Upgrade my Turntable????

There are discussions of "shoot-outs" in the archives on Audiogon, and on AA.

There aren't any "formal shoot-outs" in the magazines that I know about. It's kind of a thing that enthusiasts do to satisfy their curiosity about which sounds better to them.

The Aries is a solid performer and should give you fine sound. You can do better, but it depends on how much you want to spend, and what brand you might buy.

I personally own a Teres 245, and think it is a very good performer for the money.

You should know that you are already on the "diminishing returns" part of the curve, and you'll generally have to spend significantly more to get smaller incremental improvements as you go up the ladder. This can be mitigated somewhat by purchasing factory direct(such as Teres and Redpoint) which eliminate the dealer mark-ups. But they don't have any dealers where you can go listen to them. Or, you could buy a good used turntable, which can save you some money.

So yes, in a roundabout way, I'm saying you can get more performance out of your analog sound, but you will have to be careful to choose a table that actually will be a better performer, and will likely have to spend some additional money to get it.

Actuall you're correct. The differance would be rather small if anything at all. I found that the cartridge makes the biggest difference. I have an SME V and a Rega and if you set them up properly, there's very little difference in the sound. (Rega has Expressimo Audio's Heavyweight, rewire with Cardas, VTA adjusted properly, etc.)...but still.... The turntable makes little difference if it too is set up properly.

At this level of performance an interconnect change will make more difference than a new table. Still, I'm an advocate of improving the source if you can clearly afford it, especially in the analog realm as the upgrade is long lasting if not life long.

Your concern about a Teres being unserviceable is of no concern as described above.

Cmo,

Glad to hear your reaction to the Airy 3-SB. I know two other guys who went from Grado Statement Ref to ZYX R100 Fuji or higher. Their reaction was the same as yours.

Your longevity concerns re: a Teres were well addressed by C123666. Sourcing another wood platter would be all but impossible, but there are few other items of concern. The bearing would be expensive to duplicate but a Teres bearing should last about 1,000 years - unless you do something really stupid. The ball and thrust plate will wear, but those are easily obtained or made by any machine shop.

Audio99,
You'll get stronger dynamics with an Airy 3 than an Airy 2, especially on an SME IV. Unless your system is exceptionally dynamic or your room is very lively I'd consider the next step up.

If the Airy 2 is your budgetary limit you could get one of Mehran's demo Airy 3's for about the same as a new Airy 2. That would be my choice, FWIW. I know for certain he has an Airy 3-X-SB with <80 hours on it, and will offer a prorated warranty.