Sideways Uni-Pivot Arm, SUPATRAC Blackbird, formerly "Ekos Killer (Price?)"

[robbyd]

SUPATRAC will also have a listening room at the UK Hifi Show Live at Ascot Race Course from this Friday to this Sunday.

thanks for the reminder! - had completely forgotten Ascot was this weekend

 

[Dave Cattlin]

For those in the Manchester area, Audio Works in Cheadle have a demonstration Blackbird and an open day tomorrow.

I was lucky enough to hear the deck last night -

and the arm and deck was thrilling

next level brilliant

Dave

 

[Dave Cattlin]

BTW

I heard last night that one of the shop's customers is replacing the megabucks tonearm on his mighty Kronos Sparta with a blackbird

took him 5 tracks in the dem room to place the order

it's preposterous!

Dave

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

BTW

I heard last night that one of the shop's customers is replacing the megabucks tonearm on his mighty Kronos Sparta with a blackbird

took him 5 tracks in the dem room to place the order

it's preposterous!

Dave

It’s a 12” Triplanar. I’ve heard his Kronos and it’s a stunning deck. Can’t wait to hear what the Blackbird will do for it.

 

[sonddek]

Not sure if your arm has a threaded pillar ... but if it does - you may be interested to know there was an upgrade for the (1980s) Magnapan 'Unitrac' (UP) arm which involved a heavyweight nut on the underside of the armboard/plinth.

I don't know the theory behind why this should be a good thing ... but I did it.

Thanks Andy - I missed this. The pillar isn't threaded but it sounds like I should experiment with this idea...

 

[sonddek]

I'm very pleased to hear that order is going on a Kronos.

I heard a Kronos deck at Whittlebury this year. I didn't want to like it primarily because I do not ever expect to be able to afford a 90k deck, and I don't feel baroque shiny engineering punk is my style, but unfortunately when it started playing it was trousers down and I was instantly sucked in. It just sounded wonderful - it immediately got me listening to music rather than the sound of the gear and I did not want to leave that room. I could have sat there all day just having unfamiliar records played at me.

I hope I will get to hear that Blackbird on the Sparta.

It looks like we're also going to see a Blackbird on a Döhmann Helix soon if all goes well.

On page 1 of this thread, exactly three years ago I uttered what must have seemed like lunacy...

I would like to try it against the arms which I suspect it is gunning for, namely Graham, Kuzma 4point, and SAT. I would be interested in meeting people who use high end arms to make careful comparisons.

Three years later the preposterous idea that something I made in my shed could rub shoulders with the world's most expensive tone-arm engineering is slowly but surely becoming a reality.

This has already been an amazing journey and it's far from over. I thank all of you have shared your knowledge and opinions. Most of what I think I understand about tone-arms has come from you fellow enthusiasts.

 

[garyi]

Is that like your logo or something?

 

[Sue Pertwee-Tyr]

I'm very pleased to hear that order is going on a Kronos.

I heard a Kronos deck at Whittlebury this year. I didn't want to like it primarily because I do not ever expect to be able to afford a 90k deck, and I don't feel baroque shiny engineering punk is my style, but unfortunately when it started playing it was trousers down and I was instantly sucked in. It just sounded wonderful - it immediately got me listening to music rather than the sound of the gear and I did not want to leave that room. I could have sat there all day just having unfamiliar records played at me.

I hope I will get to hear that Blackbird on the Sparta.

I know what you mean about the Kronos. Not a fan of the look, but love the sound (and it’s nothing like as good if you disconnect the contra-rotating platter so no idea what the hell is going on there).
I’d like to hear a Blackbird on the Grand Prix Audio table. Still a very pricy deck but just about conceivable. I’ve heard one with the Kuzma and it’s stunning too.

 

[Theo]

The Blackbird will look hopelessly lost on that turntable, unless you bling it...

The reviews seem wholly positive, but who could actually accommodate a turntable like that? It just feels so unnecessary.

 

[Joe]

.

it was trousers down and I was instantly sucked in. .

 

[Tony L]

I had no idea Homer Simpson designed turntables.

 

[per-Sony-fied]

The Blackbird will look hopelessly lost on that turntable, unless you bling it...

The reviews seem wholly positive, but who could actually accommodate a turntable like that? It just feels so unnecessary.

Mighty impressive but why the two displays? Also all that just to play a £20 record!

 

[Paul Mc]

To be accurate that photograph is not the Sparta referred to above.

 

[per-Sony-fied]

I see from this photo, the top display measures what looks like the rotational speed of the 2 platters & the bottom..... errrr something else...

 

[Snufkin]

I see from this photo, the top display measures what looks like the rotational speed of the 2 platters & the bottom..... errrr something else...

The rise and fall of your bank balance?

 

[MVV]

All that to play an outdated and fundamentally flawed medium. Must be off their nuts.

 

[Bob McC]

I see from this photo, the top display measures what looks like the rotational speed of the 2 platters & the bottom..... errrr something else...

The other two platters...

 

[sonddek]

I had a comedy of errors and difficulties with sound in my room at the Ascot UK Hifi Show Live yesterday. KEF kindly loaned me some Reference stand mounts, but I had run out of time in set-up and they clear the building on time with discipline. I fetched my EPOS ES14 stands but the spikes are just too wide for the speakers so they have to sit sideways. The speakers are strong in the bass and the whole room went wump wump. The fridge couldn't be turned off and made a hella racket - eventually somebody came to disable it. Someone kindly loaned me some LS3/5a but they were too far the other way and could not sit on the stands at all. I had to sit them high on the KEFs which I reversed to face the wall, at which point a nice chap from KEF came for a listen. Whoops. Finally, late afternoon, Carl from IAS walked in and said "your speakers are out of phase". I checked and he was right. Absolute schoolboy error - I blame the funk I was in last night trying to set up in a panic as they shooed us out of the building. I had been struggling to enjoy the sound all day, at the expense of visitors to my room. The nice man from KEF suggested putting bungs in the ports, but they weren't in the box. Two pairs of socks sufficed. All I needed to do is fix the serious hum and attach a better cartridge than my 40-year-old AT95 if I could blag my way into the building earlier than allowed on Saturday morning. I did. This is only my third show, and I'm still getting a lot of things wrong. It really isn't easy turning up last minute and trying to get borrowed gear you've never used before to sound right in an unfamiliar, largely unfurnished room with a floor to ceiling glass wall!

I'm sorry if you came to the room and heard disappointing sounds on Friday. Things started to come right today. A chap was walking past my room late this afternoon and I said come in and have a listen. He looked and said "no thanks I gave up vinyl long ago - I'm not a vinyl guy". I said "why not come in and have a listen anyway? The worst that can happen is that it surprises you". He came in and sat down for a listen along with two or three other people in the room. I think a Decca of Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet was playing. He stayed for about an hour. After one track he said "that's the best I've ever heard that track played". I played a wide range of popular stuff - rock, jazz, funk, classical, EDM. When I told him the amp was a 200 quid Behringer he looked bewildered. A very nice listening session with very attentive listeners, and he went away after quite a few questions admitting that he was pondering a return to vinyl. There were several somewhat magical moments today. The SUPATRAC room is back in business!

At the end of the day I listened to a Frankie Goes To Hollywood track on the Döhmann Helix 1/Constellation/Magico rig in the Absolute Sounds room - an insanely wonderful experience. Humbling in every way.

 

[per-Sony-fied]

I wish I could've made it to the show but unfortunately woke up in the middle of the night Saturday morning feeling very bad, hot & sweaty refrained me from going. I contemplated Sunday but still felt it was a shot to far Maybe next weeks show

 

[Zombie]

Too expensive already.