Need advice on what to look for in a turntable - budget $6K to $10K

wrm57:

I owned the Kiseki Purple Heart NS for about 6 months.  I used it with a VPI HR-X  video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_cJrj5DwwQ

I liked the cartridge but was underwhelmed compared to others including Harry @ VPI.....

I went to the Transfiguration Proteus after that at about 40 percent more....

video link on same tt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgmHbORQ5Ew

.it is noticeably better in most areas, especially overall musicality....most interesting was I heard the Transfiguration Axia at around 1000 less than the Kiseki and it got about 95 percent of the way to the Proteus, which was pretty remarkable......

A lot of this is just synergy between the cart and phono stage etc.....so you might have better results with the Allnic etc.  FWIW, I used a Hashimoto HM7 stepup at 30x coupled with the phono section in my all tube CAT SL1 Renaissance w/ Phono preamp.....

Hi Stewart,

Your post prompted me to read Fremer’s glowing review in Stereophile. You’re right, the Proteus looks like a good match for SUTs. Either 30x or 40x would seem ideal, depending on the rest of the chain. The Allnic has 40x built-in and I have a Bob’s 30x already. Very interesting. I wonder how it stacks up against the Benz Ebony TR, which has similar specs and is designed for an SUT. But that’s a conversation for a separate thread. Thanks for the tip!

Bill

Dear @wrm57 : """  You’re right, the Proteus looks like a good match for SUTs. """

For me it's a little weird your statement because today cartridges were not designed " to be a good SUT's match ". The designer " thinks " in other main cartridge design targets other than what you said.

Regards and enjoy the music,
R.

Hi Raul,

Yes, I agree, it seems few cartridges are designed specifically for SUTs these days (with the Benz Ebony TR a notable exception). So if one is bound, like I am with the Allnic phono, to using SUTs, all one can do is look for carts with DCR and output specs that don’t scream incompatibility. The Proteus seems to be one, on paper, that would work. The Purple Heart seems like it would not--but the proof is in the listening. Of course, adding the Allnic head amp, as theothergreg has done with his Purple Heart, eliminates the issue.

Bill

Thanks for the kind words, Raul.

Mike ... can you send me an e-mail through my contact page (http://galibierdesign.com/contact/)? 

I didn't get your e-mail address when we spoke, and I have a couple of questions I'd like to run down with you in order to set up a demo that's  relevant to your current system.

Cheers,
Thom @ Galibier Design