Michell Gyro Owners

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by ThorensSme, Nov 26, 2018.

  1. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    Ha, good point hadn't made the connection with the form of the case but then I never had a Dino, 'only' a Delphini which was a terrific phono stage for not much money but impossible to keep that curved stainless steel case pristine.
    The HR link perhaps gives some hope that Michell might still be working with Graham on a super-duper PSU for the Gyrodec/Gyro SE.
    Who knows it might even cure that "plastic sound" that the Gyrodec is so famous for :cool: (I've seen some carp written on this forum before but that nonsense on the current 'buy a turntable' thread really takes the biscuit).
     
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  2. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    Hahaha….excellent comment…life in plastic is fantastic… :laugh::agree::righton:
     
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  3. GyroT

    GyroT Forum Resident

    Location:
    Italy
    Apparently the Gyrodec's "acrylic" platter can lead to the bass being too much of a good thing at times on certain recordings.

    Not in my room, with my equipment, and my ears is all I have to say about that.

    For the record Technics make excellent tables and I will certainly have one again in the future, but the Gyrodec stays despite the plastic sound, the flabby sound and excessive bass at times. Sounds a bit like me really.:D
     
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  4. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    What excessive bass? The Orbe has more bass than the Gyrodec and it certainly is not excessive. The Technics 1200G actually has deeper and tighter bass than the Orbe. Nobody complains that is excessive. I think these people have issues elsewhere in their system. BTW in spite of the 'improvements' in other designs and some excessive pricing there aren't many turntables that significantly outperform Michell in all round sound unless you spend a small fortune. Lucky for Michell John got more things right than wrong in his designs so they have lasted well. Probably time for some investment. Can't understand why they haven't hired someone to go over the designs and maybe expand the range. German companies have come from well behind into major players in the high end TT market. Other than Rega and Touraj at Vertere (expensive) UK makers have basically been tweaking old designs. The use of perspex has been copied widely. In this market, unless you invest £millions you stand still. Only Rega in the UK have that capability. Also SME if they weren't intent on price gouging on old designs or variants of the same. The continental competition have built up serious workshops full of CNC machines that can do any design from scratch. Clearaudio and Acoustic Solid are examples, both still private family run operations. Most UK manufacturers can hardly get out of cottage industry stage.
     
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  5. Bloodbuzz459

    Bloodbuzz459 Forum Resident

    Location:
    UK
    I'm not sure if the likes of Michell sell more turntables now vinyl has had a resurgence than they did 20 years ago when vinyl was in the doldrums.

    But I guess throughout the 90's, 00's and possibly early 10's you could forgive companies like Michell for not risking substantial investment.

    I'd assume if they start to invest now they must have evidence from sales that it is now worth doing.
     
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  6. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    I saw a video about Michell and if I recall correctly the total sales for the Gyro were in the low thousands which really surprised me, they are a small business, there are rumours that Rega are about to announce a new deck above the 10, if true that will be very interesting, the 10 sounds excellent, even if I'm happy with my Orbe, I'm glad Rega are still investing in new designs.
     
  7. LakeMountain

    LakeMountain Vinyl surfer

    Location:
    Netherlands
    Great result! Can you share with us you need to make such a measurement?
     
  8. superelmar

    superelmar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Ronda
    hey guys, what are differences between gyrodec and gyrodec SE, mostly sonically?
     
  9. GyroT

    GyroT Forum Resident

    Location:
    Italy
    None that I am aware of. They both "rock" in the best way possible, and one can become the other, with the addition or subtraction of a plinth and a dust cover.

    John Michell was a brilliant engineer and a visionary genius and his tables will be spinning for as long as anyone is interested in listening to lps.

    If you are thinking of getting a Gyrodec, you can't go wrong with either version.
     
  10. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    Never been able to compare side by side but the general opinion is the spyder design sounds better than with the plinth. I think even Michell say this.
     
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  11. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    I switched my Gyrodec to Gyro SE and by far the biggest change was a greatly improved ease of use. I also detected a very significant increase in SQ but as I switched from AC motor and QC PSU to DC motor and HR PSU at the same time that is by far the most likely culprit!

    Both versions are very highly recommended but the Gyro SE even more so for ease of use and, IMHO, even better aesthetics
     
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  12. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    When I asked Steve, he was rather noncommittal but I tend to agree with you.

    When I did the side by side comparisons at the factory there were other changes in the way but not so much as at home in my system as in my post above. And the variations were listened to concurrently.

    Generally the Gyro SE just seemed to have a very slightly lower noise floor, presumably as a result of having so much less perspex to channel very subtle vibrations. But for me ease of use alone sees the Gyro SE winning out.
     
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  13. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    The theory is probably that the SE version picks up less airborne vibrations. I'd bet that this whole issue of sound difference between the versions depends mostly on your type of floor, your TT stand and where your TT is positioned relatively to your speakers. I'd be very surprized if I found out they sounded significantly different if you have any kind of decent, stable floor and don't pump vibrations from your speakers into your TT/lid. Personally, I'd always want the full version for the cover and protection.
     
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  14. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    I remember John Michell saying the SE was better. I think sound was primarily the reason for it being introduced rather than just to get the cost down.
     
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  15. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    Agreed, but you can achieve cover and protection by other means - at least one other member, in addition to myself, uses the Avid Flat TT Cover AVID Flat Turntable Cover , which works pretty well and removes the inconvenience of the full arrangement and as it is completely removed for use has no impact of sound. For me, going from the Gyrodec to Gyro SE was a really positive step in terms of useage.
     
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  16. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    Although the Orbe is slightly different from the Gyro I've never felt inclined to turn my Orbe into a SE, perhaps having had the Gyro SE has made me appreciate having a lid.:)
     
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  17. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    Yes, I have a vague recollection of John saying something along those lines at a show just after the introduction of the SE. That memory is, however, rather vague, so I referred to my more recent interaction with Steve.
    Ha, just shows what a personal thing it is. For me having gone from 'lidded' (Gyrodec) to 'lidless' (SE, with the Avid Flat) I would not even consider going back.

    P.S. If anyone wants/needs a full Gyrodec base and lid I have two - one with the hole for the separate motor housing and one without (which includes the base-mounted motor housing).
     
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  18. Dubmart

    Dubmart Senior Member

    Location:
    Bristol, England
    It's a very, very long time ago, but my recollection is that John was more non-committal similar to Steve, though perhaps his opinion changed with listening, and he grew to prefer the SE.

    If we are talking Gyro only rather than Orbe I'd definitely go SE again, not sure which way I'd go if buying an Orbe again, black does show up dust a lot more than silver.
     
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  19. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    Hopefully all of this interplay helps @superelmar.
    The sonic differences are at best rather slight and some prefer the Gyro SE in use to the Gyrodec (with a separate cover), while a few prefer the full Gyrodec. I think that the use case probably wins out as the deciding factor along with aesthetics as they both sound fabulous. One for @superelmar to consider.
     
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  20. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    MGW, how would you describe the difference in sound going from AC+QC to DC+HR? You said it was a significant step up.
     
  21. MGW

    MGW Less travelling, more listening

    Location:
    Scotland, UK
    When Steve kindly allowed me a demo in the factory listening room in January 2020 we went from:
    1. Gyrodec with AC motor and standard PSU.
    2. (As (1) but with the QC PSU, which was a big step up in SQ and my then setup.
    3. DC motor with standard PSU, a subtle improvement over (2) possibly arguably a 'change' rather than an improvement although I did prefer it. (Note that this was a big step up from the DC motor and standard PSU.)
    4. As (3) but with the HR PSU - this was the big jump with a significant increase in SQ in terms of the bass depth, bass precision, dynamics, lower noise floor, timing, and soundstage: it was simply more musical and enjoyable.

    None of this is to denigrate the AC models which I had and loved for many years but the improvements with the DC motor and the HR PSU were significant.

    I am not sure what you currently have but guessing from your query I would think either (1) or (2) above.

    If (1) you could consider going to (3) or straight to (4); if (2) I would recommend going straight to (4).

    Somewhere in that sequence, we went from Gyrodec to Gyro SE (between (2) and (3), I think but memory serves me poorly and that was not the main focus).

    Hope that helps.
     
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  22. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    Much appreciated!

    EDIT:

    Forgot to write - I have AC and the first generation Gyropower PSU (the one prior to QC).

    I think I'll be seriously looking at the new PSU Michell are supposedly getting out this year...if it will be made for Gyro as well.
     
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  23. Classicrock

    Classicrock Senior Member

    Location:
    South West, UK.
    So is this new PSU supposed to replace The Orbe controller as well as the HR power supply?
     
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  24. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    I have no clue. Just bits and fragments of information, together with some rumours. Jonathan Nye himself said they're going to come out with new flagship TT, above Orbe. I suppose this new PSU might be developed for that one. And I hope they'll sell it as an upgrade for lower models because he did mention "trickling down" of various developments they've done for that flagship.
     
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  25. GyroSE

    GyroSE Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sweden
    I’ve an AVID Flat too and use it to cover my Orbe SE when not in use. I use a Michell Unicover for my Gyro SE and to me the AVID cover is the clear winner as it protects the tonearm and cart in a much better way.
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2023

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