How do you audition a turntable?

I got used to not having one when mine broke a few months back, BUT there were 3 or 4 close calls and a few times I just didn't play vinyl after enjoying a few beverages. I have to agree. Hell, I'm already suffering enough with no remote control!

 

+1 Thought about the WTA table for my system, but no tonearm lift is in fact a deal breaker for me.

 

Their tables always seem too fragile to me.

 

What about the Well Temepered Royale 400? It has a 16" tonearm and I think weighs close to a hundred pounds.

 

Damn that's hot!

 

Haven't seen that one before. Looks great, but that arm looks fragile to me.

 

I always thought the same, but when I adjusted to not using one with my Schick tonearm, not only do I like it, I actually enjoy it. I'd be willing to bet that near everyone would adjust, but ONLY with a 12" or longer arm.

 

I've heard from a few people that the longer arms make this easier/less scary. Why is that?

 

It's difficult to explain - but trust me it feels so natural and balanced. I'm extremely picky about tonearms, and I've come to except that I don't like any unipivots as they just feel fragile, even if it's just my perception. For me arms must feel solid. If not using a finger lift felt at all like walking on eggshells, I'd never do it. So with that I'd say it shouldn't be the major detractor for not getting the Shindo 301.

***I just used my 301 with Schick, as I look at it next to another table with a 9" Triplanar arm, one difference is clear: there's a larger space (3" I suppose) between the tonearm and platter. That extra space gives your hand much more freedom and control. As I try to use my Triplanar without the lift it's cumbersome, not to mention the arm is considerably lighter than the Schick, making it more difficult to maneuver.

 

All arms are fragile.

 

Have you read Jeff Day's article called "The Garrard Project: 2015". He builds up a Garrard in similar fashion to what Shindo does with their version of the Garrard TT and is probably at least the same (if not better) build quality and performance, but at only about a half the retail price of the Shindo ... somewhere around $12K IIRC. The article is very cool and has some of the best TT porn on the internet.

 

Bummer about the non-availability of Shindo parts. Thanks everyone for the update. I just auditioned a couple of turntables at Oswalds Mill Audio here in New York and I think both of their models are serious contenders as well. http://oswaldsmillaudio.com/vinyl

I particularly liked the table that is based upon a Lenco rim drive motor. They use Schroder arms and Miyajima cartridges.

 

Hadn't seen that, but thanks for sharing. A lot of great info in there. Unfortunately, with work obligations I just don't have the free time right now to tackle something like that on my own. Would be fun to do at some point.

There's a video by a guy named Larry that details his build. Here it is...

 

I'm giving some serious thought to the OMA table though it's not quite what I'm looking for aesthetically. I'm guessing it is a lot more impressive in person given how difficult black tables are to photograph.

I am somewhat curious what others think of using slate as a plinth. OMA is obviously a big believer, but I can't think of any other audio manufacturer using slate in audio products and you can't really find reviews of their tables out there to at least get an outsider's opinion. If my travel schedule works out with work, I'll visit OMA in early September though so I can see and hear for myself (though the point of this post is how difficult it is to evaluate a table). I really want to hear their AC-1's though, so worth a visit just for that.

 

Ah, that makes sense. My current arm makes that feel very awkward.

 

Yeah, doesn't seem like there are firm plans on when they will make more tables. Seems VERY fuzzy, so guess I have to scratch that option off my list for now. Maybe one day.

I'm going to audition the big Kronos table today. It's my favorite of the more modern tables though I've never seen it in person. Anyone here own this table?

 

That looks like a turntable that Unicron transforms into.

 

l

looks like a lot of parts...

 

obviously aside from sound quality, I really think ergonomics is one of the really important factors for a turntable:

-how easy is it to change speeds?
-how easy is it to cue a record? I guess there may be some ultra-purist reasons to skip a tonearm lift, but seriously, the risk of damaging cartridges and records seems silly. Much safer with a lift. Plus you can stop and resume from the exact spot, etc.
-Can you mount multiple arms?
-how easy is it to adjust (VTA/level/etc.)
-For a tonearm, is there a removable headshell? I guess, similar to the lift, arms with removable shells *may* have a slight sound quality compromise over arms with a solid arm wand. But, it is pretty nice to be able to have different cartridges aligned in separate headshells, and be able to swtich them out with a lot less effort than changing them out on arms with non-removable head shells.

I guess aesthetics and reliability are also pretty important considerations but for me they are behind sound quality and ergonomics personally.

 

I heard the AC1's with the Lenco based turntable as the source. The combination was sublime! I really preferred them to the bigger horn speakers. Slate had something of a "heyday" a few years ago as a plinth material for idler drives. Irrespective of the material, the implementation struck me as quite pleasing to hear. Visually, it is certainly a different aesthetic than Shindo's.

 

I had a Thorens TD-124 in a slate plinth. The slate was an upgrade over a basic layered plywood plinth. It wasn't all that significant. I have know idea how slate translates with the OMA tables but the fact that PTP Audio (maker of Lenco based turntables) prefers corian to slate says a lot... You don't find many guys with more idler experience than Peter Reinders (PTP).

 

How did the audition go?

 

I'd say so-so (about as expected). It's just impossible to isolate what the turntable is doing in a strange system that, in my opinion, wasn't nearly as well dialed in as my own.

That said, it sure is pretty and cool to look at as well. I just need to decide between this and the Artisan Fidelity Garrard 301 build.

 

Any possibility of a trial in your home?

 

Cool video as well, thanks for posting. Although I'm sure Jeff D did no where near that type of "hands on" work as done in the video. I'm pretty sure he contacted Thomas S and the others listed in the article for the custom pieces and then had Artisan Fidelity put it all together for him in one of their awesome bases.

The AF TT seems like it would jive nicely with your Shindo kit for sure, probably about as close as you can get to a Shindo TT that isn't made my Shindo and the build quality will for sure be on the same level if not better.