Turntable Recommendation for Beginner

>>To Whart

Bill,

Thanks for extending an invitation, and I'm sorry to hear you'll be leaving NY. As a former New Yorker, I have a special place in my heart for NY. Many of my friends and some family are still there. I traded NYC for San Diego a few years ago, but still miss the City and would probably go back if a lucrative opportunity arose. That said, I understand Austin is an awesome place, and has a great music scene. Plus much milder winters!

Funny about the Kuzma arm. Your turntable is one of those tables I have on my list to audition when I finally win the lottery, or when I get that that big promotion in that great job I'll get one day...So I was thinking about that linear arm and how many audiophiles consider linear arms superior to pivots. But for me, it's precisely what you've experienced that makes linear arms less attractive than pivots. I'm sure there are other designs that probably don't exhibit the same problems, but you'd think that if anyone could make a great linear arm, Kuzma would be one of them.

Good luck with the move when it happens. If I make it to NY any time soon. I'll let you know. Perhaps we can visit Mr. Lamm in Brooklyn :)

Act- the arm itself is phenomenal and is really little trouble, once it is properly set up. It is well machined, well designed and pretty trouble free to operate. It needs to be absolutely level, and I occasionally clean the tube that the bearing travels on, so it doesn't get 'stuck' due to 'dust.' The pump is a whole other matter. In talking with SIL in the States, they think the pump is too small for the application, and that its behavior is due in part to having to run too many duty cycles. The Kuzma US distributor does offer a bigger SIL pump, with a larger compressor and surge tank, and i might try that once I relocate.
The Kuzma 4 point arm is supposed to be fabulous, and I might install a second arm at some point- easy enough to do- just buy an additional arm 'tower' and line it up properly next to the TT. The TT itself is a beast, and the biggest issue is setting it up for isolation. It is very heavy, and adding the weight of an HRS isolation platform beneath it makes it heavier still. The room is at the top of the house, with wooden floors, so you can imagine the challenge. I tried the big Finite Elemente floor stand that was made for the Kuzma XL and it just didn't work- the floor was too much of a challenge. Right now, the turntable sits on the HRS platform which, it turn, is mounted on top of a very heavy old Asian prayer table that is about 10 feet long and has to weigh several hundred pounds. My dealer helped- adding huge chunks of sorthbothane under the table and it works well.
Definitive Audio (if I remember the name right, the people in the UK that build those Living Voice speakers) have their Kuzma mounted to a wall, but the space is an old factory with much stronger walls than sheetrock.
I'm looking forward to Austin- and am planning to do a dedicated room there, with some basic acoustic design, balanced power and the rest. I think the system will sound better in a bigger, better designed room than I have now.
Always try to visit Symbolic Motors when I'm in San Diego, but it's been a few years. Here's my email if you want to stay in touch: bill@flyingreptilemediagroup.com
Best,
bill hart

Bill,
The whole Kuzma package is a beauty. It must give you a lot of pleasure to look at it while it makes beautiful music. The 4Point is definitely up there with the top Tri-Planar and Graham. If I recall correctly, Fremer thinks it beats the top Graham and the Cobra on his Continuum turntable. I think it's great idea to complement the XL with the 4Point.

Thank you for your contact information. I'll forward mine directly.

Classic 2 plus an OC9 would work well. Properly set up, it would perform very well. I've heard an OC9 in a Classic 2 and 3. It's a very good match. Classic 2 to make VTA adjustment easy.

Should have some kind of hi-gain mc phono stage if one isn't built into that ARC preamp.

Hello and thank you for all the responses. It is strange to me as I know a great deal about audio (I am a audio engineer as a profession) and have bought and traded my gear around to the point of where I am very happy with it. But I know nothing about turntables, and all that goes with them such as tone arms, cartridges, and phono pre amps! I would like to "start" with a simple one that can be "plug and play" but also could allow me upgrade parts (such as the cartridge ) as I learn more about them. I don't want to buy the "last one" now but more like one that would be fun for a year or so.

And my pre-amp does not have a phono pre so I will need to get that too, I have considered the ARC PH-3 or older, but open for any suggestions.
And if interested my other gear is:

ARC CD3MKII
ARC LS 26
ARC VT100MKII
B&W 801 (the old ones! )
Transparent Ultra Bal interconnects
Shunyata Power cables
Shunyata Hydra

Thank you,