Bryston 3b-sst (pair) to drive midrange and tweeters as part of active setup. Modified by PMC as part of active system
Bryston 7B-SST
Bryston 7B-sst (pair) to drive bass units Modified by PMC as part of active system
PMC MB2-XBD-A
4 way monitor with stands Active - price includes PMC modified amps and crossover
Townshend Seimic sink
TSS stands for speakers and deck.
WNA Custom built
All interconnects, speaker cables and mains cables custom built by WNA. Mains cables include lab grade filters. Compared with and beat nordost reference but only costs 10% of the price.
Bryston 10B
Bryston 10B crossover *2 Modified by PMC as part of active system
Pink Triangle Dacapo II CDP
Integral version of original dacapo and cardinal battery powered dac and transport but updated with 15 years of additional research. Less than a dozen ever made. Uses proprietary discrete dac and filter for a unique sound - never bettered. Built in digital volume control.
Hi Brizonbiovizier: I´m close to buying a newlike SZ-1T Ultimate with linear tracking tonearm from Micro (one of just five units ever made to special order - according to the papers!). If the deal doesn´t fail (price is still VERY high) I´ll invite you to bring whatever tt you like for comparison. I did extensive research during the last few weeks (worldwide) and this one blows EVERYTHING away you throw at it (Walker, Brinkmann, Pluto, Rockport, etc.). If poosible I´ll arrange a test listening with IMAGE Hifi - germans most respected hig-end mag. This one is THAT good - unbelievable - a real pitty that Micro went banckrupt ten years ago..
I have no clue? Might be.. This S4 is one of only a handful S4 with three motors - very nice sounding unit. The guy collects classic tt´s (Audiolabor Konstant, Kenwood L-07D, Nakamichi Dragon-Centrate, Goldmund Reference, Cotter B1, Zarathustra S4, Thorens Prestige, Micro SX 777 FV, Forsell Air Reference and some direct drive units from Onkyo and Yamaha). I´ll ask him to claryfy..
Brizonbiovizier: last weekend I had the chance to listen to three real classics: Zarathustra S4 (ancessor of S7), Micro Seiki SX 777 FV and Goldmund Reference. Let´s say it this way: Goldmund played in a league of its own (by a far margin), followed by SX 777 and S4. In comparison to the S4 the SX offered sheer stability, macro dynamics and detail. The other way round the S4 was better in respect of micro dynamics and rhythm. But it was a pleasure to listen to all of them. Did you have a chance to compare SX 8000 II to S7?
No. But a friend of mine runs since 15 years one of the most acknowledged high-end stores in Germany. He carries for years now: Brinkmann, Boulder, Stax, Spectral, ACapella, Avalon, Ayon, Audio Physic, Simon Yorke, Nagra, Hovland, Einstein, Esoteric, Kef, Magnephan, Martin Logan, Jeff Rowland, Linn, Lavardin, Rocksan, Transrotor, Clearaudio, Audiomeca, Fisher & Fisher, Symphonic Line, Egglestone, Vandersteen, Wadia, Sonus Faber, etc. etc. just to name a few. Every two month we are sitting together to audition the latest in high-end. Probably the new decks can match the vintage ones, but they won´t better them.
The best vintage tables I heard are Micro SX 8000 II, Forsell Air Reference, Thorens Reference and Goldmund Reference - and I bet if the owner realy takes care you´ll a) never will have problems with these units as they are build to last a life time (except the Forsell which is a bit difficult) and b) you won´t find a better sounding tt right now. But I agree that prices for the above mentionned tables are very high and you always have to consider that factory spare parts are no longer available. One of our former clients in Switzerland has build up a remarkable vintage tt collection - all the above mentionned plus: Audiolabor Konstant, Symphonic Line RG 6, Thorens Prestige, Nakamichi Dragon, Kenwood L0-7 D, Cotter B 1, Linn LP-12 and other stuff from Garrad, Onkyo and Yamaha - and he stated that he has never heard better sounding tables than the vintage ones he owns. His two set-ups were a complete Goldmund Reference set-up and a complete Audio Note Kondo set-up - so I bet he knows what he is talking about. For my personal taste I´m quite happy with the performance of my Transrotor Fat Bob.
I know some who have sold the Vyger due to problems with their units. Posted here on Audiogon. I agree with Stereophile's assesement that equipment must meet a certain standard to be considered for purchase. Stable company, repairable, reliable etc.
Some very old equipment that is considered vintage & excellent does interest me but not at prices that can lead you to losing a tremendous amount of money once it can't be serviced.
I have noticed people w. some vintage tables such as Micros, & Acoustic Solid using Teres Motors, if I remember right. Kind of funny. Might as well get the Teres almost.
That sounds a bit tubey for me. I have seen some reviews that level a lot of criticism at the vger arm. Will be intersting to see if they are still in business in a few years time.
I´ve listend twice to the Vyger Atlantis. The last time it was connected to the Aesthetix IO-phono stage and AYON Audio 300b mono blocks. All cords were Shunyata´s top-of-the line, speakers were Lumen White White Light Monitors with diamond tweeters. Cartridge was the top Kondo moving coil. VERY very nice and life-like sound. Never compared it to the SX but would be very interesting - probably a strong contendor for the SZ-1T or the Sirius III?
If your dealer want´s to get rid of his SX 8000 II (with the 28kg. stainless steel platter with vacuum sucction and airbearing, 60kg. air suspension base, 20kg. RY-5500 MK II motorblock, the 18kg. external flywheel and the 10kg. AX-10G tonearm rest) please email me, as my dealer is highly interested in exchanging his fully equipped Yorke S7 for such an equipped SX as our demo SX belonged to one of his customers who will never ever sell his SX as he just exchanged it for his VYGER Atlantis which I also preferred to either the Brinkmannand the S7.
Strange you didnt remember ;) My dealer have a MS - I will check it out for myself but they said it wasnt in the same league and this seems to be backed up by dgads experiences. Given your comments about the pluto are at odds with my experience I am still a bit skeptical. A quick audition should settle the matter!
Dgad/Brizonbiovizier: I double checked with my local dealer who made the comparison (Micro SX 8000 II vs. Brinkmann LaGrange vs. Simon Yorke S7) together with me as I was not sure about the suspension etc.. He told me that the S7 was fully equipped (with the hydropneumatic stand/suspension system offered by Simon Yorke for the S7) and the Brinkann was put on a special stone (I thought it was granite) but it was something heavy with oil in it - quite freaky). He himself prefers the Brinkmann to the Yorke but again states that the Micro was superior to both in most areas (quiteness, slamm, baseline, dynamics, stability, attack and equal in terms of transparency, detail, musical flow). But for him Simon Yorke and Brinkmann are together with Rocksan TMS, Walker Audio and Rockport the best tt´s currently available. By the way: he throws in the new Transrotor tt´s with magnet bearing and magnet drive.
There is another stand I find very interesting. It is called Minus K. It is very interesting as far as the web site. A user here has a Simon Yorke on it. It doesn't need air & needs no maintenance. My cousins Vibraplane has a flat for example It isn't cheap though. Listening right now. All I can say is wow. I am very happy. Can't wait to get my turntable up & running
OK will do! I have some at home! Didnt I send them before and you thought they were too dark?
I have verified the suspension issue for myself. With the air let out the sound quality drops to mid level performance rather than top level as you say. Something like a vibraplane would doubtless raise the performance yet further than my TSS stand.
How about some digital pics of your system? I again will repeat that a friend of mine had the Micro but prefered it to most turntables but not to the Simon Yorke. Also, one thing I am certain, any of the top shelf tables without suspension are mid level without their suspension platforms. Also, the differences at this level are fairly close and more a matter of system synergy and flavor than a difference of absolutes. If anything the engineering of a turntable is the main absolute more than the sound. Take care.
Other decks I listened to at the same time and with the same system had no such difficulty as the pluto. Like the clearaudio I found it to be like having the insides of my ears sluiced with grit. Perhaps a less accurate cartridge would cover that affect but I like cartridges to be neutral with lots of attack.
I havent looked at air bearings so I cant comment - do you have more information? Usually the advantages are not unequivocable and one set of compromises is being swapped for another - same paralell tracking v fixed tonearms. I will do some research!
I am sure modern tuners that are very good do exist. The thing is that usually designers are just lazy and just rehash designs of the past without trying to improve them. Commercial audio hasnt moved on much in 30 years but that doesnt mean things cant be much better with new tech. This is why I have gone diy for my pre, phono and headamp.
Brizonbiovizier: try www.my-micro.de (com) this should work. A heated bearing is not a competetive advantage if you use an all air-bearing system. Every (proper) air-bering offers a lower noise floor than any conventional bearing. The big Pluto I´ve heard was a great performer. I heard it with an all Lamm tube reference system connected to Kharma Reference speakers - I heard no weaknesses in the treble area. If you listen to vinyl you should meticulously take care of room design, temperature, wiring and humidity -this effects the sound quality quite heavily as it has got effects on the tracking capability of the stylus. In resepct of the Clearaudio I fully agree with you. Nice to look at but the rest ... No competitor to Brinkmann or Yorke. But the new high efficiency cartridges (Stradivari, Goldfinger are absolutely amazing products). Comming back to top notch classical products: Goldmund Reference tt, Micro SX 8000 II / SZ-1T Ultimate, Thorens Reference/Prestige, Forsell Aire Refernce MK II - they all still represent the absolute state of the art. Tuner wise nothing beats Kenwood L-02 T/ Day Sequerra - both vintage designs. By the way: which system do you use?
