Who here owns their ultimate/dream/"grail" turntable and what is it?
- Thread starter Cosmo-D
- Start date
Dees06
Active Member
I'll probably be buried with my PS-X600 either because I'll never feel the desire to upgrade or my wife will whack me in the head with it and implant it in my skull. That said, if I happen to run across a PS-X800 or 75 in perfect condition within my budgetary constraints, I wouldn't hesitate to pick it up.
BilboBaggins
Addicted Member
I would probably even get the PS-X555ES too if the price is right, but there would be no hesitation on my part to get the PS-X800 and/or the PS-X75 if it was within my budget. I might not keep them, but at least I would have experienced them.
There was a pristine X75 for 600 up in Oregon last month I was tempted to drive up and buy. But insane. Now there's one for 1000.00 in Santa Cruz...Inflation! Had it been a PS-X800...
I just picked up a second PS-X555ES against all of my instincts because it was local, a steal and came with the bloody extra weight. But it had also been modded which made it more unique. They all sound fantastic but I think the PS-X600 plays my DL-103 the best, maybe because of the longer tonearm.
BilboBaggins
Addicted Member
I do love the X600, and I think I would be hard pressed to decide between the X800 and the X600. I'm using a Shure cartridge right now on the X600. I've had some nice cartridges on it, but the sound of the X600 with the Shure cartridge is pretty close to the sound of the Yamaha PX-3 with the cartridge I have on it at the moment. Which I need because I compare duplicates to each other.
I question the ethics of b) therefore I choose a) and buy Thorens Reference.
The one in my avatar is a fairly modest AR with a nice arm but I am thoroughly engaged when it is spinning. It just brings the music into my listening room in a way that is enjoyable. If I were gifted something like a Thorens 124 I might set this one aside but I have no desire to go looking.
My Shure M91ED sounds so good on the PS-X600 I just laugh. A lot of warmth and power to that little cart. It's as good in its own way as the DL-103, which is finally sounding just right on the 600 after I scored that elusive extra weight. I wasn't happy with the DL-103 but I re-balanced the arm (in all of about one minute -- that's what I love about the Biotracer Zero Balance) and now it sounds like I think it should.
Wow.For me it is my own design Nakamichi Dragon-CT with Eminent Technology 2.5 linear air bearing arm and ELP laser with custom record centering system.
How does that ELP sound?
I commented above but will add to the thread that the "ultimate" for me has meant arriving at equipment that has slowed the urge to constantly want different. I went through turntables and cartridges like crazy in the last few years, none of them particularly higher end than, say, a Marantz/Clearaudio TT-15. For me there is a fine line between the constant itch to change equipment and try different things being great fun versus becoming exhausting (and expensive!).
Once I got into Thorens TD-160 and TD-145 models and learned the ins and outs of setting them up to get the best from them, what I heard from them pleased me immensely. I actually built the TD-160 from parts that I bought from all over the world. Fun project. Once I set up that TD-160 with a Rega tonearm I was very happy with it. It is at least the equal to my aging ears and I am simply fond of it. It is beautiful and well engineered and I know every aspect of it and I smile when I see it. That turntable may well be with me until forever.
Last, I have been reading about Rega turntables for years and years and have felt an urge to own one, and after selling some gear that had piled up here, I bought a Planar 6 before Xmas this year. It sounds as good as my Thorens but is much simpler to operate and presents an entirely different aesthetic. I smile when I see it and cannot believe how a direct-mount motor can run so quietly. I can see myself switching these two tables out for each other for many years to come.
I see other stunners in threads like this but none make me think that I must try them. We'll see if that changes in coming years, but I think that makes these pretty common turntables my "ultimates". I guess I'm a cheap date. It feels great to see a turntable and just be happy with it instead of wondering what if.
Once I got into Thorens TD-160 and TD-145 models and learned the ins and outs of setting them up to get the best from them, what I heard from them pleased me immensely. I actually built the TD-160 from parts that I bought from all over the world. Fun project. Once I set up that TD-160 with a Rega tonearm I was very happy with it. It is at least the equal to my aging ears and I am simply fond of it. It is beautiful and well engineered and I know every aspect of it and I smile when I see it. That turntable may well be with me until forever.
Last, I have been reading about Rega turntables for years and years and have felt an urge to own one, and after selling some gear that had piled up here, I bought a Planar 6 before Xmas this year. It sounds as good as my Thorens but is much simpler to operate and presents an entirely different aesthetic. I smile when I see it and cannot believe how a direct-mount motor can run so quietly. I can see myself switching these two tables out for each other for many years to come.
I see other stunners in threads like this but none make me think that I must try them. We'll see if that changes in coming years, but I think that makes these pretty common turntables my "ultimates". I guess I'm a cheap date. It feels great to see a turntable and just be happy with it instead of wondering what if.
b also(b)
but my answer might have been different 18 months ago before getting the Well Tempered Lab Turntable, my actual holy trail deck for 35yrs.
Last edited:
RD Airlines
Active Member
So, this just happened…
It needs some attention but hopefully it’s just a detail away from prime time. I can’t wait to hear it.
RD Airlines
Active Member
Just wow. I guess I should have expected it but I was not prepared for the jump in performance.
Oracle Delphi MK1 with SME 309
ghazzer
Senior Member
Here I go bragging about my TT and . . . . .
My wife wanted to listen to Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" last week, but the TT just wouldn't 'be quiet' after playing. The Auto Stop didn't kick in. Now I'll have to search the AK archives to remember the fix, and see if I can remember how to get into the bowels of this thing.
My wife wanted to listen to Martin Denny's "Quiet Village" last week, but the TT just wouldn't 'be quiet' after playing. The Auto Stop didn't kick in. Now I'll have to search the AK archives to remember the fix, and see if I can remember how to get into the bowels of this thing.
I've wanted a Garrard 301 for a long, long time and about five years ago I found one that was affordable. The previous owner started on a rebuild but for what ever reasons abandoned the project and sold it to me so I could rescue it. It's a cream, rimmed, strobe platter, grease bearing model from 1957.
I stripped it down for cleaning and inspection, had all of the cadmium plated stuff stripped and replated in gold zinc. Mounted it on a Acoustand Solid Plinth 2 base with IsoAcoustic Orea Indigo footers, added a modded 12" Ortofon AS-309 tone arm with an Ortofon SPU #1 S pickup head. I sometimes run a Zu DL-103 II in a Fidelity Research headshell. Had a full dustcover built by a local plastics fabricator. I love this thing more and more every time I use it.
I doubt it's going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
I stripped it down for cleaning and inspection, had all of the cadmium plated stuff stripped and replated in gold zinc. Mounted it on a Acoustand Solid Plinth 2 base with IsoAcoustic Orea Indigo footers, added a modded 12" Ortofon AS-309 tone arm with an Ortofon SPU #1 S pickup head. I sometimes run a Zu DL-103 II in a Fidelity Research headshell. Had a full dustcover built by a local plastics fabricator. I love this thing more and more every time I use it.
I doubt it's going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
I've wanted a Garrard 301 for a long, long time and about five years ago I found one that was affordable. The previous owner started on a rebuild but for what ever reasons abandoned the project and sold it to me so I could rescue it. It's a cream, rimmed, strobe platter, grease bearing model from 1957.
I stripped it down for cleaning and inspection, had all of the cadmium plated stuff stripped and replated in gold zinc. Mounted it on a Acoustand Solid Plinth 2 base with IsoAcoustic Orea Indigo footers, added a modded 12" Ortofon AS-309 tone arm with an Ortofon SPU #1 S pickup head. I sometimes run a Zu DL-103 II in a Fidelity Research headshell. Had a full dustcover built by a local plastics fabricator. I love this thing more and more every time I use it.
I doubt it's going anywhere in the foreseeable future.
Audiofreak71
