Teres still the way to go?

I'm guessing that the shipping cost posted on the site are most likely based on the much heavier Gavias and Stelvios. The boxes my Gavia came in are definitely ones to hang on to for life. Let's see. About $8k for my Gavia. . . Yeah, I'll pay $400 to ensure it is packaged properly and arrives safe and sound.

Also, I know he is intent on making sure every inch of the Serac is up to his quality standards

Thom is a stickler for getting it right. When I committed to my Gavia (it was still called Quattro Alu at the time), I wanted it in black anodized. It took Thom's anodizer several attempts to achieve the quality level he demanded.

I've had the opportunity to trial the tonearm that Thom is likely to be offering and it runs the Triplanar very close at a fraction of the price.

Red, you sure know how to torment a guy. Have any more insights?

More insights? I guess so (grin). I was talking regularly with Thom over about 18 months since committing to the Gavia. So I have heard a fair amount about the work he's done on selecting the Serac motor and the base design.

The bearing and drive architecture are the same as used on the other Galibiers. I think he's still working through a few alternatives for the finish to the base. My guess is he could ship Seracs fairly soon, however I think he wants to be totally happy with a finalized design before he starts shipping tables.

The best way to get up to speed with the Serac is to get in touch with Thom. He's a really approachable guy and, who knows, the more people hassling him about the Serac might just hasten its progress!

Note that everyone who has a Galibier is absolutely delighted with their purchase and hasn't posted a word of criticism. That's not coincidence - it's because of Thom's high standards, honesty and hard work. And you don't see used Galibiers up for sale either.

Can you give more info about the "upgraded arm" (is this the Vivid-two?). What type of design is it? What carts mate well with it? Given the "turntable package" what carts would be appropriate (Denon 103-R, XYZ Bloom, etc?)

My previous analog setup was a Teres 255 / Origin Live Silver / Shelter 501 mk II. Given this baseline, (in theory) how would a Serac compare?