Grand Prix Monaco review in new Stereophile- OUCH

the problem as i see it, Raul, you are suggesting MF should have "tweeked" the Monaco to compete with what ever it is being compared to. the problem with that is, who better then the designer to know what sounds best with their product. if other cables, cart. or arm were entered in to the review or the same one in the compared setup you would complain they weren't the correct tweeks(arm, cart. cables stand/rack etc.). who better then the designer to deside what sounds best with his/her design,in the end it's his/her ear you are listening to. I have a little different aproach. I subsribe to the idea that every part(tt, cables, amp, pre-amp, phono etc.) should add to the whole and be able to stand on it's own. meaning, if any new component is entered in to a system it should make a positive improvement(tube or solidstate) whether it brings out the bad in another component or makes the sysem as a whole sound better. i understand synergy and except it's importants, but like children all components MUST be able to play together.

Dear Koegz: I think we are talking on the same subject/approach with very little differences.

I almost agree with you that in theory the designer should be the right person to know about but we have here the Guru of the analog gurus ( and this statement does not means that he has no errors: he is human like any one else. ) that IMHO and with all respect to everyone in many ways knows/experience a little more on some ways that the designers it self.

+++++ " I subsribe to the idea that every part(tt, cables, amp, pre-amp, phono etc.) should add to the whole and be able to stand on it's own " +++++

the critical word here is " add " because many times that component add good " things " and other times add bad/wrong " things or ( like you say ) brings out the bad on other components.
In anyway we have to make a FINE TUNE set-up to find the wrong component(s ), to find why the new component it is not performing like we are expecting and fine tune it ( tweaked ) to find if with this fine tune that component is up to the task. I think that when you add your Talon subwoofer in your audio system you make some fine tune about, right?

+++++ " all components MUST be able to play together. " +++++
I totally agree with you, only add with/in synergy.

Achieve this target is very complex because there are many different parameters in an audio system ( including room ): if we change the VTA or the cartridge load impedance ( examples ) almost everything change for the good or bad and that's why I think that every single link in the audio chain must be fine tuned to obtain what anyone of us are looking for in our individual audio systems that in my case is to be nearer to the recording and live event.

Well, what I'm saying is that in this time MF does not fine tune his audio system for the Monaco and I ask him again: WHY????? Because he is comparing it to his Caliburn that is totally fine tuned in his audio system!!!!!!!! , got my subject?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

agree and disagree. assuming MF system sounds as good as he claims it does(i believe that, that is a given)and all the parts are of high quality state of the art components(i am sure they are), changing one component should not be the direct cause of the system to sound bad(the extreme) unless it has flaws. an example maybe to compare a porsche 911 to a corvette. they both do the same thing but if i were to say that the porsche beats out the corvette in everyway(and it does) in a test drive you would argue that the porsche was tweeked(even though we are talking stock cars) better then the corvette or that the track was set to posche's favor. these aguments don't hold water, would you argue the porsche has better tires or a better clutch. would you swap parts to try to improve? of corse not. IT IS THE SUM OF IT'S PARTS AND HOW THEY ARE CONECTED THAT MAKES ANY COMPONENT WHAT IT IS, THEY ARE CHOSEN BY THE DESIGNER. you can tweek a SYSTEM but in the end a component is what it is..... i do enjoy the music

When someone makes the statement and I quote "Based on what I saw with the accelerometer taped to the top carbon fiber shelf, the stand "sang like a diva" throughout the midrange" Well all the accelerometers I ever used I had to use the 10-32 threaded part in the bottom of the accelerometer to bolt it down so you would get a accurate reading. I question the test Mr.Grooves has done. I have worked for Freescale Semiconductor for 10 yrs in the accelerometer test and development division.

Dear Raul, I think MF usually uses the Cobra tonearm on his Caliburn tt and that for the sake of the comparison, he mounted (whatever tonearm) on his Caliburn and the same one was used with the GPM, so he is NOT guilty of trying to force the GPM to perform in a system that was customized for his Caliburn. Moreover, with all due respect, you are missing the point. The point is that in order to do such a comparison, one must observe the scientific method - change only one variable at a time. In this case, he held the system constant and changed only the two turntables (plus unfortunately the turntable stands), and he heard what he said he heard. End of story. One could well argue that the Mike heard the difference between the two stands moreso than the difference between the two turntables, but he did as he was asked by the GPM manufacturer.

Your point that further tweaking of the GPM in isolation could possibly make it superior to the Caliburn is unchallengable, since in the end this is all about subjective judgment.

By the way, I have no dog in this fight; I cannot afford either turntable.