Great journey and great report Tuchan.
I hope you keep enjoying the music.
I hope you keep enjoying the music.
Continuum Caliburn - really the best TT on earth?
I have read so many good things about the Caliburn but also figured out that this table needs some care (software, o-ring, air suction etc.) To my knowledge they have improved the table over the last three years.
Is there anyone out who has experience with this table besides of audio shows -meaningly having tested the Caliburn with the Cobra and e.g. a Lyra system within a very good chain? Is there any reason not to go for a Caliburn?
Is there anyone out who has experience with this table besides of audio shows -meaningly having tested the Caliburn with the Cobra and e.g. a Lyra system within a very good chain? Is there any reason not to go for a Caliburn?
178 responses Add your response
Hi Nilthepill, here is my final verdict: The Continuum Criterion is musically elegant, whilst remaining dynamic. The Copperhead, partnered with the Lyra Olympos, delivers an extremely open and transparent musical soundstage. The quiet, precise and stable sound is most probably due to the precise electronics partnered with the vacuum platter. I have never enjoyed my cherished records as much as with the Continuum Criterion, this includes, jazz, vocal, rock and roll as well as other genres. It may well be the first time the Lyra Olympos encounters its soul mate in my system, the Copperhead. The build and construction of all the parts serves the mechanical needs as well as being aesthetical appealing. The unshielded cooper litz wire did benefit from an improved design which I was able to test; it is the least protected and aesthetical part of the Copperhead. I cut the wire shorter at the point it connects with the larger part of the cable. The signal has a shorter path to the Kondo KSL/SFZ transformer; the sound is improved dramatically. A further step was taken by replacing the copper wire with a silver litz, this took the improvements further in the direction I wanted, I have learnt to appreciate the gain when silver is introduced at this stage in the signals' path. Having used quite a few vacuum turntables, I was pleasantly surprised how silent the Continuum vacuum system is. The particular design of the vacuum system is very well designed. This is by no means a plug and play system. A day or two with an experienced analog fan enabled complete and satisfactory installation. The variables made possible with neodymium armboard should be explained in the manual. I mention this again because its a magnificent design that is carefully and well executed. This is definitely the best modern TT I have had the pleasure to listen to in my system. It will, I am certain, remain for a long time here in my listening room. http://picasaweb.google.de/caochan1/ContinuumCriterion?authkey=Gv1sRgCPPGseyShuS7SA |
Thuchan, Thanks for the detailed description. "The Continuum Criterion is musically elegant, whilst remaining dynamic" says a lot about the quality of sound it is reproducing in your system. Sounds like your other TT set ups has met a really stiff competition. Both in looks, technical excellence, build quality and the sound!! Happy listening! |
Dear Raul, returning from the High End 2010 in Munich yesterday I was a little dissapointed that the overall interest in analogue gear declined a little (!) in comparison to last years`s show. Of course nearly everyone runs a TT in the showroom but some contenders are missing this time, Continuum too. Maybe most of the analogue friends are well equipped at the moment. I saw a new Thales arm and the new TW Acoustic arm. Both sounded good. |
Dear Thuchan: Maybe the Global Economic Crisis affect the Audio High End market niche. In the other side it is not easy to manufacturers/designers bring something new when their products are at very high level and where customers that pay high prices for it a few months ago can buy again. Regards and enjoy the music, Raul. |
It was interesting to have the opportunity to compare the Continuum Copperhead and the Cobra tone arms on the Criterion. After sometime setting up the tone arms I got a point were critical listening was finally possible. The Cobra portrays a broader sound, to some extent rounder, with a stunning foundation to top the musical experience. It does however concede a little against the Copperhead in the arenas of speed and higher frequency timbre; perhaps this is the silver wiring that the Copperhead hosts? Nothing is over emphasized such as the dynamics with idler drives. Yes I enjoy the Copperhead immensely! The Cobra is hosting a Clearaudio Goldfinger v2 that requires almost 87grms counter weight Regarding ergonomics I have to say that Azimuth adjustment is far better with the Cobra, lift is not as well placed, and this should really be redesigned given the price tag! Names? Well I would name the Cobra a Whale and the Copperhead a Dolphin . Not that exotic I guess but that will give you an idea! |
Yes Thuchan, It seems that Mark Doehmann as head of the design team for Continuum....introduced many revolutionary ideas into the world of vinyl playback....HERE I must admit that I wondered many times....how on earth they manufactured those Cobra and Copperhead arms? The secret is now out..... and VPI claiming a 'first' for 3D printing of a tonearm...is slightly presumptuous? |
I totally agree Thuchan. http://i.imgur.com/r2AM7An.jpg In fact out of the dozen or so arms I've had in my system (both vintage and modern) I'm prepared to say the Copperhead is the best on all types of cartridges, Tellingly......I've found that it's MM cartridges rather than MCs which bring unstuck some vaunted names in the 'high-end' tonearm pantheon. The Copperhead reigns supreme with all my MM collection (not that it's a slouch with high-compliance LOMCs). The only problem with the Copperhead and Cobra tonearms (and now the new Viper which is really a Copperhead with a new name)....is the real pain in changing cartridges and adjusting the counterweights. But you and I are lonely voices Thuchan in this world of tonearms, as very few audiophiles will ever have the opportunity to hear one of these miracles let alone own one..😮 And why Fremer appears to prefer the Kuzma 4-Point over his Cobra continues to puzzle me? You had a 4-Point and an Airline at some stage didn't you? What say you about Fremer's choice? |
Halcro, I guess MF was getting tired on exchanging carts in the Cobra, which I understand. I use a Goldfinger v2 in my Cobra via the Boulder 2008 and will never change this line. As a reviewer I would keep an arm with exchangable headshells like the Axiom or FR66s. The Kuzma 4point isn’t really bad, nevertheless I prefer the Airline, using only matching carts for tangential scanning (without rubber). |
With Mikey's clout, it would seem a no-brainer for him to have another Cobra arm-wand to mount his 'cartridge under review' and be able to swap easily to his 'reference cartridge' in the other arm-wand for instant comparisons...? I guess there is pressure on him to have 'currently available' equipment as his reference for commercial reasons? For this reason....I suspect his Caliburn turntable may be on borrowed time...❓🤔 |
@nandric-
"You have obviously no other comment than about spelling mistakes..." That's hardly accurate! Human nature(and it's attendant showing off) IS inevitable and your comment that showing off one's wealth, regarding, "cars, yachts, palaces, and women can hardly be blamed on, "Western decadence". EVERYWHERE on the planet, people exhibit the same excesses, when having more wealth than class(ie: "cars": Abu Dhabi’s Solid Gold Biofuel Mercedes, "yachts": the world's current, biggest super-yacht, "Azzam," believed to be owned by the President of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, "palaces": Antilia, a 27-story skyscraper on the pricey Altamount Road in Mumbai, is the most expensive home in the world, "womens"? How many Westerners have a harem?) I don't know where you reside, BUT- extravagance and excess have been going on ever since man discovered wealth, and currently the MOST obvious examples of, "decadence" are NOT in the West. ALL of the world's great, early civilizations(ie: Babylon, Persia, Greece) exhibited PLENTY of, "decadence" WAY BEFORE there was a West to blame it on.Further, some(with the disposable income) have chosen to pursue the ultimate in sound reproduction, regardless of cost. The State of The Art in audio equipment will never come cheaply. There will always be those that can't afford it, are jealous and will mock(also human nature and INEVITABLE). |
Rodman, your quotation of my comment is correct. But your new remark ''That's hardly accurate'' has no ground or base in your comment. Your only remark was about my spelling error. In our forum it is ''not done'' to comment on language errors of the members. There are many foreigners in our forum. Regarding your general theory about ''human nature''. In Holland where I live it is not done to show of with one's wealth. Logicaly then when there is one member of a set which does nor satisfy the ''all quantor'' means that the whole statement is false. Your ''inevitable'' is a mistery to me. Are you Kantian? |
My remark was, "It’s also INEVITABLE". As I stated later, it’s HUMAN NATURE. My transposing of letters was a JOKE, and I made no, "remark" about your spelling. If you were born with no sense of humor, that’s tragic. No one in Holland exhibits any, "showing off of wealth"? Isn’t there a certain Golden Coach, in which your entire country takes pride? Hardy humble! Your use of, "abominable", regarding others that spend money on expensive audio components is a, "mystery" to me. "Kantian"? You’re the only one making moral judgments. I’m through with this discourse, as it has no relevance regarding the above mentioned turntable(not to mention, it’s been a waste of keystrokes). |
Dear @thuchan : """ I believe that the Continuum tonearms are not only rare animals but among the best sounding tonearms ever designed. """ Six years ago in this same thread and when you were looking for advice about the Continuum TT that " moved " your emotions to make the " voyage " after a CES I posted: """ Maybe the Cobra alone could give you a better performance that any of the good tonearms you own with any of your TTs ........ Now, if what you move are more " emotions " than facts then IMHO you must go for what are pushing your " emotions """ """ No one here yet address the fact that the Cobra tonearm has a " weight " in the Continuum overall performance, more than what we can imagine. """ """ No, I did not but seems to me by its designs that maybe the most important " weight " in the overall Caliburn performance comes/culprit by the Cobra tonearm... """ """ Maybe could be interesting to test the Caliburn with out its dedicated rack-stand and with out the Cobra to find out or to be nearest to the stand alone real TT quality performance. """ After those posts you answered me: """ Raul, I was going the path you followed and considered bying the Cobra tonearm... """ but " emotions win the " battle " and you gone for the Continuum TT/tonearm. Why am I addressing these? because the Caliburn? , not really but because what I posted years before this thread and before other gentlemans in this forum ever addressed: that the single most important partner of any single cartridge is the tonearm and not the TT and you ( some way or the other ) just confirm it. Yes, the Cobra is a very good tonearm and not easy to beat. Good too that you recognize that. MF has different " preferences " but is magazine biased and that's why the comments of @halcro in this regard. Btw, I'm not saying that TT is not important because it's but has a different importance weight in the overall cartridge quality performance. Maybe even the Phonolinepreamp is more important in the LP analog experiences. Good to hear from you again. Regards and enjoy the music, R. |
Dear Raul, Having owned and tested many (and still own some very good) tables, tonearms, phono-pres and carts I am pretty sure that the table is the basis to build upon. The virtual journey I made to Continuum in Melbourne some 6 years ago was a very funny one as you might remember. Having ended up with a Continuum Criterion I put this unit on a very special stand also improving vibration control. I never regret having done this investment. It is a pitty that a company like Continuum ended up with a small unit today, which should have seen the light of the day much earlier. The success story of these tables were ingenious people improving the design, especially the electronics continuously. Since today I never had a problem with my Continuum. |
