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Having A Tough Time Justifying More Than One Table

Currently have three tables on the system, and have run at least two for a number of years. I do remember back when I was younger and had fewer greenbacks to my disposal that I would run one table that was the best I could afford. That is actually my M.O. - only one of each. But I have broke that trend with turntables. 

But as I sit here and listen to my main table, a SOTA Cosmos Eclipse withe SME V and a Transfiguration Proteus I wonder why I bother with the others. Also residing on the stereo cabinet is a Well Tempered Reference with a ZYX 4D on it, and a Brinkmann Bardo with Audiomods Series 6 and Ortofon A90 on it. Both are very nice sounding tables, but neither are on the same level as the SOTA. The Brinkmann might have more I can coax out of it with a better arm, and that is something I have considered. 

Yet I wonder, why bother? Sometimes I think I should buy another cartridge on par with the Proteus and just rotate them when one goes off for refurbishment. 

This is what I get for thinking on a quiet weekend morning and having too much coffee....
neonknight
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 

elliottbnewcombjr1,269 posts11-27-2020 7:04ammy 3 arm TT is shown in the last photo of my ebay LP listing’s

https://www.ebay.com/itm/133587830551

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My oh My that is a busy one..  I like it.. Tinker fest...:-)

Regards
tablejockey
4,081 posts
 
You must have a great relationship with the boss(S.O.) 

More than one anything, I get the "look"
billwojo
397 posts
 
Elliott is the person that inspired me to build a Victor based TT. I to have a CL2P plinth with the two arm boards but I'm using the TT 71 motor drive instead. I wanted the ability to try multiple tonearms so being a machinist I made new armboards out of 3/4" thick aluminum plate. I machine a recess to take smaller sub plates made out of 1/4" aluminum plate that can be swapped out in just a few minutes complete with arm and cartridge. I made it to a degree of precision that as long as I don't disturb any settings, the arm, cartridge and sub plate will just drop back in ready to play.Right now I'm using an ATP-12T with some mods I did in the back position and a Victor UA-7045 on the right side.If you go to AK and look up the thread " JVC QL-?? owners thread" , starting on page 11 and ending on page 12 are some pictures of my build.
I think it was rather innovative the approach I took to building new armboards for this TT. I don't recall seeing anything else quite like it.I have a Victor UA-7082 on deck to be mounted next, just have to machine the sub plate. Hopefully it will be completed sometime in the next two weeks. After that, I have a Fidelity Research FR-54 to experiment with thanks to my friend Elliott.

BillWojo
neonknight OP
432 posts
 
So my solution was to leave the Brinkmann go. I still have the Audiomods Series 6 arm here, and that can go on the SOTA as I have another arm board that fits that arm. So if I choose to audition another cartridge then I can do it on that arm, just remove the SME V and Proteus and not have to worry about uninstalling it or setting it back up at another time. 

The Well Tempered stays as it is a great platform for the ZYX 4D cartridge, and it was my least expensive table. I find I enjoy it for casual listening, so in a way it gets the most play time. When the ZYX diamond is too worn, it will go to Expert Stylus to get fitted with a new diamond This can be done with the stock cantilever, so with a tune up by an experienced technician I believe I will get a cartridge back that is as close to stock as possible. While the Paratrace diamond may be different in some respects to a microridge cut, i think the differences in mass will be negligible and the stock cantilever assembly being preserved will be of more importance than variations in diamond cut. 

The Esoteric E-03 accepts two inputs, so both tables are wired to it I can remove the Graham Slee, and the Accession and Elevator will be going to a friend of mines to be used in his system. So I free up some capital, gain a bit of real estate in my cabinet, and simplify the system. I have two decent tables that are enjoyable to listen to, and brings the system configuration into an arrangement that meets my needs. 
lewm
13,769 posts
 
Dear Neon, Your experience here is like an alcoholic visiting his favorite pub in order to get help with his drinking problem.  There's nothing wrong with your acquisitive habit; it's up to you to decide whether and how much to control it.
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