it on sale or return, and so is the dealer, then this is the only way to demo equipment.

 

The BLG is better engineered than the SME V I owned.

 

A hifi isn't a car, anymore than a sandwich is the river Thames.



I too think that dealer dems are pointless. The only way to test anything is to do so in your own time in an environment you are familiar with.

I think it is also very important to decide what you are interested in. Stepping out your front door with the inclination to listen to every turntable on earth until you find the best one would be disastrous.

 

Sorry, but we've covered this. If you turn the heating up in your listening room to near unbearable levels, the cutting edge engineering features of the BLG are achieved by even the most average of decks.

 

As Thatcher once said (I paraphrase ) "the majority are wrong because the majority are less intelligent than I". For what it's worth I also thought it was tenterhooks.

 

Nope is there is no temperature gradient. You missed the point.

 

Sorry, I had stopped reading your posts properly. My mistake.