Replying to Peterayer:
Peter: Omsed, Do you have a preference for drive type or arm type? I'm curious about which modern top tables you do like.
Omsed: After extensive comparisons the best sound I have heard is off of a belt drive turntable. However, that does not mean I am stuck on belts. Even with technogies that seem to defy physics a bit, I am all ears and always expecting revolutionary performance, in some regard, for everything I plug in and am ready to listen to. I'm always expecting that the next thing I try will beat my own designs in some regard. That certainly keeps me from adopting the attitude "anything not done here can't be good". That N.I.H. (Not Invented Here) attitude is very prevalent in audio, and I rail against it. So is the "I don't own it so mine blows it away" attitude prevalent.
Peter: Have you heard the Dobbins Beat, Wave Kinetics NVS, Rockport direct-drives, Walker, Basis, SME, Continuum, Kronos or TechDas? I'm sure there are others.
Omsed: No on Dobbins, Yes on Wave K., yes on Rockport, yes on Walker (many times and locations including here), Yes on Basis (many times and locations including here), yes on Continuum, Kronos, and TechDas.
When you say say "I'm sure there are others", certainly over 100 in my own systems. Merrill, VPI (many models), SOTA (all models except Comet), Kuzma (many), Rega (all), Versa (both models), Forsell, Goldmund Reference and Studio, Micro-Seiki (many), Thorens 124, 125, 126, Garrard 301, 401, Linn Valhalla, Linn with Trampolin and Linngo, AR original, AR newer version, Oracle (many), Transrotors, JA Michelle.......now that I've counted that starter list I see it is well over 100, and I have not even gotten into a lot of current brands. But in 3 decades of business it adds up. Arms over 100 also.
One thing I've learned: design TYPE, of any product, (i.e., gimbal bearing, knife-edge bearing, unipivot, belt drive, direct drive) most often tells little about the final performance. It's the design QUALITY and execution QUALITY (sorry for caps, not shouting, but don't know how to italicise) that matter most. The best designers, the best physicists, their minds are usually very open about new or different ideas, and rarely say one way is the absolute best way to do it. It gets me crazy on these forums when folks have to say things like "this is the only way"....", "horns are the only way", "Horns are all bad", "ONLY Vandersteen and Thiel speakers are good (an above dogmatic poster said that in a thread), "only direct drive", "only idler"....."
Peter: Omsed, Do you have a preference for drive type or arm type? I'm curious about which modern top tables you do like.
Omsed: After extensive comparisons the best sound I have heard is off of a belt drive turntable. However, that does not mean I am stuck on belts. Even with technogies that seem to defy physics a bit, I am all ears and always expecting revolutionary performance, in some regard, for everything I plug in and am ready to listen to. I'm always expecting that the next thing I try will beat my own designs in some regard. That certainly keeps me from adopting the attitude "anything not done here can't be good". That N.I.H. (Not Invented Here) attitude is very prevalent in audio, and I rail against it. So is the "I don't own it so mine blows it away" attitude prevalent.
Peter: Have you heard the Dobbins Beat, Wave Kinetics NVS, Rockport direct-drives, Walker, Basis, SME, Continuum, Kronos or TechDas? I'm sure there are others.
Omsed: No on Dobbins, Yes on Wave K., yes on Rockport, yes on Walker (many times and locations including here), Yes on Basis (many times and locations including here), yes on Continuum, Kronos, and TechDas.
When you say say "I'm sure there are others", certainly over 100 in my own systems. Merrill, VPI (many models), SOTA (all models except Comet), Kuzma (many), Rega (all), Versa (both models), Forsell, Goldmund Reference and Studio, Micro-Seiki (many), Thorens 124, 125, 126, Garrard 301, 401, Linn Valhalla, Linn with Trampolin and Linngo, AR original, AR newer version, Oracle (many), Transrotors, JA Michelle.......now that I've counted that starter list I see it is well over 100, and I have not even gotten into a lot of current brands. But in 3 decades of business it adds up. Arms over 100 also.
One thing I've learned: design TYPE, of any product, (i.e., gimbal bearing, knife-edge bearing, unipivot, belt drive, direct drive) most often tells little about the final performance. It's the design QUALITY and execution QUALITY (sorry for caps, not shouting, but don't know how to italicise) that matter most. The best designers, the best physicists, their minds are usually very open about new or different ideas, and rarely say one way is the absolute best way to do it. It gets me crazy on these forums when folks have to say things like "this is the only way"....", "horns are the only way", "Horns are all bad", "ONLY Vandersteen and Thiel speakers are good (an above dogmatic poster said that in a thread), "only direct drive", "only idler"....."