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Grand Prix Audio Monaco Turntable

FYI, Hi Fi Plus (an excellent UK audio magazine) just did a very thorough review of the Monaco turntable. I have had the turntable for a year and think it is incredibly transparent and very involving - you really get pulled into the music. I could never explain why I found the turntable so engaging, but I think Roy Gregory has done a very good job of explaining why. I have had the VPI HRX and am very familiar with a number of the high end tables (e.g., the SME 30 and top of the line Brinkman)and thought those tables were very good, but I never had the same connection with the music as I do with the Monaco
cohnaudio
fcrowder
191 posts
 
Mike, I think that it would highly informative (assuming any interest on your part) for you to arrange for a loan of a Monaco from JTinn so that you could then compare the two tables in your system using the same cartridge. This would allow a fair assessment of the Monaco against what I consider to be one of the two best TT's ever built and in a known system of extremely high resolving power. The only caveat would be that you mount the Monaco on a really good isolation base. Any chance that you would consider this?
mtkhl567
157 posts
 
Thanks Mike for your insight, the Rockport Sirius III is indeed a unique turntable and deserves all the accolades it has received over the years. Andy Payor makes some of the most amazing products in the audiophile business. It also retailed for 3-4X the GPA Monaco. Knowing that you had the Monaco in your system to compare it would be highly appreciated if you could share some of your thoughts.

PS: sure miss reading your old system thread, I much appreciate reading your opinions and experiences.

Henry
drajreynolds
3 posts
 
All of this platter speed stability (most important in my opinion) and accuracy counts for what when playing an LP that is less than perfectly centred? I would imagine that an LP which is off-centre by even a fraction of a millimetre (which would be many of them) would result in greater pitch instability than any belt driven or direct drive turntable methodology, no matter how well engineered and implemented. Among modern turntables we have engineering solutions that provide some very good answers but sometimes I wonder if we are really asking the right questions. Food for thought.

Aaron
lewm
13,048 posts
 
Aaron, I think a math calculation would show you are absolutely correct. But since we all are listening to these imperfect bits of software, the demonstrable (to most of us) differences in sound among turntables shows that we have the ability to discern the more minor (perhaps) distortions related to speed variation even overlaid on the more major distortion created by an off-center LP. Perhaps the difference is that speed distortion created by an off-center LP is "regular", whereas speed variations due to stylus drag or cogging or whatever are irregular distortions, which we find more noticeable.
mtkhl567
157 posts
 
Aaron, I agree with what you state ... off centre LPs are for sure not a positive impact on perfect vinyl playback. But if you compound that imperfection with other imperfect engineering solutions, there's simply even more distortion upon distortion. So all solutions have to start with the best engineering choices we have available. The extend of their implementation success is also impacted by other things. But it would certainly help if LPs were all truly cut perfectly as it would help if records were recorded better (better equipment, better recording engineers, better music).
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