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Thoughts on a Rega Vs a Gyro SE?

You do realize that the "body and fullness" you're referring to is an artifact of the LP12 that is not on the master tape, it's an inherent flaw of the deck you have become accustomed to like mom's apple pie and a warm glass of milk..

+1. I went from an LP12 to a Rega Planar 10; the Rega is far more accurate than my LP12 ever was. It doesn't mean that an LP12 isn't nice, if you like its sound, by all means go for one. Very high end LP12s don't have the warm cuddly sound of the early or lower spec models, but they are silly money and, in my view at least, are no better than the Planar 10.
 
Blimey thanks, a lot to chew over! I didn't expect the Gyro to have such a positive response if I'm honest, I always thought Rega was the go-to almost, but it's good to see that it was just me being a bit blinkered.

As far as other makes go, I'm definitely open to ideas. LP12s are probably not for me right now, I get the feeling you really need to know the ins and outs of the system before buying one, as set-up can be so varied. I like that upgradeability and tinkering aspect, but I just think it's a little out of my depth right now. I also fear the second-hand market somewhat. I think that's one of the pluses of the Gyro for me at the moment, it has a degree of upgradeability, but it's not overwhelming, as opposed to the Rega which is pretty much open the box and you're done, though that has its own positives too.

Technics, on the other hand, I'd not considered but will look more into. I used to DJ a lot around the bars of Brighton, so know the layout of Technics well. I did like the recent coloured limited editions.

I'm probably leaning more towards the Gyro right now, which is typical because it's the one with the more difficult demo, but that's fine, all part of the fun of it!
 
+1. I went from an LP12 to a Rega Planar 10; the Rega is far more accurate than my LP12 ever was. It doesn't mean that an LP12 isn't nice, if you like its sound, by all means go for one. Very high end LP12s don't have the warm cuddly sound of the early or lower spec models, but they are silly money and, in my view at least, are no better than the Planar 10.

For me it first happened when I heard a friends RP8, my friend being an exLinn/Naim dealer for nearly 30 years -now retired- and a diehard multiple LP12 owner consisting of ranging builds over the years, we both thought the Rega was really on to something here. I wasn't quite ready to give up on my LP12 of 25 years for the RP8 just yet because it seemed more of a lateral move at that time. Jump ahead a few years to the P10, my friend picks one up and says to me "you need to hear this" ...I did and there was no going back to the LP12 for me, or him after. The P10 was so fast, accurate & musical, more of an instrument that surgically extracts only what is on the vinyl without adding or passing along any sound characteristics of the deck itself, each track of each album simply relays the qualitys of the intended mastering, very much unlike the LP12 IMO which adds an inherent and ultimately subliminally fatiguing & bloated coloration on every track of every album, every recording as a result starts to sound the same. The P10 has made me aware of this LP12 flaw and once realized and heard it can never again -for me- be unheard. - - And I'll add that if "Body & Fullness" of a track is in the mastering/recording then the P10 will reproduce it as intended, the P10 does not artificially add fullness or bass, weight or whatever if it's not there in the groove to begin with.
 
I really liked my RP6 when I had it: the speed and the etched, vivid imaging were a bit of a revelation. But I came to think of these characteristics as colouration. I’d still love to hear a P8 or P10.
 
I really think the WT Amadeus GTa is the best deck for the dosh purely from a SQ perspective. It sounds like an LP12 without the muddle when stuff gets even slightly complex. But it is fiddly and as I get older I just hanker after something that needs no maintenance at all. So currently musing on Rega or Technics. At the mo it's undecided but tilting towards Technics.
 
I would not walk past an LP12 to get to any of them.

Giro nice but a bit soft and unexciting. The big Regas are kinda the opposite, fast and tight but short on body and fullness.

The old Linn is the Goldilocks deck. Warm and full bodied but tight rythmicaly and involving. It's legendary for a reason.

Hey Mr Pig, unless I misremember didn't you have little Rega phase when you took every opportunity to outline the myriad failures of the LP12?
What's the crack?
 
For me a large factor is pride of ownership..... If you feel the same it's the Gyro every time and twice on Sunday.
Also, if you like Audiophile fun, there are lots of tweaks and mods out there for the Gyro...... It might not be your cup of tea, but at leat the option is there. Likewise an arm upgrade in the future.
 
I really like the Rega P8. I had one on loan from a friend for a few months, and its a great turntable. In this time I was able to use the same cartridge (Hana ML at the time) and have the Rega on for a week, then Gyro SE for a week etc.

Overed, I still prefer my Gyrodec.

For me, the Rega was solid, precise and dependable. It gave a great sound every time and had very little nuisances. But the Gyrodec just seems to have this air of magic about it that I have never been able to shift - everytime I listen to it it still reminds me of the first time I heard one, and wanted one ever since. Having just upgraded to an SME V arm, its taken it to a new level - and as the Gyrodec was designed with the V, I feel I am probably at the point now that John Michell was at when he put the finishing touches to it.

There's some great tweaks as Darren mentioned - isolating the motor in his housing was a revelation! Plus it's something special to look at - in my eyes anyway.

This is really about trying to get to listen to both in your own space and see which one you go back to more.
 
I had a gyro se for a few years. A thing of beauty and lovely sounding too. I did test against a few LP12s at a Linn dealer who was an expert in their set up, same amps and speakers. Both were more expensive than the gyro new at the time one may be about £1k more the other lots more. I preferred the gyro to the cheaper LP12 but the more expensive one was superior.

I’d have another gyro in a heartbeat.
 
Hey Mr Pig, unless I misremember didn't you have little Rega phase when you took every opportunity to outline the myriad failures of the LP12?
What's the crack?

Yes. I had an RP10 for about two years. Fantastic Hi-Fi but no soul. I'm back with an LP12 and I don't think I'll be changing turntable again any time soon.
 
Mr Pig has owned LP12's for a considerable time. Mr. Pig is also a staunch advocate of the Rega RB 300 and it variants. He thinks logically and appears not to allow romanticism colour his judgement. E.g many enthusiasts believe the RB 300 is a good arm, but they have also been lead to believe the RB250 is a better arm than the 300 series especially if modified. Well if that were the case why did Rega choose the 300 Series to "morph" into the RB1000/2000/3000? No, the 300 is a superior arm to the RB 250.

There is no doubt that the LP12 does a lot of things that many other turntables can't (I have a few here) so I followed his lead by stripping the paint/polishing and rewiring my humble RB300 and I can attest that my LP12/Airpower/RB300/AT 33 to be a match made in heaven which has since been improved again with @Mike P blue belt. Some other notable enthusiasts, Mr Tibbs: LP12 with RB1000. Paul Messenger: LP12 with P9 power supply & RB1000. Must be something going for it?
 
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I think the full Gyrodeck/GyroSE are both very much a Marmite turntable.

I personally prefer the aesthetic of the Orbe/Orbe SE, though my wife likens the Orbe to Mickey Mouse. I see her point.
 
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Turntables are inherently flawed devices. There isn't such a thing as the best one, only the one you personally prefer. Most good turntables have strengths and most of the ones I've owned or heard do some things better than the LP12. But it's easy to lose track of why you started playing this game in the first place.

I love music. I want to hear all different kinds of music and hear new artists. I want to understand why they are making their music and feel their passion. For me, the LP12 serves that end better than any other turntable I've tried.

Some might be a bit more detailed, neutral or better in some other way but a well sorted Linn let's you understand why the artist bothered making the music. It connects you with them.

And yes, prices are going up but I don't agree that it's more expensive than a giro or other option. There are so many decks, parts and options that you can do pretty much whatever you want.
 
I love music. I want to hear all different kinds of music and hear new artists. I want to understand why they are making their music and feel their passion. For me, the LP12 serves that end better than any other turntable I've tried.

Except for the 2 years when you told us the Rega did that and the LP12 was a busted flush.

PS Gyro, not Giro!!
 
The LP12 debate aside, the upgrade-ability of the Gyro is important to bear in mind (and what looks like a burgeoning cottage industry of upgrades for it).

Didn't people used to be able to upgrade to near-Orbe levels?

Even though I prefer the sound of the P8 to the base Gyro, the Regas really are not upgradeable to the same extent. You can upgrade the arm, but the differences between an 8 and a 10 are also about much finer tolerances, and the PSU, etc.
 
The LP12 debate aside, the upgrade-ability of the Gyro is important to bear in mind (and what looks like a burgeoning cottage industry of upgrades for it).

Didn't people used to be able to upgrade to near-Orbe levels?

Even though I prefer the sound of the P8 to the base Gyro, the Regas really are not upgradeable to the same extent. You can upgrade the arm, but the differences between an 8 and a 10 are also about much finer tolerances, and the PSU, etc.
You can turn a Gyro into a pseudo Orbe - GOrbe. Platter upgrade kit and double subchassis plus Clamp Kit is the essence of it.

I think HiFi World did a roundup of upgrades and whether they were worth the £. Maybe 10 years back and likely by David Price, can’5 see it in Google so I may be mistaken.
 
I know this isn't really relevant, because you're talking about a much higher-end rega, but I've had P3-24 with TTPSU, groovetracer subplatter (a huge upgrade), nice acrylic platter and tecnoweight on its RB303 arm. The cartridge at the time was Denon DL-110 going into EAR 834p phono stage. I was very happy with this setup, loved it.

However, there was a good opportunity for a s/h Gyro and I went for it. It was a version with newer, inverted bearing, new version of suspension turrets, orbe spindle/clamp and gyro platter and old AC motor with Gyropower PSU.

I used the same arm and cart from P3-24 into the same phono at first, so I could compare the decks well.

Tye differences, that were all obvious immediately, were that Gyro gave more texture and tone with everything. Microdynamics were much better. Resolution was better. Also, the deck sounded more "relaxed" in the sense that it almost felt like the music was slower...in the sense that it gave itself time. The music breathed much more. Rega felt like a punk get up and go table and Gyro felt like it was chilling and giving less of that forward motion, but in turn gave much more texture, microdynamics and nuance. These were the biggest differences that you didn't really need to look out for - they punched you in the face. For what I want and for me, it was Gyro all the way.

Recently I upgraded the Gyro with Truepoint (Pete's) suspension and it's a big upgrade. So keep that in mind if you go for Gyro - lots performance to be had from this and my comparison was without this upgrade amd without newer PSU (HR). Also, Gyro is very suitable for quite a few almost high-end tonearms. So there's that path as well.

I'd really like to hear a truly high-end rega like P8 or P10 in my system, as I know it's a completely different beast not only to my previous rega, but even to older RP9. Not because I'd buy one, but for reference.
 
I preferred a Rega P3 and a Rega RP6 to a Gyro SE.

Faster, more dynamic and rhythmic, whereas the Gyro is a bit soft and wooly, more on the warm side.
This about sums up my feelings on the sound. Looks and engineering you'll have to decide for yourself, but the Rega has a more modern sound, digging detail in a way the Gyro won't do. The Rega is one of those leather Scandinavian reclining chairs, the Gyro is an English leather armchair left over from a London club and smelling faintly of Cigar smoke.
 


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