i'd love to hear about the differences between the Kuzma and the RP8
This is an interesting comparison, and will probably end up as a fairly long-winded post, so please forgive my extended ramblings in advance.
First, I need to talk a bit about the RP8. This turntable sat alongside an LP12/Keel/Ekos SE/Radikal for about a year, until I noticed that the LP12 sounded a bit odd, and the RP8 was actually a bit more musically satisfying. I had tried a number of expensive cartridges on the LP12 to get it more to my liking but it never quite gelled. (Yes, it was set up correctly by the local LP12 guru.) When I put the same cartridges on the RP8 into the same phono stage, I was amazed that the humble RP8 sounded noticeably better than the full spec LP12 at about 6 times the price. It was tonally more natural, had a better sense of space, timing and speed stability was better, and it was even more rhythmic than the LP12, which was promptly sold.
I thought that if the RP8 was this good, the RP10 must be even better. But it wasn't. While initially impressive - and I can see that it would sound more impressive than the RP8 in a dealer's showroom - it quickly became tiring and unsatisfying. It had a big, dramatic sound but was also bright and hard, and put me on edge every time I listened to it. While I know I am in the minority in thinking the RP8 is better than the RP10, I am not the only one. I have had discussions with others on this and other forums where a few people have similarly expressed the view that the RP10 and P9 had this bright, hard sound, probably attributable to the ceramic platter. So I bought and then quickly sold the RP10.
I loved the RP8 and had tweaked it a bit, as described above - the Incognito re-wire, the heavy tungsten counterweight, Swagman linear PSU and Blue Horizon mat. (A quick note on mats: I have tried just about every mat out there - achromat, ring mat, mystic mat, herbie's, and many others - and never found one that improved on the stock felt mat on the Rega or Linn. That was until the Blue Horizon mat, which is the only one which in my opinion is an improvement. This is because - unlike all of the other mats I have tried - it does not alter the tonal balance (sometimes dramatically) or the character of the deck, but retains the Rega sound and balance, and just lowers the noise floor and improves resolution.) The Rega in stock form is excellent, but these changes have improved it incrementally. Also, ditching the shrill Apheta in favour of a better cartridge, such as a Benz Glider or Ortofon Cadenza is a major transformation.
But the RP8 is not perfect. It can sound a tad light and glassy, and like all Regas, its dynamics are driven by its somewhat metronomic sound. These are not necessarily criticisms, just observations of the Rega sound. I could certainly have lived with the RP8, but knew there was better out there.
After reading the unanimously glowing reviews, I bought the AMG Viella, again at about 6 times the price of the RP8. Again, it was initially impressive - and indeed it is a very good sounding turntable. But it is one that appeals to the head rather than the heart. In direct comparisons with the RP8, the Viella had better imaging, more depth, more tonal accuracy, better speed stability ... but it was just not emotionally engaging. And the RP8 was still just as enjoyable and satisfying, even compared with the vastly more expensive AMG. So I sold the AMG and chalked it up as another expensive mistake.
But I wanted to try one more turntable. I now knew going to the high end of the market could be a mistake, and that it was more about synergy and preferences than throwing money at the problem. I knew I didn't want a high mass turntable, with a platter like a wedding cake, or that weighed more than I do, and certainly nothing blingy or shiny. I didn't want anything that could only be set up by a local wizard and required regular tuning (sorry, LP12). It had to be small-footprint, easy to set up, easy to move, functional in appearance and based on solid engineering. And, of course, good sound quality.
With those criteria, the Kuzma Stabi S was the obvious choice. I chose the Stogi Reference arm, rather than the more usual Stogi S unipivot, since I had not much liked the unipivots I have previously owned (Moerch UP4 and Naim ARO), and didn't want to deal with damping troughs. I also chose the version with external electronic PSU, since (as well as being an upgrade) I now have plenty of 45 rpm reissues. This took the price to about the same as an RP10/Apheta so, while not inexpensive, it is certainly nowhere near top spec LP12 or AMG pricing.
The Kuzma arrived a few days ago. Please take these comments with a grain of salt, because I am almost always enthusiastic about a new component. But I am
very enthusiastic about the Kuzma turntable. It does improve on the RP8 in the ways that I had hoped, as well as others. Compared with the RP8, the sound of the Kuzma is deeper, more three dimensional, more solid, more tonally rich and more dynamic. But where the RP8 achieves its dynamics through a sense of fleetness of foot, and metronomic propulsion, the Kuzma does this through deep and powerful bass and solidity of sound. Tracks that I have known well from records I've had for 20 years have startled me with their dynamics on the Kuzma.
I mentioned above the (very) slight glassiness of the RP8. There is no such sensation with the Kuzma. Notes have substance, solidity, and texture. But they also have rich tonal colour. The effect is like turning down the gamma on your computer monitor and then dialing up colour saturation to 150%. Tonal colours are deep and vibrant, more so than I have ever heard from a record player.
While I can imagine that the sense of lightness and speed of the Rega may still be preferred by some people, for me the Kuzma is better in every criterion I consider important. But I will still keep the RP8 - it is still a great turntable and will use it either in another system, or with a mono cartridge.
