Post your turntable setup...can't get enough of those spinners!

I still think it would be amusing to build the Haruna BLH like @tommytakis for this setup because you got the vertical real estate for it and I suspect there's some quality to the way BLH moves the air that does a really good job of filling that space without sounding boomy or echo-y.

 

I'll post a basic setup that has resulted in family enjoyment. This is a JBL L75ms speaker (soundbar) that I use connected to a our living room TV via HDMI ARC, Roon via ethernet, my wife plays music via bluetooth, and it has an integrated phono preamp. My girls are 11 and 12 and getting interested in music. It's been fun taking them out record shopping. There is something to the scarcity and ritual of vinly that makes listening to music more intentional. Somehow they just get this, and want to own their own physical copy of music, they don't want to skip tracks - they just listen or sing along and I wouldn't have it any other way. This isn't a high end setup, but a family is intentionally enjoying music together and I think that's a win.

I have a few hundred albums collected over the years and they are starting to express an interest.

 

My new tonearm comes with --- industrial strength work gloves ?



Am I right to be scared?

 

@shotgunshane , yes, the Farpoint revision which I think is the only version they're making now. Been on order for a while, just had a hankering.

 

Curious to hear how it goes with the Supratrac….

 

[insert joke about safe handling of 12" 'members']

 

Apparently, I was not quite done overhauling my setup. Said goodbye to the Rega P8 and Music Hall 9.3 that had been serving me faithfully for the past few year, and replaced the two of them with a Polytable Signature with Sorane 12.7" arm paired with a Hana ML.

 

Yeah the signature is very tall due to the lower base, and then the tall feet are even taller due to those sorbothane sandwich sort of feet George came up with. I am probably going to try out something a tad more elegant for isolation pads from Herbie's Audio Lab. No full cover for sale but I opted for the platter cover.

This signature version also has a separate Digital Motor Drive unit and fluid damped motor. The speed control unit is tucked away in the cabinet below for aesthetic reasons. Seems to work great though, has a built in strobe, dialed in the speeds at 33 and 45 and it has been rock solid and dead quiet.

 

Dealt with George Merrill on an SPU purchase and a couple Jelco arms. Total gent.

Also, Freedom Rider! Is that the VMP press? I got that one and then, a week later, scored an RVG pressing for cheap on the ebay.

 

Yeah George has been amazing. I was actually still on the fence a bit between this table and a Well Tempered Versalex or Rega P10. After chatting with George I knew I had to give his creation a whirl.

Yep the VMP press! Has become a bit of a reference of sorts for me when trying out new setups. This table is certainly more dynamic and dare I say visceral than my old setup which is taking some brain burn in. That recording is very bombastic sounding from it, but things really clicked for me when I was listening and felt like I was staring at a hi-hat being pedaled right in front of. It was so fully rendered, textured, and realized, every little bit of the sound of that being played. This has been quite indicative of the rest of the sound from this table/cart in the 24 hours I have had it setup now. Also does all the little atmospheric details and nuance quite well.

 

Van Gelder really knew how to capture a drum kit. Cymbals and drums are incredibly "in the room" on almost all Blue Note recordings and many RVG Prestige. And when Blakey gets a little extra volume, as the bandleader, it's a ton of fun.

For whatever reason, 50-60s jazz via streaming or CD never quite has the same impact, for me, as it does on LP, whether it's close to an OG pressing or a good AAA re-issue. My preference for jazz on vinyl has led to a pretty expensive record collecting habit.

Another favorite recording on BN is Midnight Blue. On a good set-up, with good cohesion and "timing" (whatever that is), you really catch all the subtle interplay between Kenny and the rest of the band, all the little hits and accents they tuck into the heads and even the solos. What a session.

Have you tried an SPU or a DL103 or 103R on that long Sorane arm?

 

Havent gotten a chance to try other carts, and I actually sold both of my last carts with the carts on them which meant saying goodbye to my Zu 103r. (I know I know, committing the cardinal sin of changing multiple variables of my setup at once). I do plan on snaggin a 103 or 103r again though to have around. My main deck has actually never had removable headshells, excited to be able to have a few options to swap around.

 

Yeah, I've got a couple arms that have swappable headshells, but haven't done much swapping in the end. Dialing in a cart is pretty damn fussy already! Still, it's nice to know one can play around a bit.

(That said, SPUs are interesting, b/c they don't really call for a lot of tweaking. Tracking force and a bit of fiddling to get the azymuth numbers up on my Puffin are about all I've done, and about all you can do, save changing the VTA. I've heard a lot of people say, "Close enough for SPUs.")

 

Realistic Mark 8 idler-driven turntable + Fidelity Research FR54 and Grace G565

 

Very nice! I wasn't aware that there was a Realistic idler drive.

 

That is sicc. Very striking design, wonder how it sounds?

 

Thanks!

+

Japanese idler driven turntables aren't quite up to Garrard 301/401 or Thorens TD124 standards of performance. However, IME, they're worthy alternatives to Lenco and Rek O Kut.

 

Wrong thread but a very reasonable price :$850

https://www.diyaudio.com/community/...original-series-not-mkii.410244/#post-7642178

Local pickup in Boston only