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Dream deck?

I've never even heard a 301, but if I had to pick randomly what I'd really want/like to hear, the Shindo 301 comes to mind

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I suppose a mythical dream deck would automatically adjust its VTF & Height?

It illustrates why people think sod this, I am buying a streamer;)
Which illustrates why interest in engineering and the sciences is in decline.
 
So many desirable decks on this thread!! I always had a soft spot for the Oracle Delphi but from my teenage years in the mid 1980's the deck I aspired to was a Michell Gyrodec with an SME IV in silver. My wife purchased my Michell Gyrodec as an engagement present in 1999 but it took until early 2020 to get the SME tonearm for it. I also added a Trichord Dino NC phono stage at the same time.

I did at one time ponder an Orbe, but the sentimental attachment I have to the Gyro which she purchased plus the fact I prefer the spinning platter weights on the Gyro means it remains my dream deck - even after all this time and I will never part with it. There's certainly something special about finally owning something you coveted in your formative years.

If I could have a second turntable however at any price it would probably be an SME 30/12 with SME V. Wonderful engineering, fabulous build and incredible sound, stability and neutrality. Short of a lottery win though it will I expect remain beyond the bounds of possibility!

Birdseed
 
If I could have a second turntable however at any price it would probably be an SME 30/12 with SME V. W

Surely the 30/12 (if that's what it's called) has the Five-twelve (V12) arm, not the Five, which is 9". Oddly enough, the mass of the V12 is only 1 gramme more than the V at 12g, so not the best arm for some very low compliance coils. Nice looking though!
 
I am toying with getting a 12" Reed 3P as its mass is a reasonable 19g (heavier than my 12" Ace Anna) and it's a lovely looking and functional arm but I'm currently undecided, as a more massy (gimballed) arm may be a better bet.

Unless they have significantly redesigned/improved it I would steer well clear. One of he poorest sounding tonearms I have heard. It was the reason I gave up on Reed. Look at a 12" Schröder CB. That will sound good.
 
Mike
Surely the 30/12 (if that's what it's called) has the Five-twelve (V12) arm, not the Five, which is 9". Oddly enough, the mass of the V12 is only 1 gramme more than the V at 12g, so not the best arm for some very low compliance coils. Nice looking though!

You're quite correct the 30/12 has the V12 arm and the 30/2 has the standard V. SME claim better angular error accuracy is possible on the 12"arms. Frankly I'd pretty happy with either!
Birdseed
 
Unless they have significantly redesigned/improved it I would steer well clear. One of he poorest sounding tonearms I have heard. It was the reason I gave up on Reed. Look at a 12" Schröder CB. That will sound good.

Bit surprised at that, Graham *. I thought they were well considered in the unipivot world. A chap in my locality uses one on his Raven AC and likes it. I shall have a look at the Schroder, though I'm not sure at the mo' whether I'm going for another unipivot.

* Of course, there are sonic benefits to simplicity, and the bells and whistles available on the 3p do err on the side of complex, I s'pose. :)
 
Bit surprised at that, Graham *. I thought they were well considered in the unipivot world. A chap in my locality uses one on his Raven AC and likes it. I shall have a look at the Schroder, though I'm not sure at the mo' whether I'm going for another unipivot.

* Of course, there are sonic benefits to simplicity, and the bells and whistles available on the 3p do err on the side of complex, I s'pose. :)

The Schröder CB is not a unipivot.

I guess at the end of the day, its all about standards and mine are very high. 12-20 years ago when I was involved with Verdier and TW Acustic we used the SME 3012-GTA, the Graham Phantom Supreme and the Schroder Reference and Reference SQ tonearms. The Schröder being far better, but the Graham was easier to obtain, especially when there was a 12-18 month waiting list for the Schröder tonearms. As you can imagine customers were not prepared to wait that time, so opted for the Phantom, or kept their own tonearm. As Grahams arm became more difficult to get TW decided to make his own tonearm which was quite superb and blew the top Graham Phantom away so everyone was happy. I tried to see if I could get a slightly richer tone (more akin to the Schröder), so I tracked down Reed at the Munich show and got in a 2P with all the bells and whistles (silver wiring & plugs and adjustable everything) for evaluation. This sounded so poor I ended up having a few Skype calls to Reed to see what could be done to improve their performance as they weren't much better than a cheap Jelco that we sold at the time for £400. Reed suggested they send me the 3Q, which I also tried and it wasn't much better than the 2P. In the end I had to walk away which was a huge disappointment as they looked cool but just didn't perform anywhere near as good as they looked. I think what you have to bear in mind was that some manufacturers were just starting to get into analogue replay (Reed being one) so their knowledge and experience was low compared to Schröder, TW Acustic and Tron etc who had continued with analogue products during the 1980s/1990s and 2000s, while everyone else went digital. In my opinion, many of the companies are 20-30 years behind in the analogue world, as opposed to those who continued to pursue analogue excellence during the digital era. It's similar to the Devialet thread and their inbuilt phono stage. It might be OK if you hadn't heard or experienced a really good phono stage in the past, but...

You are right Mike in that one of the factors for great sound from a tonearm is simplicity, and the Reeds are not simple...
 
I preferred the Reed to an SME V and a Morch. Not heard the Schroeder.

Thankfully, I got to experience all of those on Verdier and TW turntables. The Mörch DP8 was a nice tonearm but a little lightweight in the bass.
 
I've always wanted to hear a schroder. I believe Soundsmith have the license to manufacture one of his designs and sell it in the US. (Apparently Mr. Schroder and Lederman get along very well and agree on things like cactus spikes as cantilevers). They just look so elegantly and simply built.

Another budget arm (and actually TT) I've always wanted to get my hands on is Schick. Young guy, very impassioned, and seems to have some very good design concepts in mind when I read what he's put down. Kind of like a John Devore of TT's.
 
DP 8 lightweight in the bass? Not when I heard it!

Walrus Systems who used to be a retail shop in London, sadly now gone, but they were the UK agent for Mörch. They told me on a number of occasions that when they compared the Mörch tonearms with the SME 3012-R (on a Platine Verdier which they also sold) they lacked the bass and the authority delivered by the SME 3012-R. Don't get me wrong, the Mörch are really good tonearms and Mörch himself is a super nice man. I met him a few times over the years at various shows. I would take a Mörch over a Reed as well as many other of todays tonearms in a flash.
 
Walrus Systems who used to be a retail shop in London, sadly now gone, but they were the UK agent for Mörch. They told me on a number of occasions that when they compared the Mörch tonearms with the SME 3012-R (on a Platine Verdier which they also sold) they lacked the bass and the authority delivered by the SME 3012-R. Don't get me wrong, the Mörch are really good tonearms and Mörch himself is a super nice man. I met him a few times over the years at various shows. I would take a Mörch over a Reed as well as many other of todays tonearms in a flash.
It was at Walrus where I compared them! The bass from the DP8 was phenomenal.
 
Walrus Systems who used to be a retail shop in London, sadly now gone, but they were the UK agent for Mörch. They told me on a number of occasions that when they compared the Mörch tonearms with the SME 3012-R (on a Platine Verdier which they also sold) they lacked the bass and the authority delivered by the SME 3012-R. Don't get me wrong, the Mörch are really good tonearms and Mörch himself is a super nice man. I met him a few times over the years at various shows. I would take a Mörch over a Reed as well as many other of todays tonearms in a flash.

RIP Walrus - loved that shop. Bought an Amazon/Moerch/Allaerts combo from them many years ago - sounded great, sadly sold off some years ago.

We need another Walrus in London
 


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