PolyTable - 5 years on... About to add the Digital Motor Drive

Hi everyone! Hope you all are healthy through the craziness!
My George Merrill (GEM Dandy) PolyTable has been impeccable since day one. I've made no changes to it or the rest of my system.
I'm still running the Ortofon 2M Bronze, and still using the Rega Mini Fono A2D phono preamp. Putting some money together recently, Ive been focusing on buying the Sutherland Engineering KC Vibe phono preamp. A couple of years back, George mentioned to me that Sutherland would be releasing a sub $1000 preamp soon. Of course, it's been out for awhile now, and the reviews have been great! So; over a few emails between the two of us discussing this, I asked what would be best to purchase first for my system. George said, "The DMD (Digital Motor Drive) - The Start Of The System Is The Heart Of The System". I was like; Wow! Okay! Let's get together and and talk about this further. I'm going to meet with him at his shop, The Analog Emporium, next week.
I'm just an average guy with maybe a good ear, and I have never noticed any speed variance whether I'm playing a 33 1/3 or 45 RPM record with my PolyTable. When George built my table back in April 2015, I was barely able to scrape together enough to buy the table configured with the Jelco 10" SA-750e tonearm let alone spend another $690 for a digital motor drive! Lol!
For my system, my next goal had always been getting a better phono stage. That was always going to be my next step. Not that there is anything wrong with the little Rega. It's served me well over the past several years. And, I feel the PolyTable warrants a higher end phono stage.
Apparently; there is a whole lot more to speed variance than I understand, and the Digital Motor Drive will not allow any real measurable variance allowing the records to sound better. Much of that is explained on George's web page. I am looking forward to our meeting to understand all of this better. I'll report back next week.

 

The interior of this piece is a work of art:
KC Vibe | Sutherland Engineering

 

I have that phono preamp. It was gifted to me by a friend and I use it on a secondary TT. It is very decent but hardly the last word in phono stages. I definitely think you can make a major improvement there when you are ready. Just make sure whatever you select has the appropriate gain setting for the 2M Bronze and some decent headroom.

I do think it's a good idea to buy the motor drive now as that is a specialty product and may not be around in the long term. A nicer phono stage will always be an option.

 

I have Georges motor drive and wouldn't be without it. If your a Classical music fan I consider it a must.

 

Thanks everyone!
It's good to get some other folks thoughts, as always! At least as far as a phono preamp is concerned, the Sutherland KC Vibe will probably be in my future. It is a thing of beauty, for sure! The reviews are certainly very good, as well!
As far as the music I listen to; it ranges from The Carpenters to Classic / Progressive Rock, Al DiMeola to Sinatra with quite a bit in between. I don't listen to classical at this time. But, I think I need to buy some on vinyl one day.

 

That is really great to be able to meet and listen to stuff from the original manufacturer and a person with a good reputation - I'd buy the motor and set your sights on the 20/20 - perhaps find a used one someday.

 

Good morning! A buddy of mine lives in Prescott, and is just now putting a system together. I referred him George Merrill when he asked me about my PolyTable. He was originally looking at the Rega RP3.
Turns out; George was about to get a pre-owned PolyTable on trade up from a customer that was moving up to the PolyTable Super 12.
It all worked out, and there is a PolyTable in Prescott, AZ now! He opted for an Ortofon 2M Bronze, as well. His has the 9" Jelco tonearm, whereas mine is the 10" SA750e.

 

I just recently purchased a Merrill Williams R.E.A.L 101 Turntable with Jelco Tk-850l tonearm and soundsmith cartridge, with a Manley Chinook phonostage. George was a real pleasure to work with, I can't recommend him enough. His products are really great perfomers.

 

I also own a poly table and just upgrade my phono stage to a Sutherland insight best money spent.

 

I own a poly turntable and my phono stage is a Sutherland insight best money I spent on my 2channel setup.

 

Visited George on Tuesday, enjoyed a nice talk, and ordered the Digital Motor Drive.
It will be ready next week.

 

congrats but definitely upgrade your preamp ASAP. it would have been my first choice vs the speed controller.

 

Thanks! I'm actually considering buying the Vincent Pho-8 Phono Preamp (MM / MC) right now. For the money, I'm thinking why not give it a try? The reviews are quite favorable, as well.

Or; maybe the Vincent PHO 300 for a little more..

 

George installed my DMD today...

 

After a couple of weeks with the Digital Motor Drive, I am impressed!
I would say that the sound stage seems to have opened up. The sound is maybe more dynamic, as well. Money well spent in my opinion.
I hope to have George order me the Sutherland Engineering KC Vibe in the next few weeks.

 

Glad you got the external motor, I wouldn’t be without it. The table performs rock solid and I never get the itch to change it after hearing other (sometimes pricier) tables. In my experience it is not the limiting factor through numerous changes to my system, it’s easily my favorite piece in the system.

 

I'm glad that I went George's suggestion to buy the DMD first, as well.
A couple of days ago, I listened to Rush "Hemispheres' and "Permanent Waves". Yesterday morning, I listened to my original pressing of "Fleetwood Mac".
I may be crazy! But; the DMD really does make a difference!

 

After a few days considering a new phono preamp, I think I might go ahead with the KC Vibe rather than buy the Insight right away.
I would think that having owned the Rega Fono Mini A2D for the past 8 years, and moving to the KC Vibe, I would be sufficiently blown away enough to keep me happy for awhile!
We'll see. No decision made yet..

 

I would consider the package that Mocking Bird Distribution has put together + the DMD for my next table (with or without the Yamaoto cart as I'm also interested in the Soundsmith Zephyr MIMC☆ES.

It looks like a pretty good bargain for what's included. Has anyone ever asked George if the table can come in another color? I would just simply like it in flat black rather than gray if possible.

Check out the package here: GEM Dandy Polytable with Sorane ZA12 and Yamamoto YC-03s


Promo/Copy Ad here

 

I live about 20 miles from George's store / shop. He did mention some time ago that gray is the only color that the PolyTable is available in.
When I began considering the Digital Motor Drive a few weeks back, I did ask about trading in my standard PolyTable toward the Super 12 model. I would need still a little over $2,000. I decided against it. Keeping in mind that I do have the 10" Jelco arm, there are 3 main differences between the Super 12 and mine; the Super 12 has a 12" arm, thicker platter and the motor is in the oil bath. And, of course; the Digital Motor Drive is included in the Super 12 package.
I seriously doubt that if I listened to my PolyTable with its DMD next to the Super 12 using the same 2M Bronze over and over, that I personally would ever hear the difference.
So; all said and done, I now have around $2,900 (including the 2M Bronze) invested in my rig. When George built my PolyTable in 2015, I wanted the DMD. But; at the time, I could not afford to spend an additional $690 for the DMD. It was a bit of a stretch going with the 10" arm over the 9"! He did not introduce the Super 12 until a few years later.
For someone that has never seen a PolyTable, it really is something. Not to mention, just how heavy it actually is! And; no, I have not weighed mine. It isn't as fancy looking as some of the other (more expensive) 3 legged tables available, such as an Avid, for example. But; if you ask George, he would tell you a PolyTable is a better sounding table than tables costing thousands more, and why that is. George is a no-frills designer. Of course, his R.E.A.L. 101 model is a much more conventional looking table made from more exotic materials.. I believe the base price w/o a tonearm is about $6,000. The first time I listened to one of those at his shop, it had a $6,000+ Dynavector tonearm mounted using a $2,000+ Ortofon MC cartridge. Of course, it looked amazing, and sounded even better!
It's all relative, isn't it?

Read George's opening statement here..

GEM Dandy Products

 

Check that; the R.E.A.L. 101.3 base price is now $8,995.

 

Yeah, $9k for the REAL table would not fly with me right now (if ever really). I actually like the looks of the Polytable, very utilitarian ~ I just think it would look a little nicer in black to match my my Mac gear and the tonearm itself as well.

With Jelco out of all business (including service issues) they aren't too attractive to me at this point as they won't even be making any parts in the future either. If I already had a Jelco arm, I would think about picking up a second one (or enough parts to rebuild it) just in case as a backup, etc.

The Sorane ZA12 arm they have paired up with the Polytable looks like an interesting design and their other arm the SA-1.2 is a Stereophile class A component, so I think there is a lot of potential to be a great table/arm combo at a "relatively sane" price for US deck and Japanese arm combo.

 

If you do this, please let us know as I’d be interested in how this pairing would sound. I have the Polytable Super 12 from a couple of years ago but have since upgraded the arm to a Jelco TK850L. It sounds wonderful but I’m a curious guy, what can I say?