I'm not sure if its world class but it is certainly wonderful to hear and look at is the audiomeca romance turntable and arm. Unlike a lot of high end tables it tends not to need a lot of tweaking (good or bad). I am very happy with mine and would be happy to talk about it. Drop me a note. There is a glowing review on the italian website tnt audio (Something like that). It is very good value and I believe I saw a place that had them on sale. A friend with a verdier (a very expensive tt many consider one of the best was very impressed with it).
Gary |
I settled on the Teres after hearing one locally. It is loosely based on the Scheu, and is an outstanding value for the money. I went for the lead-damped Cocobolo wood base, but I think it is offered at a variety of price points, with an upgrade path within each class (wood or acrylic). I really can't say enough good things about the table (easy to set up, wonderfully ergonomic, musical) or Chris Brady (just an all around good guy). A real sleeper of a table, and homegrown to boot! |
Good for you and welcome back to analog.
As I see it, there is no future in the ultra hi-end audio for anything digital. With a high quality turntable, tonearm, cartridge combo, it just blown any digital crap away from this planet! |
Not heard the Teres table but
I am investigating the Redpoint
unit. Redpoint uses PVC or a
composite platter. Most high tables
use something more massive than acrylic.
check their website out: redpoint-audio-design
@aol.com . |
I'm about ready to order a Teres myself, in the basic configuration, but I'm still not completely decided. Maybe I'll go for the upgraded platter and the battery option.
At any rate what has impressed me most about it (and the Redpoint too) are the people behind the project. These are a bunch of guys who started out with a passion for this wonderful HOBBY of ours and got together with a bunch of other guys to produce a DIY rig and marketted it through the audio grapevine at a price that even I (big cheapskate) find palatable.
In my opinion the Teres and Redpoint are a breath of fresh air to the high-end scene, and that I have not seen any reviews or mention of it in the "audiophile press" (Stereophile, TAS etc) is the a good sign indeed. |
HAIL HAIL DIY'ers..........
TWL: Forget all that turntable crap.
Send me your records.
I will make you nice mp3's of them on my nifty 18.00 sound card.
You wont miss anything on those wimpy, non-revealing RS/Fostex things you listen to any way.
har-de-har-har :)
I am very interested in what you decide. If you hear one, let me know :) Good luck |
Okay, here's where I am so far. I am planning to go for the 2.75 inch thick acrylic, lead shot-filled platter with precision bearing first. Chris says they should be ready by the end of the month($990). Next, I want to go with the Cocobolo shot-filled base(unfinished, price TBA), then the DC motor kit with microcontroller($375). Finally, I am looking real hard at the Rauna Opus 3 Cantus linear tracking tonearm that I will have to order from Sweden as they have no US importer($415). This looks like a real cool arm design that is clean, simple and well thought out. I have looked at the Redpoint tables and IMO they are too ugly and they use the Teres bearing and motor anyway. I do not believe that their PVC platter will outperform the weighted acrylic Teres platter.The guys on the Asylum say that the Teres outperforms the JC Verdier and is comparable to tables in the $10k-$15k range. The Cantus tonearm looks like the unknown gem I was looking for. It was reviewed as giving performance comparable to any of the best linear tracking arms on the market. Only it is unknown in the US. The simplicity of the design is the strength of the design. I will be sending my check for the platter ASAP. I can only do 1 piece at a time, due to budget. But where else can you buy a world class table a piece at a time, so you can fit it into your money capabilities? This is really exciting. And Gumby, I don't have any records yet, and I sold my unbelieveable collection years ago. I had every Prestige Miles Davis album made on the original yellow/black label in primo condition. I had Blue Note Vol.1 and 2 in perfect shape. Kind of Blue on white label promo airplay only copy in new condition. Etc,Etc. I could kick myself for selling that stuff. Oh, well. I will update later when I get my first piece. |
Hmmm, Just sold T Monk Blue note collection.
Still have all of Charlie Parker in a box set though :)
I think you need a copy of "Amused To Death".
(Even if you are a Jazz man) |
Wow, a linear arm for 400 bucks! Twl, is there a website where I could check this out? Thanks, Chris |
http://www.rauna.com/cantus.html Sure Chris,this is the link. It is a very simple design, but it looks to have all the right ideas. They claim it is as good as any linear arm made, as long as it is set up correctly. I have emailed them in Sweden twice and have gotten no response yet. They have no US dealers that I have found. |
"The guys on the Asylum say that the Teres outperforms the JC Verdier and is comparable to tables in the $10k-$15k range " . Lol .Where did you read that in AA? |
I think it's pretty safe to say that the Teres competes very well with similarly-priced offerings from VPI, Clearaudio, Basis, etc. -- perhaps even with those at a higher price point, but I've done no extensive comparisons myself. >10K? Unlikely. It's also safe to say that the Scheu is by no means a lesser table - just different, particularly in the bearing design. I have seen one reference to someone selling a Verdier in favor of the Scheu. |
Jean, here's your answer, posted on the Vinyl Asylum.
Posted by hifidaddy (A) on November 02, 2001 at 06:44:27
In Reply to: Ohhhh, now I see *through* what all the Teres fuss is about! posted by marc g. on October 31, 2001 at 23:41:00:
Folks,
it is very likely that the Teres or Repoint is better than a VPI TNT or Basis or whatever. I compared the original standard Scheu (2 inch acrylic platter) to the Platine Verdier 4 years ago and then sold my Verdier. After ringing the bell on Joelist or Analogue Addicts List and so on Audio Advancement became importer of Scheu turntable to the USA and the Teres group was launched.
------------------------------------------------------------
Also Jean, there are other posts on the Vinyl Asylum that state the the Teres also bettered the VPI TNT MK4 and the guy sold his TNT and said he is a "very happy Teres owner". The Verdier is a fine turntable and you may prefer yours to the Teres, I don't know, but the fact that Teres is compared, sometimes favorably, to Verdier, TNT, Basis, puts it in the same league of these world class turntables.The difference is that regular people can now get that kind of world class performance for a much more affordable price. There is even a post in the Vinyl Asylum where a guy improved the sound of his Verdier by using a Teres motor and controller. There are several posts where Linn LP12 owners have sold their Linns and bought Teres and raved about what an improvement the Teres was. There was one post where a guy had a Verdier and he said he thought the Teres was very good but he still kept his Verdier. If you only had $2k to spend and you found out you could get the performance level of a $6k-12k table for $1350, what would you do? I know what I'm going to do. |
I spoke a few times with Hartmut (hifidaddy ). He doen't mention in this post that he was sad to let go the Verdier for monetary reasons.Kurt Strain was not happy with his TNT IV , many don't like VPI as well and this turntable precis.. .No doubt the Teres is a great turntable for the price , but you need to add the wood base with lead and a good arm , bringing the price to 3ks at least .People who have been raving about the sound quality use 1000/1500 $ arms with it.I don't think the basic model at 1350$ with a RB 250 will be able to come close to turntables at 5/6ks.Don't forget the hype too ,it's the turntable du jour .The 250$ Art DI/O Dac was supposed to be as good as 8ks Dacs when it came on the market ! We know where it stands now .And the Tjoeb 99 , best cd player below 2ks ! |
I am not trying to talk you out of this turntable, but if you are looking to compete in "best sounding" category, then I tend to agree with Jean. I think you will have to go with the wood shot filled base and a nice arm. That will raise the price of the table setup considerably.
I have read about this table and I think you are making a good choice. I like the fact that Teres uses a DC motor and a nice quality bearings.
Without complicating things too much I would suggest that you also look at the Michell Orbe SE Mk II table. It's very well made, uses a high quality DC motor/PS, and an excellent bearing.
The main difference between the two is that the Michell uses a suspended subchassis that is also damped for isolation while the Teres uses mass loading.
Good luck. |
TWL: Where is your project now?
Did you get the arm yet?
details, details my friend |
Gumby, I have gotten everything now and have it set up and breaking in. The set-up is as follows: Teres Model 135 turntable(all acrylic), Origin Live Silver 250 Tonearm, Denon DL103 cartridge, MA Cotter MK2 Step-up Transformer, MFA Magus Hotrodded Tube Preamp, Berning MicroZOTL amp(NOS Tubes), Fostex based Single Driver Speakers.
I have listened for about a week now, and things are beginning to burn-in. The cartridge is particularly stiff and will need alot of time. I am tracking at 2.5 grams, with a very slight positive VTA. I re-strapped the Cotter to the correct 40 ohm loading for the DL103. Loading sounds correct. Pivot distance is set at 223mm. Cartridge alignment and overhang was set using the supplied OL protractor.
So far the sound can be described as dynamic. The bass floor is very solid and deep. Plenty of detail and dynamics throughout. Possibly somewhat analytical. Definitely has the unsuspended turntable sound. No problems with vibrations coming up from the floor, though. It's on a sturdy hardwood table with a half inch thick granite top, and standing on cocobolo cones.
The arm is outstanding. It handles everything well and very low coloration. Cable still breaking in.
The cartridge is very good sounding considering the stiffness and the early state of break in. Very smooth and detailed with excellent separation, imaging, tonal balance. Some slight mistracking is evident in the challenging passages, but should clear up as the suspension on the cantilever works in. I think this is an excellent value in cartridge, but a very difficult one to match with an arm. The arm must be able to handle tremendous energy from the super low compliance of 5 that this cartridge has. Very tough on the arm bearings. Forget unipivots with this one.
So, initially, I'm quite pleased. Nothing is perfect, but I feel that this shows signs of being a very high level performer at a reasonable price. I have about $2300 in it right now, not including the Cotter. We'll see how the break in goes. So far the biggest question mark is the cartridge, and it will take the longest to break in. If it doesn't pan out, I will try a Shelter 501 next. My system is pretty ruthless in revealing any shortcomings, so it really lets you know if you cut any corners. But, I will give the DL103 the 200 hours or so for break in that it requires. I will add more updates as I get the system further broken in. |
