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How good is Well Tempered Simplex

I see used WTs come for sale every so often in my part of the world, at attractive prices. Yet, regardless of knowing how good they can sound, I'm always put off by the caveats mentioned by sonddek. Simple design and great performance is appealing, but fiddly setup isn't.
 
I see used WTs come for sale every so often in my part of the world, at attractive prices. Yet, regardless of knowing how good they can sound, I'm always put off by the caveats mentioned by sonddek. Simple design and great performance is appealing, but fiddly setup isn't.
?
Come on. You mean the slightly vague and negative posts about the deck which has lured more Linn owners from that path, from someone in the trade, whose name is Sonndeck, are making you hesitate?
You need to develop a healthier sense of cynicism IMO :)
 
Does the DPS from Well Tempered bring an audible sound improvement?
I'm in North America and first thing I did was source a LPS from Swagmann for my Simplex. Seemed like a cost effective upgrade from supplied wall-wart, largely an unjustified bias in all likelihood. Swagmann were great to deal with and very happy with build quality and look of unit but could not tell any sonic difference. Not the expected outcome and uncertain why no sonic difference. A WTL Battery Power Supply came up from CND WTL distributor and after a couple emails and conversation I took the plunge as he was confident it would make a difference. I was most happy with the outcome as there was an ease to the sound as well as sound seem to unfold from a true silence. Was not a night and day difference but readily discernible and for the better. I felt like a bit of a fool buying the unit based on my LPS experience and the sales pitch of the distributor but am most happy I did. Believe this topic has come up before on PFM and appears the issue of power supplies differs between NA and GB for whatever the reason.

They're not fiddly to set up. Quite the opposite, in fact.
Totally agree. I bought my Simplex used so it arrived in the very well designed factory box in a bunch of pieces. Took my time and followed the excellent instruction manual and on-line assemble video and was straight forward and much easier than when I setup my SOTA from scratch. I'm not good with nylon string and knots but mine came with two "preassembled" belts so saved me from myself. The only other issue was being patient and letting the arm settle in the silicone before making further adjustments. I don't consider myself patient and/or mechanically inclined and was pleasantly surprised at the relative ease of assembly. Also lets you appreciate the genius of the KISS design of the Simplex.
 
I see used WTs come for sale every so often in my part of the world, at attractive prices. Yet, regardless of knowing how good they can sound, I'm always put off by the caveats mentioned by sonddek. Simple design and great performance is appealing, but fiddly setup isn't.

I was being punctilious for the sake of the typical OCD vinyl user. Out of the box set-up of a WT deck is a breeze compared to most decks if you are not obssessive about the infinitessimals.
 
?
Come on. You mean the slightly vague and negative posts about the deck which has lured more Linn owners from that path, from someone in the trade, whose name is Sonndeck, are making you hesitate?
You need to develop a healthier sense of cynicism IMO :)

You didn't notice that my handle has two Ds ;-) I'm listening to my Amadeus right now and my Sondek has been fallow for a decade.
 
The only thing Sondek about him is his user name

I still own my Sondek which I bought in the mid 80s and I think it's very handsome, but I don't listen to it much as I have several other decks which are as much fun. The user name comes from the period when I discovered how good Technics DD is and was considering trying to Frankenstein a DD drive into my Sondek. I certainly did not mean to put anyone off a WT deck. I love mine.
 
I didn't know...I just wrongly assumed that if Durmbo was being put off buying one because of your comments, there might be an agenda but obvs not.
 
The Well Tempered all have RCA jacks for the output to the phono amplifier. Does it have to be a special phono cable or is a normal RCA cable sufficient?
 
Strangely enough, I did put in a pair of Townshend Fractal rca cables in place of the Mogami and it took out all the dynamics of the music, so put the Mogami back in. That was between the Simplex and P75 mk4 phono. Not sure if that was because it was brand new Fractal. Tried it between the P75 and the Allegri pre as well and still preferred the Mogami.
 
Also Peter at Pear Audio is just superb. I rang him when the upgrade PSU came out and he said 'very marginal if any improvement' in SQ. Broke a belt moving and he sent me 4 FOC which arrived the very next day! It is a great outfit, he openly says there is just a fag paper between the Simplex and the rest of the range. It is just so refreshingly honest. So if you are reading this Peter well done and even though there is just a fag paper between my Amadeus GTA and whatever the top of the range WT is now if I ever get to afford it you have my business. Thank-you.
 
I know its supposed to be all about the sound...... But look at the versalex..... Its £4k and just look at it.... Pride of ownership? Finely crafted? I think someone is having a laugh.
I'm certain it works well because many people with much turntable experience and good ears have bought one. But there's just no way I can see any value in the thing. The Rega RP10 is a grand cheaper on the HiFi Lounge site. Put them side by side. Which one cost more to make? Which one looks like its something worth having? Which one will last for decades?
The WT
 


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