Recommendations For New Table/Arm Under $4k

I would concur with previous advice. I am a new Galibier owner and can chat with you off-line regarding my experience (it was excellent).

If you are willing to stretch your $4000 'limit', you might also consider the TW Acustic Raven or the Teres 260/265. I've been fortunate to audition them all and each is outstanding in bringing you closer to the music. It's simply a matter of finding the one that matches your taste.

If you are thinking about going down this path, you're investing in the person behind the table. Fortunately you can't do better than the three principals: Jeff Catalano at Highwater Sound distributes TW Acustic, Chris Brady the designer of the Teres and Thom Mackris at Galibier are passionate about music and they treat their customers well.

I've also had the opportunity to spend some time with Ralph Bagge from Artisan and he is also first class and he gets extra points for being a White Stripes fan! I haven't had the chance to listen to the Artisan arm.

One final thought: if you purchase one of these tables you won't worry anymore about analog. You might trade of up for a better Teres or the bigger TW Acustic, but you'll stop thinking about other turntables and you'll just enjoy the music.

Remember, if you buy the best it only hurts once!

Tables from TW Acustic and Acoustic Solid in addition to the Serac are much better than the RM-10 and upgraded Scouts in that 4K price range.

And you aren't stuck with a JMW-9 or Pro-Ject tonearm.

As the proud owner of over 100 TTs in his audiophile life, Audiofiel clearly comes from the school of constant change and fleeting satisfaction. That's a fine school and I have friends deep into studies there; however, getting "stuck" with a good tonearm is not a bad thing for those of us that stay off the treadmill of constant change.

I'm not saying that Galibier, Teres, TW Acustic and Acoustic Solid are not all fine devices. I love Jazdoc's post, which seems to point toward a "final solution" that you won't regret. With a budget of $4000 (or more) the OP should certainly investigate these options. A trip to the RMAF will allow comparison of almost everything mentioned in this thread, and then some. Plan on spreading your listening over at least two-days as it can be quite overwhelming.

Dave

Jazdoc, I love your last post.

If you have the Galibier, why would you move to the Tere's or TW Acustic? Why not stay within the Galibier line? Do those other TTs sound better to you, but didn't fit your initial price range, or what?

The reviews of the Serac (you didn't say which Galibier you own) indicate that it'll do justice to the very best tonearms and cartridges, so it seems that where I'd incredmental budget, if that's true.

Dave

Dave,

Sorry if my last post was confusing. Hopefully this will clarify. It has been my observation for the turntable brands I listed, that an owner is highly likely to stay within the brand if they decide to upgrade. For example, I know a new Galibier Serac owner who plans to upgrade to the Gavia platter. I have observed the same phenomena for TW Acustic and Teres.

I think that this happens, because the turntable brands are uniformly excellent, owners like the particular house sound of 'their' turntable, and the trade up policies are generous for all. Importantly for a handmade item, I also feel comfortable recommending the people behind all three brands.

BTW, I bought a Stelvio with Triplanar and Dynavector XV1-S and could not be happier.

Regards,