My Oracles for you fans of this Canadian turntable icon..

[tubeornotube]

I have loved the Oracle for its beauty since day one..I bought my first Oracle back in 1983 after saving forever(I was in college)..
Mounted a Mission 774 on it with a Dynavector DV10x3..Eventually moved to a Mission 773..

Owned it for some 20 years before succumbing to curiousity and selling it and a just acquired Delphi MKIII to get a VPI TNT MKII..What a beast..

I eventually went back to the Oracle.The VPI was too much work to operate as I had an Eminent Technology air bearing arm on it.And it was huge with its dedicated stand..

So now I have a black on black Delphi MKII(originally) that previous owner upgraded to MKIV..An Alexandria MKII with a few upgrades including the acrylic platter mat and a recent addition of a Delphi MKIV with SME Series IV arm..

Would like to hear from other Oracle owners and post pics of your turntable if you like.

Please enjoy.

Matt.........tubeornotube

Oh and that is a Luxman PD-310 vacuum turntable with Rega RB-300 sharing the roost with the black Oracle.

 

[jeremyjustic]

whoa, what is that mag wheel on the Alexandria? shure is neat looking, great tables!!

 

[tubeornotube]

The mag wheel??

I assume you are refering to the 'wave trap' rubber ring set into the platter's periphery..
That's what it is..It dampens out platter ring..All Oracles up to the MKIII have this ring.Later models have a similiar ring though more integral to the platter looks more like a black finished edge.

Matt....tubeornotube

 

[jeremyjustic]

sorry I just realized it was on the luxman not the alexadria, I was asking about the clamp/ring thing that looks like a BMX mag wheel! I'm guessing it has something to do with the vacuum function. please dont think I was slighting your table in any way by calling it a mag wheel, I have never seen anything like that and it reminded me of some bmx wheels from the late 70's/early 80's.

either way all the tables look amazing and I bet they sound even better!!

 

[tubeornotube]

Yes it has something to do with the vacuum function..It is used to press the record down around the edges when applying the vacuum to get a seal around the edge..

And thankyou for your comment and yes they sound as good as they look..maybe better...no they sound better LOL

Matt......tubeornotube

 

[guystp]

hello tubeornotube, very nice collection you have. I have a Delphi MK11 with Alphason arm and Dynavector DV20XL. My favourite of 3 tt's

 

[Karma16]

I have loved the Oracle for its beauty since day one..I bought my first Oracle back in 1983 after saving forever(I was in college)..
Mounted a Mission 774 on it with a Dynavector DV10x3..Eventually moved to a Mission 773..

Owned it for some 20 years before succumbing to curiousity and selling it and a just acquired Delphi MKIII to get a VPI TNT MKII..What a beast..

I eventually went back to the Oracle.The VPI was too much work to operate as I had an Eminent Technology air bearing arm on it.And it was huge with its dedicated stand..

So now I have a black on black Delphi MKII(originally) that previous owner upgraded to MKIV..An Alexandria MKII with a few upgrades including the acrylic platter mat and a recent addition of a Delphi MKIV with SME Series IV arm..

Would like to hear from other Oracle owners and post pics of your turntable if you like.

Please enjoy.

Matt.........tubeornotube

Oh and that is a Luxman PD-310 vacuum turntable with Rega RB-300 sharing the roost with the black Oracle.

HI tubeornotube,
While I have been aware and loved the Delphi's for many years, I bought my first one about four years ago. It was a Delphi V with the back African Granite Base and the optional Turbo power supply. It was used and had a Graham 2.2 Deluxe arm mounted. It was stunning!

In the same room and in competition with the Delphi was (is) a Sota Nova vacuum turntable with an Eminent Technology ET2 (now upgraded to the 2.5 version) linear air bearing arm. This is an outstanding combo and set the bar very high. I bought this turntable/arm in about 1990. So, it was an old friend.

BTW, both turntables are mounted on identical modified Lead Balloon stands. They each weigh about 250 lbs. less the turntable.

At first the Delphi was in definite second place. The Sota simply sounded better. I traced the issue down to the differences in the tone arms. The Graham, good as it is, had to go. It was was replaced by a brand new ET2.5 arm. This was a game changer.

Now there is very little to distinguish between the Sota and the Delphi. They are both excellent but somewhat different. As noted above they both have ET2.5 arms. The Sota's vacuum system handles warped records much better. The Sota is slightly more mellow with excellent bass but the Delphi is faster and slightly more detailed. Since I have different cartridges on each, it's really hard to place responsibility for the sonic differences. Both have low output MC's but the Delphi has the better cartridge it being a Lyra Skala, truly a great cartridge.

In truth, both turntables are outstanding. When it comes to looks, the Delphi takes all prizes. I love it.

I could live with either one.

Sparky

 

[jeremyjustic]

I'm sorry, what was that about 250lbs lead balloon stands? It's just not right to drop a bomb on us like that without photos! Sounds awesome( pun intended!)

HI tubeornotube,
While I have been aware and loved the Delphi's for many years, I bought my first one about four years ago. It was a Delphi V with the back African Granite Base and the optional Turbo power supply. It was used and had a Graham 2.2 Deluxe arm mounted. It was stunning!

In the same room and in competition with the Delphi was (is) a Sota Nova vacuum turntable with an Eminent Technology ET2 (now upgraded to the 2.5 version) linear air bearing arm. This is an outstanding combo and set the bar very high. I bought this turntable/arm in about 1990. So, it was an old friend.

BTW, both turntables are mounted on identical modified Lead Balloon stands. They each weigh about 250 lbs. less the turntable.

At first the Delphi was in definite second place. The Sota simply sounded better. I traced the issue down to the differences in the tone arms. The Graham, good as it is, had to go. It was was replaced by a brand new ET2.5 arm. This was a game changer.

Now there is very little to distinguish between the Sota and the Delphi. They are both excellent but somewhat different. As noted above they both have ET2.5 arms. The Sota's vacuum system handles warped records much better. The Sota is slightly more mellow with excellent bass but the Delphi is faster and slightly more detailed. Since I have different cartridges on each, it's really hard to place responsibility for the sonic differences. Both have low output MC's but the Delphi has the better cartridge it being a Lyra Skala, truly a great cartridge.

In truth, both turntables are outstanding. When it comes to looks, the Delphi takes all prizes. I love it.

I could live with either one.

Sparky

 

[Karma16]

HI,
It's almost impossible to get a good picture of the Lead Balloons. It's a situation where it's black on black. Do you know what a Lead Balloon looks like? You almost have to have seen one to have a conceptual idea of what I did.

It's too bad that Lead Balloons have not been made for a long time (maybe 20 years?). They were great turntable stands. I do not know of any modern ones I would trade for one. They are heavy, stable, and non-resonant. And they look decent in a functional way.

The whole idea is to couple vibration from the cartridge to the floor which acts as an energy sink. It works best if the floor is a cement slab. Consequently, at every mechanical interface in the stand system (cartridge to arm, arm to plinth, plinth to turntable base, base to the top of the stand, top of the stand to the leg system, and the leg system to the floor), the coupling is made with tip toes, some tiny, some miniature, some large. This provides the lowest mechanical impedance vibration path to the mechanical ground, the cement slab.

It goes without saying that the lead shot is sonically dead. if you take a screwdriver and tap on the lead filled leg all you get is a dead thud, like hitting a piece of wood albeit very heavy wood.

Sonically, you get the sensation of perfect stability. If you have not ever heard this kind of stability it will catch you by surprise though you would probably not be able to put your finger on the reason why. It works really well.

I have seen Lead Balloons show up on eBay once in a while but they are pretty rare.

The modifications involve drilling holes in order to fill all the air spaces with lead shot then using snap plugs to seal them. The stock stand is already heavy and the modification increases the weight by about 100%. Tough to move around though.

One thing is a fact. A good stand can make a big difference. A good turntable needs a good, heavy, stable stand. On this forum I see many folks ignoring this need.

Sparky