Turntables...

There is a "best" for me - and everyone else will have their own opinion what is "best". Opinion is all it is. SME are not unequivocably the best deck in the world, though are they without a doubt in the running. Whatever you beleive, the SME does have competitors. Sorry SM but you will just have to get over your insecurity about your purchase. If you have an objective proof SME is the best rather than your subjective opinion or marketing material then I will be happy to hear it. Until then its all just your biased opinion. Same as mine and not one jot more valuable regardless of what you think. The only wind up merchant here is you as you are quite clearly tortured by the need to proclaim that your deck is better than everything else. The same process can be seen in any school playground over a game of conkers. If bub wants to get the sme then fine - but please cease this pointless bickering and needling.

 

Yes, I know that BBV is a "sandwich short".

The Akiva & 52 (and ATCs) are of a similar calibre to the SME - i.e. top-notch transparent hi-fi equipment.

 

What's strange is that anyone is the least bit interested.

 

Why are you so grumpy these days? You used to be very amusing.

 

Lets keep the personal remarks out of this thread bub.

 

Pot. Kettle. Black.

BBV Slant No.2. To suggest others are guilty of his own behavior, thereby trying to lower them to that level of credibility in the eyes of the casual reader. (Again rather basic and very easy to spot).

Come on BBV, you must be able to do better? You are something of a veteran at this if not at hiFi in general. I mean you even had time to post a few minutes after midnight on new years eve! Says it all really.

 

Please point out the personal comments I have made on this thread. Also please point out where I have been harping on about the brinkmann. You however are guilty on both counts.

The only one having a pop here is you - as evidenced by the irrelevent and provocative nature of your remarks. Presumeably as I had the temerity to listen to your deck and then decide to purchase a different one. Let it go.

 

A replay of Slant no.2 with a slight "pity" twist.

I heard the Brinkmann and prefered the SME. I also like the backup of a long standing company, that is likely to be around long after I pick up a pension and hopefully will still be British. The only reason you don't harp on about your alledged purchase is that it has got you into hot water before!

 

Good for you.

Utter fantasy. It has never got me into hot water and the reason I didnt harp is because Bub stated he only wanted to consider a british deck. Didnt you buy the SME before you heard the Brinkmann anyway? I wonder if it got a fair hearing. Does it have stunt bass as you claimed about the pmc? On second thoughts no need for you to answer that. Just accept we have different opinions and stop trying to provoke trouble.

 

Just to avoid having a company being tarred with a wrong brush:

Helmut Brinkmann has been in the hifi business for more than 30 years, first with audiolabor and for more than 20 years with the company bearing his own name. Helmut is a very sensible chap and not given to flights of fancy, nor to wasting money on expensive hobbies. Brinkmann are every bit as likely to be around for the long haul as SME.

 

Indeed. They are also every bit as well engineered if not more so.

 

Markus,

20 years is not IMO a long time in the hifi industry but I would like to know more. How large are Brinkmann? Are they a OMB or re there others in the company that do the design and manufacture? I can't find that sort of info anywhere.

I did not mean to infer that Brinkmann were not established, merely that I chose to buy from a company that had a pedigree on a par with the likes of Quad, McIntosh, Tannoy and JBL. It gives me comfort in these times of uncertainty.

BBV, I agree that we disagree. I find the BLG, as well as Bryston and PMC totally underwhelming, as I am sure you would find my choices. The reason for my postings is to give some balance to you ramblings, not to provoke. I'm sure it's just your posting style and you are not like that in real life.

 

Brinkmann is a small company, but they make the turntables in-house and have been doing so for a long time. The machinery is there and paid for, so what should go wrong? I don't know exactly how many people Helmut has working for him, but he most definitely does not work alone.

Quad, eh? Would you like to think that example over? McIntosh are now owned by people with not much sense of audio and exploit the heritage/the customer base in what some would call a deliberate, if not cynical, fashion. Tannoy makes the Prestige range not because their heart is in it, but because there's still a market for that, mostly in the far east. The designs have been rather static for a long time, and advances in crossover topologies and components seem to have passed them by.

A company that I have a lot of respect for is indeed JBL, but let's see what happens when certain key people will no longer be with the company.

 

Ironic indeed then that you have become the very thing you decry. The personal remarks have no relevance to my ramblings and its hard to see a purpose other than antagonism, though I am not going to rise to the bait. I have been quite restrained on this thread if you look closely and I recommended Yorke not Brinkmann. I am gratified however that we can come to a civilised agreement concerning our different personal preferences.

I beleive Brinkmann are less than ten people. Everything is done in house bar the EMT (which is modified so that little of the original remains). I think there is some information on the 6 moons website.

 

P.S. ARA has often stated that the audio business is just a hobby for SME. I wonder what will happen once ARA is no longer calling the shots, will the new management decide to concentrate company resources on something with a higher ROI?

 

No not really - although I imagined you would say something similar. Quad may have changed hands and indeed country of origin, but because of the popularity of the product historically, it has proved viable for third parties to make a living supporting the few products that are not covered by the new owners.

McIntosh too has been through a couple of owner changes, but is today managed by audio engineers intent on producing class leading audio. All indications suggest they are succeeding, whilst a huge network of support exists for vintage McIntosh.

Tannoy may well be static, but the support cannot be questioned, nor the efficy of their high end product (Has anything revolutionary come along in the last 30 years?). JBL's support is of course seemingly peerless.

Should SME decide to concentrate elsewhere in the future, I suspect the user base will allow for the sort of support enjoyed by owners of ELS 57's and MR78's. I certainly think there is a greater chance of this happening with a long established company such as SME than with more recent arrivals (look at the Pink Triangle fiasco for example).

BBV, the very fact that you recommended anything to contra Bub's excitement about the SME tells us all I need to know about your motivation. It might appear to be subtle but I can asssure you it is not!

 

Don't worry, what someone who lives about 400 miles away thinks of the SME is not particularly relevant to me, and in any case, it's a lot cheaper than the Yorke & Brinkmann.

 

SM - this thread is a turntable discussion and thats what I did. Your assertions about my motivations are absurd. Lets see what Bub thinks when he has actually heard the deck...

 

Penance - this is my planned next upgrade - go from a Dino+ to a full all singing all dancing Diablo - reckon I can afford it in March.

SME vs. Brinkmann - wish I had these problems. Let's admit it the SME engineering puts most things in hifi to shame and I'm sure this will kill the LP12 (although I've never heard a ninja'd LP12).

The only worrying thing about the Brinkmann is that it always seems the be mated to its own cart and arm - I haven't read a review of any mix and match with other arms carts and you do wonder whether it has been designed as a total package or as a tt in its own right.

The Akiva cart rocks (as do all the Lyras imo).

Very interested to hear how Bub gets on with the deck when it arrives. Personally I think you are going to be in for a very big shock - the SME decks are very neutral and mated to a good tracker like the Akiva - you'll be too busy listening to records to bother posting about it.

 

The diablo is a huge step up from the dino I think you will be very pleased.

You can use the brinkmann with other tonearms but the 10.5 is very good. Compared with the SME V it does add a small zing to the treble on the down side but on the upside it is more coherent and dynamic and has more impact and cleaness in the bass. I have heard the airtangent on the brinkmann and it sounds even better but at a much higher cost. The EMT cartridge is exceptional for the money - only the lyra titan and top dynavector may come close but I havent heard either as yet. I still have a soft spot for koetsu. You get a special price if you buy the complete package. I think most people go for the arm + deck and pick cartridge to suit. Sme people also use the brinkman arm and emt on other decks.

You rarely see an sme deck with a non sme arm either.