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3 New UBER Decks - Is this Turntable's SwanSong? 🦢

Michael Fremer has recently reviewed three new turntables designed to be the 'Last Word', 'Cost no Object' STATEMENTS!!!!........Do I recall hearing this claim before??
I love Mikey and have followed (and trusted) him for decades.
He has been the longest and foremost published 'champion' of the superiority of vinyl (uber alles) in the world.
I am thus ecstatic that he has been able to listen and compare these decks in his own room, with his own equipment virtually side-by-side
It's almost a 'given' that he will be the ONLY person on earth given that privilege....

So what Mikey HEARS.....is indisputable

Given his 'character' and desire for accuracy and honesty.....years ago, Mikey started including some 'objective' measurements in his turntable reviews.
These measurements were done utilising the Dr Feikert PlatterSpeed App which has since been discontinued.
As the App only worked with the Mac iOS of many variations ago.....Mikey has kept an old iPhone which can still operate the App.
The PlatterSpeed App had a few technical limitations.....
Foremost amongst these, was its dependence on a 7" record with an embedded 3150 Hz Frequency track to produce a test-tone which the App could process through its algorithm to produce the graphs and all the corresponding numbers.
To stamp hundreds of 7" discs with perfectly 'centred' HOLES is a nigh impossibility.
It's almost impossible to do it with a 12" disc!!!

This means that ALL the figures produced in their Chart Info are dubious and mostly UNREPEATABLE!!!!
I have Chart Infos for the same turntable/arm combination but with the 7" disc moved slightly producing different figures.
I even have Chart Infos produced with the same turntable but different arms ALL with different figures (the arms are in different positions surrounding my TURNTABLE).

So what is my point......?
The GRAPH produced with the PlatterSpeed App is accurate and USEABLE when looking at the 'Green' Lowpass-Filtered Frequency.
If the hole was PERFECTLY centred.....this 'Green' line would be perfectly STRAIGHT......but only if the turntable was maintaining its speed PERFECTLY.
The wobbles in the 'Green' line are due to the hole's eccentricity as well as any speed aberrations.
So the best performing turntables are those with the most constant and even wobbles approaching as closely as possible a STRAIGHT LINE.

Now the SAT Direct Drive Motor is actually the same as Technics developed for their latest SL-1000R except with some bespoke modifications.
It appears that SAT have corrupted what is a very good DD Motor unit....🥴

Mikey says that the OMA-K3 produced the best PlatterApp figures of any turntable he has tested 👏
Does this mean that the OMA-K3 is the most accurate turntable of these three decks.....or maybe of ALL turntables?

Mikey can't (and won't) test and review products from the past which are no longer produced because that's not his job!
But wouldn't it be great if someone WOULD review products from the past against the modern equivalent?
Classic turntables with reputations....gravitas...like the legendary EMT 927 and Micro Seiki SX-5000 and SX-8000.
And what about the NOW lauded Japanese DD Turntables from the '80s...the 'Golden Age' of Analogue?
  • Technics SP-10Mk3
  • Kenwood L-07D
  • Pioneer P3
  • Victor TT-101
  • Yamaha GT-2000
Because we know that Direct Drive is now 'Flavour of the Month' for the new Uber Decks due to their superior speed accuracy....a 'Flavour' that started with the legendary Rockport Sirius III.
But what about Belt-Drive units like my 20 year-old Raven?
So much for science and technology.......

We can do things today that were only dreamt of even 10 years ago
Except learn from history, harvest experience, expertise and craftsmanship......

Here endeth the Sermon for today 🤗


halcro
richardkrebs
427 posts
 

Raul.

Thanks for your comment. Yes the test record is what most of us use if we are to look at W&F, and as I have said earlier, it is useful to broadly differentiate between TTs. This despite the many variables in play. 
I also pointed out that we abandoned  the platter speed app, this was during the development of K1.
An interesting aside is that K1 had a similar subsonic resonance as seen in the TT-101. It was not always there and we could induce it by stopping and starting.  The controller we used enabled us to tune this aberration out. Clearly visible on the yellow trace, this detail was filtered out on the green.
 At that stage, in its early development, K1 had a similar messy yellow trace to some of the TT's posted here.

Mijostyn
"The  wow and flutter of good modern turntables is hidden in the noise of record irregularity and eccentricities. All this is interesting and totally academic."
We are going to have to agree to differ on that one.
Cheers. 
rauliruegas
13,129 posts
 
Dear friends: For many years now we all were spending " thousands " of $$$$ for our LPs that its prices always goes up and up.

I can't understand for sure why with all those money manufactures took and take for us no single LP pressed is dead-centered on both sides and with out waves/surface irregularities.

In theory we pay more than enough to receive a " perfect " LPs and we just never can do it.

I know that  analog is way imperfect but seems to me that those LP manufacturers are full responsable of that specific issue but we audiophiles are not really demanding about an : accepted as " normal " behavior ! ! ! ? ? ?

R.
daveyf's avatar
daveyf
3,086 posts
 
@rauliruegas  You bring up a great point, why do LP manufacturers get away with providing what in many cases is a sub par product? The answer is what I think you touched on...because they can! 
I noticed on an email that was sent to me yesterday from Elusive Disc that Analogue Productions is increasing their price structure, across the board...and to order now before the price increase. Why is AP able to do this...same reason as above! 
halcro's avatar
halcro OP
2,664 posts
 
Your wide explanation of the yellow raw frequency is really an eye open and truly welcomed.
I'm delighted to see that at least two people here are naive (or foolish) enough to believe that the yellow RAW Frequency Plot is of any value without a computer algorithm to correct for record warps, hole eccentricity etc because I think I've found that elusive pure sine wave for the Raw Frequency that Richard Krebs was unable to supply for his OMA-K1.....?

RAW FREQUENCY PURE SINE WAVE  

Over to you Mr Krebs.......🤗
au_lait
372 posts
 
Pressing imperfections are not solely the fault of the pressing plant but also parties approving the test pressing. Quality control is nearly a lost discipline.
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