End Game Turntable suggestions

@pindac I built (actually, most of the woodwork was done to my specifications) three Pz wands for my air bearing DIY tonearm. First was just a flat piece 4mm thick Pz with a Pz spine. It was the lightest and worked quite well.

Second was a hollow cone of Pz with the grain running the length of the wand. It was heavier and better.

Third was a hollow cone consisting of rings epoxied together. This was heaviest and best.

Sound was all that you suggest: more detail, especially micro-detail. But the over-riding impressions were sweetness and realism. The harshness seemed to have all been damped away. Cartridge was a Koetsu with diamond cantilever.

I will also be building a lighter version of the last attempt, and a sapphire wand for comparison.

I also built a Pz wand for a Terminator, which had similar benefits, but not as much. I am using the heavy Pz as my main analogue.

Aside from several after market plinths custom built to accommodate any of several different vintage turntables and optional arm wands offered by Reed, I don’t know of any company using P’holz in their commercial audio products. That’s perhaps unfortunate but it does suggest there’s no widespread trend toward P’holz.

I noticed you put new speakers in there. While there are no set rules.. there are some really useful generalities. This particular one I fell into very quickly many decades ago… speakers first.

If you think about them as the most sensitive and important instrument with which you judge your components… it has to be first. A new set of speakers will set the stage for evaluating anything you put into your system.

Let’s say speakers present sound differently and better ones are more resolving.. Then if you get your final turntable, or DAC or whatever… then upgrade your speakers… suddenly all sorts of nuances you were unaware of come to light… suddenly your system doesn’t sound right and you have to start swapping upstream components.

It is just a lot safer and less expensive to start with a speaker upgrade. Then survey your system for weaknesses… so, for instance your preamp could be the next weakness (and effects all components). If that is up to par… then I would think the Phonostage or Turntable could be your next concern. But it is appropriate that your phono stage is a similar investment level to your Turntable or you are not likely getting the best out of your Turntable.

Your budget might stretch to a pre owned Clearaudio Innovation plus arm (arm choice dependent on budget). The standard PSU is just a wall wart which would leave the option of upgrading to the Professional 24v supply if you move to Europe.