Teres, Galibier and Redpoint

Dan,

Congrats on your decision and thanks for sharing your journey with us. I expect Thom's table will keep you spinning and smiling for many years, perhaps forever.

I believe Thom's shipping account with UPS has a mileage limit, and that NH is just beyond it. As a practical matter you could have him ship the table to us in CT. You could pick it up at your convenience of course, after I've done a thorough same-system A/B of course! <:~)

Our Airy 2/3 review mentioned exactly what Larry just warned you about. The Airy 3/Graham 2.2 combo was too excitable from the upper mids on up. Four of us spent an entire day trying to tame it, to no avail. Mehran does have happy Airy 3/Graham 2.2 owners, so it may have been something else in the system , but no other cartridge I've heard on Larry's Graham was so problematic.

The specific design goal for the Airy 3 was "greater freedom" than the Airy 2, which is neutral but rather "polite". The Airy 3 does provide far greater freedom (ie, dynamics), but it needs a well controlled arm. A TriPlanar will control the Airy 3, just.

If most of your vinyl listening is rock I'd be wary of the Airy 2. You might find it too tame. If the UNIverse is out of reach, an Airy 3/TriPlanar will provide ZYX's famed neutrality and also rock the house.

Get the SB option no matter which ZYX you choose. It will help on either of your arms. Consider the silver coils if you want a tiny bit of smoothing on leading edge mids and highs. (Like a Koetsu, but not as much.) Choose copper coils if you want crisper, more natural and more dynamic transient responses.

I've actually not heard a cartridge I like on Larry's 2.2. Maybe follow SirSpeedy's lead and try a Transfiguration? He seems very happy with that combo.

Dan,I cannot tell you how glad I am for you.I know the wonderful feeling of being able to make a buying decision for something we consider "special"!
It seems those special feelings were much more common when we were all kids.Remember when you got something you really wanted,for a long time?When you were about ten years old?Incredible RUSH of joy,back then!!Now those special moments don't come as often,yet you surely will have yours soon.You deserve all the fun/great moments that will be heading your way.
Now go get some more great vinyl!!

Best!

Dan...my congratulations again on a very difficult decision. As I said to you this morning, your decision has helped me also in focusing on my vinyl journey as well.

Hey Sirspeedy...so well put....about those feeling of being 10 years old and getting something you longed for!!!! For me at 10 it was the Marx "Fort Apache" set. Now I want the Schroder/Teres/Galibier/Tri-Planer toy set!!! But seriously, I think we all owe a special thank you to everyone who contributed to this thread and especially to Dan_ed for taking the lead with this special trip. I suspect this is not over....no...I suspect this thread will continue just like a great novel. WE are just finished with one chapter. There are many more.......there's the "dougdeacon" and "cello" and "Xsheaffer" and so on, chapters......and also my chapter. I still need to decide on a new TT, arm (shoot, why sooooooo long for the Schroder) and new cartridge.

Again, Dan, thanks and congratulations!!!!!

Spencer, I heard only the top of the line Stelvio. I'll be purchasing a Gavia, most likely with the Gavia platter. I know that Thom has a PVC platter that is the lowest cost and lightest weight platter. I've had something similar on a Basis so I know about where this PVC platter falls in performance. The Gavia is step up in price and includes the new TPI graphite platter surface as well as some added internal dampening. I believe this platter has all of the increased bass that the PVC would have with the added dynamics of the graphite surface. If I remember correctly Thom likens the improvement from the PVC to the Gavia platteer as that of a cartridge upgrad. The next step up adds about 25 lbs of brass internally to the Gavia. I'm sure this adds a bit more to the sound, but I could always add that platter later as an upgrade.

There is also a difference in armboards. The first is much like the arm seen on Teres tables, except not wood, which have a hole under the arm to allow mounting of arms with the cables that attach underneath. Then there is a new armboard with a massive hunk of metal under where the arm mounts. I don't know if this is solid or contains some dampening materials. This armboard works easily with arms that have the cables attached on the side.

Both the Gavia and Stelvio come with two mount points. All you need is the additional armboard. I think that the Stelvio plinth also adds some increased dampening. As far s I can tell there is an upgrade path all the way up through the full-on Stelvio. There is a new Serac table coming soon for a real cost effective application. Probably won't have the Anvil and additional arm mounts. I'm sure Thom will chime in at some point and give a better accounting of the differences.

Doug, I've already guessed I'll have to schlep this thing down for a bit of fun. I wouldn't be as concerned about moving a big hunk of metal as I would a big hunk of wood. (We can work out the schlepping later.) Considering we'd be listening with just about everything the same it would be a telling lasagnushi weekend!

So, you don't concur with Larry on the UNI/2.2? I have to admit is has been a bit of a pickle trying to determine what cartridges to settle on for the 2.2. I'd like to get something that works well on either arm. I really liked the XV-1s and the UNI surprised me at how well it handles most any kind of music. Nick mentioned liking some of the new Benz cartridges quite a bit. I've been seriously considering Transfiguration as well. As you know I do listen to mostly classic/alternative rock, but I'm also amassing a pretty good collection of jazz and mild country. Heck, I've even got 30-40 classical LP's. Throw in some blues and it becomes a pretty wide range of music.

Now I've got to build a stand to handle this hunk!

Dan,
Thanks for the explanation behind your thinking. Makes lots of sense.
As far as the cartridge choice goes, I've got a mix of music similar to yours. What that translates to is a mix of 200g & 45rpm audiofeasts and $1 garage sale beaters with seeds in the double-LP spine. What I'm driving at is that one of the best things about my Airy 3S-SB is the way it works through surface noise on less-than-ideal LPs. Compared to most other cartridges I've heard, it makes those albums sound their best. Considering that much of this music is never going to be re-released by Classic Records, etc., it's a point worth adding to your decision criteria. If you take Doug's comment above about the 3 mating better than the 2 w/your arms,... well conclude what you like. We like our own gear, right?
Also, I'd to join in thanking everyone on this thread. All input pointing us to mutual vinyl nirvana is much appreciated. Cheers,
Spencer