Clearaudio Ovation vs Kuzma Stabi R

@rsf507 thanks for the information. I guess I can relate to the sentiment which might be why I'm even considering trading tables. A nice table, but do I really love it? The etheral question. 

@whart thanks for the info. Anything you like or don't like about the Kuzma? Any notorious impression you have gotten from multiple tables of Franc's you've experienced? I guess I'm looking to learn about the brand "sound" if you will. I'm also considering a Minus K and I've read about your struggle with the XL and motor, though probably not an issue with the Stabi R. 

No complaints whatsoever. Very solid engineering, great support, they are never trying to "sell" you-- just trying to keep you running. The XL is profoundly different from the Reference- much deeper bass, there is a spooky quiet to the sound but some of it may be due to the linear arm. The Reference was far easier to set up and isolate though. I'm not sure about a "house sound"-I found that even among top tier cartridges, the biggest improvement on the front end was a change to the Koetsu- gave me the bass I was missing on the Avantgarde Duo arrangement combined with additional 15 inch subwoofers. The Minus K was the only way I could isolate the XL. Is Kuzma "better"? I don't know, just can tell you my experience was uniformly positive over the course more than a decade. I did outsource air compressors though and went to the Sil-Aire people in Houston directly. That's a whole other rabbit hole. I have not heard the "R" but again, very hard to separate what the table/arm is doing in an unfamiliar system without a reference.  The 9 inch arm is built like a rock. And is pretty easy to set up. I did use a Mint protractor (not sure they are still in business but I used it to double check settings against the factory supplied protractor).