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The best TT system for under 30K

Hi agoners! 

I have been floored by Kuzma Stabi XL DC with 4 points TA on a recent audition. It was extremely analog sounding, insane details with speed, beat and clarity that made me wonder if I am listening to a live concert, just can’t help my toe tapping. Was comparing the sound to the top of the line Accuphase CD player with the same rest of system and it was no contest. 

Switching from Accuphase CD player to Kuzma XL DC was sounding like adding a pair of subwoofer and going up 2-3 levels on the rest of the system. Mind you the rest of the system was Accuphase E-650 class A integrated that should favor the Accuphase same brand CD player but that wasn’t the case. The speaker was Kerr Acoustics K300 under 10K entry level bookshelf and the sound of the entire entry level system armed with Kuzma XL DC beat the hell out of the entire super high end system the dealer has on the other listening room with Avalon PM3 speakers, Accuphase A-250 monos, Audionet Stern Preamp with Accuphase CD player. 

However obviously I cannot afford the whole set of Kuzma XL DC considering I am also in the process of upgrading my existing system. What will be the closest contender in the US$30.000 retail price range that has the same sonic signature as Kuzma XL DC? 

Thanks in advance for any advices!!
uwiikz
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
You have a great attitude. People drive themselves crazy agonizing when it never does any good. Especially not with turntables where everything in your price range is freaking amazing, spellbinding, and let's face it  impossible to beat other than with experienced tweakery. By which I mean things like the table/rack, which you already know. Then when you figure out your cartridge and phono stage, the magic gets even more, er, magical.

With cleaners, the best I know is the Walker Enzyme 4 Step. This was recommended to me by Tom Port at Better-records.com easily the best sounding records on Earth and it sure seems to be the best cleaning system, what're the odds? 
uwiikz OP
89 posts
 
@chakster , I personally do not have problem with dealer doing big mark up as long as it’s staying within comparison to other dealers/staying within the scope of international RRP then all is good in my book. Everyone needs to make a living and decent one considering the investment made by retailers/dealers. One cannot compare “normal” profit margin for somebody selling potato and rice to somebody selling high end audio, potato and rice sells multiple time in a day and high end dealers are lucky to sell one gear in a day while both businesses model still have the same overhead to cover. I think it’s normal and justifiable if high end audio dealers are making 50-70% profit (they do get big discounts from factory) and I think it’s normal for somebody selling potato and rice to make 5%-10% profit. Again, all are my personal opinion which might worth something and might be worthless.
inna
7,302 posts
 
I use Audio Intelligent three step cleaning routine with Archivist as the second step. Sometimes I also use precleaner, #15, I guess. Maybe I should try the Walker next time. But I don't use ultrasonic machine, I slave it thru with Okki Nokki. Not as good as US but still quite good. Takes a lot of time and I soak with each solution before rinsing twice with distilled water. No, I could not hear the difference between once and twice rinsed records but I still do it.
uwiikz OP
89 posts
 
I saw this website Degritter, supposed to be good and “only” $3000 for the whole set and made specifically for record cleaning. 
best-groove's avatar
best-groove
844 posts
 
But when I see a person willing to spend $30k on one turntable alone, without knowing much about analog and being a victim of the high-end propaganda, I think it’s some sort of illness. Looking for a cartridges at $5000-8000 price tag as a started is definitely not right. Don’t let them rip you off. In fact you can buy so many cartridges, tonearms, turntables for $30k instead of one, so it’s the only way to understand, there is not such things as "best" for everyone, you can only try and compare yourself.

@chakster
I also smile when people jump straight to a top of the class without having accumulated experience in small steps.
It’s like entrusting a Lamborghini to a newbie who has just obtained his driving license ... sooner or later it will crash.  LOL
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