If I could afford, I’d purchase 100% Oswald Mills Audio gear

@lewm You make a very good point about the OMA being dismissed because it costs $360K! If the table was priced at say $20K or less, i would also question how many folks would still dismiss it? OTOH, the price asked is more than likely going to be unjustifiable to all but those with very deep pockets, and maybe even those folk will still dismiss it based on the competition. The question I have with a lot of this gear, and one that fails to ever really get answered, is why price something like the OMA K3 at only $360K, why not price it at $3.6M or more?? After all, the same buyer is going to be interested......and the rest will still have the same opinion.

as a consumer of expensive turntables, i’m a candidate for the K3. what does that mean? if sufficiently motivated, i could re-task some of my hifi system assets into the K3. (not suggesting that there are not others here that could also buy a K3, but i’m also committed enough to vinyl to actually pull the trigger).

but the K3 is not my cup of tea sonically. it does not sufficiently hold onto the the note sustain. it cuts it off. is that musical truth? what does truth mean?

i own 4 turntables which all deal with note sustain differently, and i tend to prefer the one that does it longest, then play the one least that does it least.

the lack of vacuum hold-down is not a deal killer for me, but the musical implications of the fluid suspension as opposed to other approaches only make the note sustain issue worse. and raise the noise floor which is also a factor.

i’m fine with the aesthetics, even the arm (i’m a fan of Mr. Schroder’s arms) and while Jonathan has not always played nice, i could move past that long enough to buy one if it sounded like it would have to, to justify my commitment to it.

for me it starts and ends with performance.

@mikelavigne You fall into the category of discriminating buyer who dismisses this table based on the ability of the competition. I question as to how many of these manufacturer’s really know who or what the competition is?...and more importantly how it performs. For example, I would acquire the Basis Transcendence in a heart beat before I would consider the new OMA K3....and at a fraction of the price! The Basis holds on to the notes (the recreation of sustain, which BTW has to be on the LP in the first place, and in many cases simply is not) in a far superior manner to any table I have ever heard...including my previous reference for this..the Clearaudio Statement.
I agree with you 100%, performance is the only arbiter to judge these tables by, not aesthetics....although it doesn’t hurt to have both.

i will add that i enthusiastically applaud OMA’s efforts to build their vision of a SOTA turntable. and even admire their road less traveled. i’m glad to be a vinyl lover at a time when these type products exist and that we have the marketplace to sustain them.

i’m betting that the hedge fund whales will have their interior designers spec’ing this new "bauble to have" enough times to keep the OMA fires burning. hard core vinyl lovers? the jury is out. unlikely that 'we' are the target audience.

Agree. The fact that there are still folks willing to try and push the SOTA in high end vinyl is definitely something to be applauded. With the stand that goes along with the OMA, most designers will have an easier job integrating the package into the summer house.