Well, I guess I had better weigh in here. I have been touting the Teres tables for quite a while now. Mine was very good in all respects, and was bought almost 2 years ago. Whether anything has happened to the QC since then, I don't know. Anyhow, I think it is up to whoever is buying the table as to whether they are concerned with these issues, and up to Chris about how he handles his QC and customer service. I don't have any stake in this matter at all, other than that I have recommended these tables in the past.
What I can say about tolerances on the platter surface is that it may not be as critical as some may think. I think that the vinyl records are not very uniform, sometimes are warped, and many platter mats or other platters may, or may not, be very perfect in their surfaces either. I haven't measured any, and frankly am wondering why people are measuring these things, unless there is some visual evidence that they are very far out, or there is some reason why some folks are concerned that Teres is cutting into the sales of some other turntable makers. I don't remember anyone measuring the platters of any other TT maker. But, then again, the other TT makers are not making the "waves" in the industry that Teres has made, and some people may be a little upset about it. In my opinion, however, the platter surface should be quite level and uniform in a production turntable. How much difference that it may make to the actual performance of the table could be debatable. Circumference tolerances would be much more critical in my opinion, regarding the speed regulation.
I've corresponded with Lugnut about the problems with the 265 that he is working on, and there is no doubt that there were some notable QC issues with that table. Also there were some notable customer service failures with that table when Pat tried to remedy the problems. So there is definitely a certified example of a problem with that one table. However, whether this can be extrapolated to the idea that there are problems with all of their tables may be going a little too far.
In any case, as with any manufacturer, the customer has the final say as to whether they will buy a given product. If Chris has gotten into QC problems and can't rectify them, then it will reflect in loss of sales. If he takes good care of the QC problems and rectifies the situation to the satisfaction of each customer, then he will be alright. All manufacturers have QC issues to handle.
To each his own. If you want a nice table that outperforms most or all of the competition, then a Teres is a viable option. If you cannot tolerate any QC problems, or have no DIY ability to overcome some of these issues yourself, then maybe a Teres is not for you. If you feel that getting a perfect QC product that doesn't perform as well as a Teres, and costs more than a Teres is what you want to do, then go for it.
In the final analysis, you buy what you want. Nobody is twisting anybody's arm to buy a Teres turntable. No turntable manufacturer is perfect, and they all have some kind of QC issues. To ask for perfection from any manufacturer is unrealistic. As long as your customer service issues are handled satisfactorily, and the product performs as you expected, that is what matters.
What I can say about tolerances on the platter surface is that it may not be as critical as some may think. I think that the vinyl records are not very uniform, sometimes are warped, and many platter mats or other platters may, or may not, be very perfect in their surfaces either. I haven't measured any, and frankly am wondering why people are measuring these things, unless there is some visual evidence that they are very far out, or there is some reason why some folks are concerned that Teres is cutting into the sales of some other turntable makers. I don't remember anyone measuring the platters of any other TT maker. But, then again, the other TT makers are not making the "waves" in the industry that Teres has made, and some people may be a little upset about it. In my opinion, however, the platter surface should be quite level and uniform in a production turntable. How much difference that it may make to the actual performance of the table could be debatable. Circumference tolerances would be much more critical in my opinion, regarding the speed regulation.
I've corresponded with Lugnut about the problems with the 265 that he is working on, and there is no doubt that there were some notable QC issues with that table. Also there were some notable customer service failures with that table when Pat tried to remedy the problems. So there is definitely a certified example of a problem with that one table. However, whether this can be extrapolated to the idea that there are problems with all of their tables may be going a little too far.
In any case, as with any manufacturer, the customer has the final say as to whether they will buy a given product. If Chris has gotten into QC problems and can't rectify them, then it will reflect in loss of sales. If he takes good care of the QC problems and rectifies the situation to the satisfaction of each customer, then he will be alright. All manufacturers have QC issues to handle.
To each his own. If you want a nice table that outperforms most or all of the competition, then a Teres is a viable option. If you cannot tolerate any QC problems, or have no DIY ability to overcome some of these issues yourself, then maybe a Teres is not for you. If you feel that getting a perfect QC product that doesn't perform as well as a Teres, and costs more than a Teres is what you want to do, then go for it.
In the final analysis, you buy what you want. Nobody is twisting anybody's arm to buy a Teres turntable. No turntable manufacturer is perfect, and they all have some kind of QC issues. To ask for perfection from any manufacturer is unrealistic. As long as your customer service issues are handled satisfactorily, and the product performs as you expected, that is what matters.