Avid Acutus

I recently had the great privilege of auditioning 3 superlative analog front ends simultaneously: 1) the Avid Acutus/Triplanar VII/Benz LP Ebony; 2) the SME 30/2(A)/SME V/Lyra Titan i; and 3) the VPI TNT 6/Graham Phantom/Koetsu RSP. I have not heard the Basis or Clearaudio tables. Luck and fate have freed me from cost constraints and thus guided by audiolust I chose door #1. The Avid/Triplanar/Benz was my absolute favorite so I bought it. I must qualify that I have been a long time Oracle fan and to me the Acutus is the quintessence of that design. I have also come to appreciate and expect concommitant visual design and the black and chrome understatement of the Acutus/Triplanar/Benz Ebony allows your eyes to bathe in elegance as well. The SME/Titan is probably the pinnacle. But I have always preferred at least a strand of hair astray.

Dear Khrys: You choose for the whole analog rig. Not for the Acutus or SME 30 in specific.

The system that you choose is really a different one from the other two.

My opinion ( I already heard the Acutus and the SME 30, no the Basis V ) is that the SME 30 is a better TT than the Acutus: taked only TT per se and yes the Acutus is a very " good looking device ".

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Yes Raul, I chose the Acutus rig over the SME rig by ear because I did not have the time or inclination to assess the 27 possible permutations of the 3 turntables, 3 tonearms and 3 cartridges at hand. I do not have the luxury of your incredible analog system that offers 12 different analog combinations simultaneously. I have to rely on my dealer whom I trust to do the footwork then go by my ears after he narrows the field for me. And to my ears the Acutus as assembled won. Beat the "best". Just like when those pesky Japanese cars upstage the Germans in those impertinent American car rags. Imagine that. For the record, I'm wondering which of the 243 possible analog combinations of your current system do you prefer?

Regards and do the math.
Khrys

Dear Khrys: Good for your choice.

Maybe in the next 10 years I can tell you which one I prefer.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

When you say "won," what does that mean. Won sonically? Or you preferred combination of sonics and looks on the Acutus?