Best Turntable: Rockport or Goldmund?

Your post reminds me of those good old pissing contests of my schoolboy days long since gone and made me smile. If I had just bought a Rockport, I would probably maintain the same. Only "completely destroy " is just as "complete" BS of course, because at this level of refinement of LP playback, complete "destruction" is hardly possible, I would rather suggest the term of say " fairly significant differences within certain parameters ". The language your friend uses, makes it difficult to take him seriously.

I own a Rockport Capella and had a Goldmund Studio prior to that and have a friend that sold his Goldmund Reference to purchase a Rockport System Two Sirius.....Biggest change was the silence followed by the dynamics.....I have had the Capella now for about ten years with the only thing I have had to replace was the compressor which was done by Rockport in two days under warranty.....Oh, I did have a motor go out, but not the fault of Rockport......Built like a watch and something I will never get rid of.......

Rcrump, yes I know exactly what you mean. A well set up Goldmund was not bad at that, but the biggest surprise I had exactly in this field, when I had the shaft, bearing and pivot reengineered and heated, when playing and the arm made more stable.The silence was stunning and yet vibrant, so much different to the black void of CD.
Unfortunately I've never had the chance to listen to a Rockport, but all the people I've talked to who in fact had, were full of praise and admiration.

For those that have not experienced what Detlof is talking about it is sort of like living in the city with all the normal street noise and then being whisked away to Montana with no ambient noise.....The Rockport uses an air bearing platter with no metal to metal contact instead it floats the platter on air with a vacuum preload, a great trick.....What has always amazed me is how much information is lost in the noise most tables make.....Next time you are Houston Detlof come on by as there are three of these units within a couple miles of each other, two Capellas and a System II Sirius......We had a fourth, but he retired and moved to Florida........

Rcrump, I loved your metaphor and how true..... Zurich is a long way off from Houston, but who knows......
Regards,