yesterday i spent 30 minutes or so at CES listening to the Caliburn. it had an Air Tight Supreme mounted, playing thru ARC electronics.
i've listened to the Caliburn 3 other times at shows but never had a true sense of what it's character was compared to my impression of my Rockport. it seemed in the past that i was always listening thru other gear and so could not get a handle on things.
anyone who thinks that the Caliburn is the best tt is certainlly justified. i think it does dig more information from the gooves than the Rockport. there is a remarkable amount of musical (not just stuff) info that is easy to hear. OTOH i think the Rockport has more forward propulsion and continousness, has a greater feeling of solidity and ease, and maybe, just maybe, darker backgrounds.
all these differences between the 2 tt's are not huge, but it's easy to hear when both speak so clearly.
i can think of a few potential reasons for the differences but the 'why' is not really important. i don't have a hankering to sell the Rockport to buy a Caliburn. but i'd love to own both if i could possibly afford it. since it is a current product it's nice to know that at least it's a choice. the Caliburn is a fantastic tt and all us vinyl lovers are better off that it exists.
