Teres vs VPI, SME, Origin Live, etc.


I have Manley Steelhead Phono Pre VII and Berning ZH-270 Amp, and I ordered a pair of Merlin VSM-MX. The next step is to upgrade my Table and Arm. I am thinking about the Teres 265(320) with Shroder Model2 Arm or Origin Live Illustrious Arm, or VPI HR-X, or SME 20 with SME 5 Arm, or Origin Live table and arm. The budget is around $7000 (used or new).
For VPI HR-X, SME 20, and Origin Live, I can find some profesional reviews. For Teres, I did not find any profesional reviews, but some user reviews. And there are few A/B comparision reviews on Teres.
It will be greatly appreciated if anybody who A/B compared the above tables to give the information.
Any suggestion is welcomed.
Hanjiang
hzhu1920
Heard good things about the Kuzma, but have never had the opportunity to listen to one. If you are in heaven with this TT, then you are done- drop out and listen to music my friend.

Michael
Don't get me started on uninvolving. My Music Hall is about an uninvolving as they come. I have the MMF-2.1 BTW. Sure the frequency extremes and soundstaging is better than a thorens 166/hadcock 242/grado gold, but that's about it. The Michell Gyro SE/Expressimo rb250/dynavector 20xh that I had the pleasure of using for a while bettered both of those (at significantly more cost). The PRaT was excellent. The soundstage was just flat. I've read that is just the flavor of the Gyro SE, but it might have been my system too (or perhaps the Hagerman Bugle phono stage). I've heard th EuroLab (Scheu) Premier II, and the backgrounds were Jet Black, and the soundstaging and imaging were excellent. I thought the PRaT was just as good. But of course more than a year had passed at that point. And *any* decent is bound to sound better than my Music Hall. :-(
Well, I am not sure exactly how to respond about this "uninvolving" thing aimed at the Teres turntables.

I was a Linn LP12 owner for many years, and also worked in high-end analog stores where many of the turntables mentioned(Rega, Well-Tempered, Linn, VPI)were sold, and I've heard all the other tables mentioned too.

While my Teres isn't even anywhere near the "top line" models, my 245 w/battery supply provides much better "PRaT" and is much better in all respects than my previous LinnLP12/IttokLVII/Karma. I don't really even see the Teres lineup as being "a big jet black sound". At least not on my system. I find my Teres to be a "real toe-tapper" and find myself getting up and dancing around the room, when I play rock or pop music, and I'm riveted to my chair when I play classical and jazz.

In fact, as a previous "PRaT" fan, British TT fan, and Linn owner(as well as factory-trained Linn set-up technician, analog technician at several high-end stores, and analog user for over 30 years), I think I'm pretty qualified to address that issue. No contest, as far as I'm concerned. The microdynamics and macrodynamics which are where the emotional content of the music lives, is awesomely good, and really draws the listener into the performance. Speed stability is excellent, and conveys the time-domain info beautifully. The table has very strong "weight" and "authority", but isn't "sluggish" at all. It has great extension, and is not "lumpy" in the low end, and gives "crystal" highs. I really have very little criticism for this table, except that my 3" acrylic platter has some upper midrange reflections which cause a small bit of coloration. This can be corrected by moving up to the better platter, but I haven't been able to afford to do that. That small issue doesn't really bother me all that much.

All in all, I find my "lowly" Teres 245 to be an excellent table, especially at the price range, and I have very little urge to upgrade. I feel the same way about my modded OL Silver tonearm, and my Shelter 501 cartridge. Sure, they are not "the best in the world", but they give an excellent level of musical enjoyment which satisfies me. I admit that I sometimes feel "green with envy" that others expound about their super expensive TTs, with attendant super expensive arms and cartridges, but it isn't enough to make me go into hock trying to buy them. I am happy with what I own, and it gives me what I need. I've heard many rigs that cost alot more money that didn't do the job as well as my little analog setup. I've picked a spot on the "diminishing returns scale" that provided what I needed at a price I could live with. (High-end)Bang-for-the-(mid-priced)buck is my motto. I'm aware of TT "shoot-outs" where a little Teres 245 gave some $30k turntables some very close competition, and beat out many $10k turntables. That level of performance is plenty good enough for me, and I don't need to spend the extra $25k to try to achieve the additional small percentage in performance. If the Teres 245 was $25k, I wouldn't have bought it, but at $2500 I thought it was a very good buy.

I'll let others debate what $20k tt, $8k arm, and $6k cartridges are "best". Those are not in my purchase range.
Twl: I know that you are a strong member of the Teres Fan Club, your post speak about.

You don't have to go on the 20K tt for a better quality music/sound reproduction: for less money than your Teres you can have it: Acoustic Signature Final Tool. Why don't give you a chance to test this tt?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.
This thread has been interesting on a variety of levels. I've learned that no matter how hard you try to do something right others will criticize it. About the only thing I didn't get smoked on was my opinion of the Illustrious.

The Teres project is unique in that it was a community attempt at great playback at an affordable price. Looking at all of the early tables at their website I can understand fully that some of the attempts were perhaps less than the current praise heaped on Teres. I've only heard three tables from their lineup, a 265, 340 and 360. In each case I feel that they maintain the PRAT that makes my toes tap. I'd own one in a heartbeat among a handful of others that are also "affordable". The great thing about all of this is that there are so many good choices one can make.

I too would like to see Raul post his system. Or, at least give us a verbal description. Inquiring minds want to know. I would also like for Raul to describe his scientific methodology in detail for correctly comparing equipment. The participants at the event I attended will do this type of thing again and may adopt some of these reasoned priciples.

This is my last post to this thread. I too get tired of the bickering that always accompanies someone's considered opinion. I offered my observations in an honest fashion and have described in detail why I feel I'm unbiased. I've lived my life in the face to face world by not allowing unwarranted criticisms to go unchallenged. While cheap shots here are all too frequent these forums provide enough information to warrant staying around.