Best Turntable: Acoustic-Signature, Amazon Refere

Hi DuffyDawg,

I was actually joking, knowing that the Walker is no real-world option for most of us mortals.

I seriously considered Acoustic Signature TT's last year before buying my Scheu. At first I was interested in The Final Tool due to reviews and owner praise, but it just so happened that a Canadian dealer was dropping the line and blowing out their remaing stock at 1/2 price. So, that meant I could get the Mambo for the same price as retail Tool - tempting?

Just my luck, the dealer had both tables listed here on Audiogon for almost 2 months, the day I decided to finally buy - the Final Tool had been sold an hour before. I shot an email off to a reviewer who had tried the entire line for his input on the Mambo and by the time I called the dealer the next day, the Mambo was gone, too.

So ended my dream for an Acoustic Signature......

Dan_ed, I went with the Teflon/alu platter with the new(TPI) graphite interface. My Gavia is simply more musical than others I have heard. I was concerned about over-damping with the high mass design. Not an issue at all. The table digs deep and lets me hear every detail without fatigue. High degree of emotional involvement.
The best part is that Thom says that I have only reached 3 on a 5 scale. The Schroeder is suppose to get me the rest of the way home. I will let you know. So far Thom has been right on the mark with all his predictions.
FWIW Thom is comming out with a new model which I believe will retail around 2500. At that price his new model may be a giant killer. Also, I should mention that I have no connection with Galibier except as a very satisfied customer.
Doc

Among those listed, the Galibier appears to be a good design and sounds good. I haven't heard the Acoustic Signature or Amazon much so don't have an opinion. The big SME tables are very good, as is the Walker. I'd heartily recommend the 'tables and arms (not listed) I sell over any of the above, but that wouldn't be cool :-)
Brian

Some time ago I listened to an Amazon Turntable ( not sure, but I think it was the Reference ) fitted with an Moerch Arm and a Lyra Cartridge ( Clavis or Parnassus ) and I was impressed. Very clean, very dynamic and loud. That's not a real comparison, I know, but I think, that's a interesting one.

Dear Mark: All those TTs are very good ones. I prefer the all metal one designs like Galibier or AS. The whole music presentation is firm, steady, thight bass, extended high frequencies, very natural mid range, etc, etc. The Wood/acrylic ones are really" soft " sound reproduction at both frequency extremes a little on the " dark " side.

Now, the Sota Millennia has an advantage that I love it: vacuum hold down record, this makes a difference for the better in the quality sound reproduction.

I own two Acoustic Signature TTs and I'm very happy with them. I like their clever design, quality control, up grade options and very trusty operation ( in 3-4 years I never had any single problem with it ). I use these TTs with a second hand Audio Technica vaccum platter.

My choice: Mambo or Galibier and the Schroeder tonearm is a very good mate for both.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.