Is the Teres a

4yanx,

My LP12 is not the be all and end all in analog. Far from it. It is a solid performer though and in my system it is not the weakest link in the chain. I still have it after all these years simply because I have no compelling reason to replace it. I haven't a clue what I would buy if I were shopping for a new table. In the price range I would be in I would probably be looking at a Teres bearing, motor, speed controller and battery power. I could easily make the rest. The only point I was trying to make was that the original master tape would be the control and the contenders in this competition would be trying to be most faithful to that control.

No, you've taken me all wrong, Pat, or I wasn't clear. What I meant was that with all this talk of shoot-outs between TABLES, it's the wonder folks weren't clamoring for a shoot-out between R2R decks before using one to compare to the Linn table - meaning that if the Linn equaled the R2R being used SOMEONE would be bound to say, "but if you used this other R2R.... :-O

I agree with what your saying in the a comparison to the master would be revealing.

Hi Raul, just a couple of notes to add. I will re-iterate that I never said or wrote that PRaT (or timing, or whatever...;-)) was the ONLY consideration, but the prime one, or "critical" one as you wrote. We differ, or divide on the following issue: while you seem to trust the measurements being offered by the various manufacturers, I don't, I think there is something wrong with the testing method, rendering the measurements moot. Which is to say that the 'tables in practice, playing real records with actual music, cartridges and so on (a dramatic stylus profile will cause more stylus drag and thus speed deviation than an easy conical one, to name but one possibility) suffer far larger speed deviations than they do in the lab, whose measurements do not reflect reality. Apart from that pretty fundamental issue, I agree with most of what you have to say, materials do their share in highlighting or damaging timing. And in the DD sweepstakes, I have found that I prefer the sound of the older big servo-controlled DDs like my Sony 2250 and a Technics SL1100 I have, both of which approximate the sound of a Linn LP12 (full of PRaT and flow) to the drier and more precise, but less rhythmic sound of the SP10 MKII. This too, I attribute to a speed instability which is falling below the radar of the testing method, which I believe to be as full of holes as a corporate document or a politcal speech.

Speaking of LP12s, I love the sound of classic 3-point suspensions, Pat, and when they play (I keep a modded AR-XA and Ariston RD11S around), I get immersed in the music and take a vacation from audio neurosis. They are, however, very agile, smooth and lush and extract an astonishing amount of information, and one could get neurotic if one was really determined ;-). In fact, ALL vinyl spinners blow my mind when I get them to perform properly, including my humble Connoisseur BD2 with Pickering cartridge (a total mind-blowing blast, cheap fun for an afternoon). After all these years, I still can't quite believe that a rock dragged through a squiggle can reproduce all those beautiful instruments and singers in my room. Awe.

Dear Jean: I understand your concern about, but I think that we have to trust in the manufacturers measurements. Other way we will have to do that job for our self: it is almost impossible.

Yes, we can trust in our ears ( brain ) too, but I think that in that subject we have to be objective ( technical measurements ) and let our subjective appreciation yest like that a : subjective appreciation.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Johnnantais,

You don't know me at all so everything you wrote about me is a projection of yourself. Others might be intimidated by you, but I am not. I see you for what you are – an unabashed windbag and pompous ass who likes pawn-shop turntables.