Teres Owners - Please help


I am strongly considering a Teres TT and am torn between the 265 and 320 rosewood models (really like the 255, but spouse insists must be all wood). Rosewood was chosen strictly on price vs. Cocoboblo. There are two (2) issues I would welcome comments on.

Issue #1:
After doing research on Agon and AA, the Teres mass loaded design seems to really need a very heavy and stable rack/stand. I have a Salamander Synergy S40 (http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/syn/synergy.jsp?modelbase=su40) rack with a door on the front to “hide” the other equipment. The Teres will be placed on the TOP of the rack. This rack is fairly stable, but not as much as others. Since the mounting surface is not “super” stable, does it make sense to even consider the 320?

Issue #2:
My Preamp is Mac C2200 (40 dB gain), and I plan on keeping it for many years. With only 40dB gain, I am limited to MM or high output MC and am leaning towards a Sumiko Blackbird or Benz at the moment. My budget would allow for the 265 with the Morch 6 arm (possibly the Schoder 2 if stretched) or the 320 with Expressimo modded Rega arm. Keeping in mind that I can only use MM or high output MC carts, is the table or the arm more critical in this situation? Since most people with Teres tables on the discussion forums seem to use < 1.0 mV output cartridges, I was not sure how a higher output cartridge is more tolerant of a “lesser” table/arm combo?

Thanks in advance for your help!
encyclopediabsh
Hi, I can chime in on your first question. I think the Salamander stand you have probably won't do a great job of supporting the Teres. That's my gut feeling from having worked with support for my evolving teres (form 135, to 245 to 255). I think you may encounter two issues. First is that the platform on top of the salamander simply isn't very high mass, and the Tere designs really seem to benefit from heavy, inert support. Second, having the Teres positioned high up on a rack exposes the table to microscopic horizontal swaying, which may impact tonearm tracking (that's a problem I encounter with my setup).

If you do need to support the Teres is such a configuration, consider a wall mount that looks like the table is mounted on top of the stand, but is in fact a wall mount. It looks like a few owners have successfully done this with good results. Then, the height issue (horizontal vibrations) becomes a non issue, and you can apply a heavy mass support under the table. I would do that myself, only I'm renting the house I live in just now, so don't want to do too much DIY which will impact the walls.

Finally, just wanted to mention, the 255 in person really looks great. I had a 245 and was thining I may miss the seamlessness of the acrylic spinning, and thought the lead in the 255 may look a big garish. However, the 255 really is a beauty, and seems to better balance a modern look (the platter) with a more traditional, refined look (the base). Still, I know that's all subjective ;-)
Thanks Outlier - appreciate your comments. I really like the looks of the 255 as well, but need to do some selling at home (the lead/acrylic platter). I looked a long time to find a rack that had a door - so the stereo could be hidden. Maybe there is a high-mass, more stable rack available that has a door?
While I don't own a Teres I am intimately familiar with them. You do need a high mass stand though but I wouldn't let what you are using stop the purchase. The wall mount would be okay especially if it were of welded construction. Regarding racks, there are numerous ones to copy online. I built a rack for Audiogon member Vetterone. Do a member search and take a look at it. Adding doors and sides would have been easy.

I have strong opinions on the arms. Buy a Schroder. You'll never replace it unless you are going up Franks food chain. The entry level Schroder at $2200 with a carbon fiber arm wand is one of those "best buy in audio" pieces. You can mount a $10k cartridge on it and it will do the cartridge justice. In fact, we did that at a tonearm/cartridge shootout in Miami last month. I must admit the Triplanar is a stellar performer too.

I'm sure you would be happy using the Blackbird with any of these arms. I'm also sure that if you can afford it you will later get a better cartridge and a different phono stage. The Teres/Schroder combination will tempt you too much to upgrade.

I'll let others comment on the 265 vs. the 320. Vetterone has the 265 (plus Triplanar and ZYX Universe) and on the stand he uses it would be the end of the road for me. I've not listened to the 320. The 340 is bettered by the 360 enough that I would step up to the 360 if those were my choices.
Hello Ecyclopediabsh, hi Patrick!
Whichever Teres model you(or your shmbo) decides to purchase, any of them will only perform as well as the support allows it. First and foremost make it rigid and non-resonant. You might benefit from mass loading the base/rack, but this depends upon the floor the whole assembly is sitting on.
A wall mounted rack is usually an excellent way to avoid the "swaying" phenomenon described by outlier, but if your wall is made of drywall you might open another can of worms(find at least one supporting beam). Then it is always possible to put an additional isolation device between the wall-mounted rack and the base of the table.
One last thing to consider when going for a wall rack. You will be stuck with the location. If there is a room node right at that spot, then moving a conventional rack by a foot or so often cures the (feedback/bass)problem. Moving the wall-mounted rack, well...
Buy/build the best support you can get, a 255/65 with a Moerch DP6 on a stable rack will outperform the same table with a Schröder No.2 on a shaky platform.

Cheers,

Frank Schröder
I owned the 265 and now own the 320. While I believe that the TT is the most important part of the analog chain, in your case I would go with the 265 and the Schroder rather than the 320 and the Rega.
I sold my 265 to a friend that has it on top of a wood cabinet similar to what you describe. If you lightly tap on it you can hear the problems with this type of setup but, it really isn't that big of a deal. You can work something out later. Meanwhile, just don't tap on it while your listening to music :).