Turnable database with TimeLine

Halcro,

Yes, something must be wrong with the Denon, though it actually sounds pretty
good. Thanks for posting the results of the Raven. It appears to be slightly slow.
One of the design differences with the SME is that the length of "free
belt" between the platter and motor pulley is much less on the SME. Both
tables appear to have heavy platters and robust motors. Is the Raven motor
controller adjustable?

You wrote somewhere that despite the superior speed performance of your
Victor that you do enjoy the Raven for its "musicality." Can you
actually hear a difference in speed between the two tables, or do other factors
like table/arm/cartridge differences make the speed differences too difficult to
single out? Do you hear differences in timing, drive, rhythm, clarity in transients,
etc? Which table do you prefer to listen to overall?

I don't know how many new videos will be added. I hope some are. I've heard of
various TimeLine results with the NVS, TechDas and SP10MK3, but owners may
be reluctant to share these results publicly. I'm particularly interested in results
from the Micros, the TechDas, the Saskia and some of the modern DD tables.

This test really just measure average speed accuracy. It does not tell us much
about what is happening to the platter at the moment of a large transient.
Perhaps some information can be learned from the quality and length of the
TimeLine dash on the wall and how solid and consistent it is. There is also the
issue of the weight of the TimeLine itself introducing a different load to the
system being tested. I've read that this would effect an open loop system on
some belt-drives more than the closed loop system on your Victor and other DD
tables. This is one of the primary criticisms I've read of this TimeLine device.

Hi Peter,
One thing I noticed on a couple of your videos, as you had mentioned, the red line is sometimes shorter. Do you see this when watching it live? I suspect that the occasional blip in the red line on the video is due to the shutter speed of the video camera. Do you know if you are recording at 24 fps, 30, fps or 60 fps? If you can, try changing the shutter speed and see if the issue is gone.

Hello Tony, Those were my thoughts also. I'm using an iPhone and I don't know what the fps rate is. I'll look into it. However, I returned the TimeLine to Albert Porter on Tuesday because I had recorded the various turntables around me. I don't really notice this effect when watching live. They just look like red laser dashes blinking along.

I'm sure in a more controlled setting with an excellent microphone and professional camera, one could perhaps even hear slight variations in speed on certain recordings over the video.

I'm just hoping other upload videos to add to this database.

Perhaps you should buy a tonearm with hydraulic action lifting and lowering...as all my six arms have?
No human can lower the cartridge more gently that these.... :-)

Halcro,
Perhaps I wasn't clear in my post. I actually do have a tonearm with a dampened lowering mechanism (VPI JMW-Classic), but the cartridge still has a distance to travel once it's released. If you simply flip the lever (as I have seen some audiophiles do it regularly), the stylus will still hit the record surface with some force, albeit weaker, IMO too hard to ignore and repeat with every flip of the record. I release the mechanism very close to the record to minimize the strain on the suspension. I thought every audiophile adhered to this practice with lowering mechanisms.

Hi Halcro,

What piece of music is playing in your Raven AC-2 video?