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congrats. i think there are 2 schools of thought on TT estetics. i look at a rega P9, thorens, lynn, garrard, and know its a great table, but to me it just doesn't have the WOW factor. my rational brain thinks - looks don't matter, its the sound that counts. but, i just can't pay that much money for something that looks that simple. you have hit a home run on the WOW factor and the sound as well it seems. that could be your last turntable. awesome.
tom
Thanks, guys.
Dave: the arm is 12" long. I think it looks longer because it's so straight & narrow for the most part. I wasn't really familiar with the Moerch, but I dig how it works. Very basic... I like that it doesn't try to "control" too much or give the user too many control functions. Gets out of the way.
Tom: Yeah, in a weird way, the Platine really does work aesthetically, too. Which is surprising, because as I mentioned earlier, I thought it was a bit weird-looking in pictures, etc. Gotta admit, though, every time I see a Garrard or Thorens done right in a proper plinth with a killer 12" arm, it gets me really hard. Definitely has the "Wow" factor for me. It may be a different kind of "Wow" than the Platine with LYS gyrascope, but it definitely has my number.
After a weekend of near-sleepless listening, I'm really into the Platine. I couldn't have dreamt up a better match for my needs, and can't imagine myself wanting anything else. I love that I can finally forget about equipment & focus on software for the rest of my life.
I hope Struts gives us a post about his Nordic Concept soon!
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I love that I can finally forget about equipment & focus on software for the rest of my life.
The very definition of audio nirvana. Musical nowness.
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I hope Struts gives us a post about his Nordic Concept soon!
I wish! Was hoping to take delivery today but I just spoke to Robert and he's only just started on it so it will be a few more days. Unfortunately that's the deal with this kind of product; it takes as long as it takes. 
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... and can't imagine myself wanting anything else. I love that I can finally forget about equipment & focus on software for the rest of my life.
That would be nice. But based on your (excellent, informative) postings about the search and journey through audio hardware options - I have to bet (a large amount) that you will be back in the market for other stuff soon! You're already talking about arm/cartridge/phono stage options and changes, right? You've got it bad. Good luck!
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... and can't imagine myself wanting anything else. I love that I can finally forget about equipment & focus on software for the rest of my life.That would be nice. But based on your (excellent, informative) postings about the search and journey through audio hardware options - I have to bet (a large amount) that you will be back in the market for other stuff soon! You're already talking about arm/cartridge/phono stage options and changes, right? You've got it bad. Good luck!
Yup.
If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say they were done with hardware, I'd be typing this while listening to my yacht based system.
Which reminds me of a story about a girl I once met when I woke up on a lagoon-front bench in Venice after a night of debauchery.
But I digress.
LOL, you guys are right, of course. I'll eventually upgrade cart & arm. What I meant more than anything else is that absence of anxiety about what to get, what I might be missing. Truthfully speaking, before I got the Platine in, I was researching & reading up on gear more than I was listening to music. Not just on TTs, but speakers, etc., everything. It was almost like a disease... very problematic. Now that situation has reversed the course, thankfully. As I said, even knowing that I'd upgrade the cart, I feel like that'd be an organic process which would happen eventually; I don't feel like I have to run over any person or objective to make that switch up. Again, I think that peace of mind comes from knowing that at least I have a solid foundation with the Platine & the Leben, and for me, that peace of mind seems hard to achieve in this hobby... just look at Audiogon!
I don't think this peace of mind comes from some $20K TTs or $100K speakers, mind you. Everyone has a different "happiness sweet spot," and it's evident to me that I've hit mine. I'm simply enjoying the music.
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I don't think this peace of mind comes from some $20K TTs or $100K speakers, mind you.
Right you are.
Piece of mind comes from being able to AFFORD $20K turntables and $100K speakers.
That is an impotant distinction.
Two things about money: It's true it can't buy you happiness, but it can at least get you to some place where you are more likely to run into it, or at least rent it for a while.
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I don't think this peace of mind comes from some $20K TTs or $100K speakers, mind you.Right you are.
Piece of mind comes from being able to AFFORD $20K turntables and $100K speakers.
That is an impotant distinction.
No, no, that wasn't my point. Peace of mind is there for those who do not have, or cannot own, $20K TTs & $100K speakers. Of course it does. (I didn't pay anywhere close to $20K for my Platine, btw...) There are many people whose systems cost less than $5K total, who enjoy their music to the fullest. I know a few of them, too.
You're right of course, too. It is a consumerist world, after all, and a lot of $ does buy a certain peace of mind. You don't have to worry about making compromises...
I like the way that you have to bow down every time you use it. Is there a mantra to repeat? 
Dave
BTW, thanks for being a good sport to all our ribbing.
Dave
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BTW, thanks for being a good sport to all our ribbing.
Dude, are you kidding me? You guys keep me on the real side. Mad props. 
Congratulations, looks like a fun time in store. I know getting a TT was the greatest thing I have done in years. I am sure you will find it a milestone on your path!
"Get on the waiting list for a Shroeder Reference now to avoid a frustrating wait later."
Cartridges....?
This Brand:
http://www.jallaerts.be/
Thanks, Shade.
KBK - I believe either Struts or Buddha (or both?!?) has told me to go for the Allaerts in the future along with the Schroeder. I also know a friend who uses Allaerts with Bluenote Bellavista & a heavy Origin Live arm, and loves it. Must be a great cart...
But for now, I'm happily spending too much at record stores. Couldn't wait for the PREX so did a mini tour of duty at both Academy stores & Other Music. Got some tasty stuff. One thing I'm very glad that I did was starting to purchase records well before I finally got my TT. (I know Stephen has gone the same route.) I felt stupid for doing it at the time, but I've been able to slide right into blissful listening w/ no delay. If there are newbies out there considering going vinyl, even if you aren't 100% sure, start getting a couple here & there. That snarky friend who sarcastically asks you about the imaginary turntable in your room? Punch his ass out and head to the used records aisle. Have fun. I swear it's the best prep work I did in getting the analog system ready.
My recommendation of the Schroeder/Allaerts combo was slightly tongue-in-cheek as it probably wouldn't be my own choice, however the consensus is that it is the 'classic' ne plus ultra combination on the Terrazzo. I should make it clear I have never heard the Allaerts myself so I am only going on second-hand testimony here.
However the top Allaerts cartridges are extremely expensive, demand a top flight phono stage and are pernickety about loading etc. For about the same money as the Allaerts alone you could get the entry-level Soundsmith Strain Gauge setup including dedicated preamp.
I know a guy who has an Allaerts MC 1 ECO which he alternates with a Lyra Titan i in an LP12/Aro (Aesthetix Rhea) and although he lurves the Allaerts, overall he concedes that the Lyra offers better sound. I also have a friend who has compared the SG with several high-end MCs (unfortunately not including the Allaerts but including the $10k Lyra Olympos) and preferred the SG. I have not had the opportunity to hear the SG on a Schroeder myself, but on a Breuer mounted on an NC Artist it produced one of the absolutely best sounds I have ever heard from vinyl. If it were my money...
Having said all that I am in complete agreement with all the previous posters that this is all idle musing and you should enjoy what you have*. The Moerch is definitely a classic and I'll trust your ear on the Clearaudio (I have never been particularly drawn to the sound of their cartridges myself but have to admit I have only heard the cheaper and the very expensive MCs). But musing is fun too, right? After all, if we didn't enjoy the gear as well as the music we wouldn't be reading 'phile.
I am a music lover and a hi-fi lover and proud of it!!
* Although I was only half-joking about getting on the wait list for a Schroeder, two years is a loooong time to wait once the lightbuld has flipped on
Wow.. this is one of the funest threads I have read in a while. Selfdivider - your enthusiams about the new puchase is infectious. Makes me want to be home listening to my LP12 right now.
Congrats on the new TT. I looks like you are going about it in the right ways as well. Now the time, to take time to listen...
Cheers,
i agree with the mad one. this makes up for a lot of what goes on in rants and raves, hopefully most of those folks will go on ignoring this little thread.
A good place for a note about digital:
Did you know that if you look in the American Heritage Dictionary, under the word,
Thanks, Mikey & Tom... and KBK: that's hilarious. If this was in the Rants n Raves, DUP would have a field day with that definition entry!
I think the cartridge upgrade for me can wait a while, Strutsie. It's just too fun as it is, buying mad records. I feel blessed to be living near NYC record stores, so many good ones on or near Bleecker! I've yet to make the PREX pilgrimage, but I have way more than enough LPs to listen to. Virtuoso Wood is really nice. Musical and warm w/ a big sweet spot; I don't have to fiddle around with VTA too much. I've always thought that Clearaudio had a kind of clinical sound... maybe with their moving coils, but w/ MM, not the case. Having heard many high-end carts, I definitely do recognize the musical moments when I know I can hear 'deeper' into the recording, with better transients, etc., with quality LOMC carts. Still, what I hear with the Virtuoso Wood on a Moerch DP6 red NEVER sounds less than musical & believable, and I don't believe I'm sacrificing too much by going with this cart for a while. Surprisingly dynamic, too. Even if I go higher up in the food chain, I'm keeping this cart with me; it's a bargain & a gem. If anyone's looking for a quality $400 or less cart (Audiogon price, of course), try the Virtuoso Wood. So easy to love.
But for the future? I wonder how the Soundsmith's The Voice would work in my set-up, too... I totally dig the moving iron design, and if at $1600, it competes with $3-4K carts as many people claim, that'd be awesome. I'm also curious about Phase Tech P-3 ($1100) because Japan's Stereo Sound always seems to rank it as #1 in their "Best Buy" list, even above the Denon 103 or Ortofon carts. Anyone familiar with this cart? Strain Gauge, of course, but with the mandatory pre-amp plunge, it kind of feels restrictive, as you can't use the pre-amp if you decide to try different carts. I've heard it, though, & the sound is unbelievable, certainly good enough to make you believe you won't think about other carts. I just lurve the fact that the design is so smart, that RIAA considerations can be entirely bypassed! Peter Lederman definitely thinks above the herd. I've also been recommended ZYX carts by some Verdier owners. But for now, I'm totally satisfied with my lowly MM, budget cart. Would rather spend the cash on LPs.
P.S. - If I'd contacted Mr. Ming Su even one month late, I wouldn't have had a chance in hell to afford the Platine Verdier. Sound by Singer just became the Verdier dealer in NYC.
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The two beautiful red boxes are one Hagerman Trumpet MM phono stage (not mine; on loan). The box on the bottom shelf is the power supply... all in all, it's a very impressive value for a phono stage with a separate power supply. It retails for around $2700, I think, but I've heard more than a few phono stages that are $4K+, and the Hagerman sounds better to me than some of them. 8 tubes sticking out of the box: 2 pairs of 12AU7 and 2 pairs of 12AX7. Vewwy vewwy quiet, no tube rush.Obviously, I'm still debating phono stage. After listening to the Hagerman Trumpet, I'm giving it a serious thought, as it's really exceeded my expectations. It doesn't hurt that it's so pretty, too (that red goes well with Leben's gold, huh?
I'll have to make my decision eventually. I've a friend who's willing to sell me his Tron Seven for a good price, but since that's a MC-only stage, I'd have to go for a MC cart immediately. Leben's coming out with a separate phono stage in September, so I'm dying to hear what it sounds like... I'm a believer in what the designer of Leben's doing (Taku Hyodo).
Hey SD, I see the Leben RS-30 EQ is out now (my dealer has received his). Have you had a chance to listen yet? Are you still using the loaner Hagerman?
Hey, Struts. The Leben RS30 EQ has been on my radar for a LONG time. I asked Jonathan at Tone Imports about it (he imports/distributes Leben, Shindo, Auditorium 23 & EMT in the states, if some of you don't know) and he told me it'll be getting here in the stateside late September/early October.
Have you checked out the various Tom Evans models? If not, you might like to add them to your shortlist. I know it's not quite your aesthetic but they sound amazing...
I heard great stuff about Tom Evans' phono stages. Right now, I'm testing out something interesting that Ming Su dropped off for me when he was visiting Sound by Singer to set up the Platine there. It's actually a preamp with MM phono stage, custom built by Frank Schroeder's friend for his clients. Looks-wise, it's pretty basic, just 2 basic slim boxes, one for power supply, the other for linestage. Uses these really weird pencil tubes that are used for tube microphones. Anyway, the music sounds VERY transparent through this thing w/o losing that harmonic complexity that tubes can give you...
VERY interesting! Pictures please!!
I'm on break until this Friday... when I get back, I'll get the pics up with a bit more detail. But it's really a beguiling piece of gear.
Promises, promises...
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Promises, promises...
What we need in this country is change!
Ladies, ladies! I will post some time later tonight. The pics are nothing to stare at: as the preamp is custom-made, it looks pretty industrial. Two heavy black bricks. The sound is another matter, though...
There was this guy called selfdivider who used to post around here once, back when gas was under two bucks. Anyone else remember him? Great guy. I heard he got a job and lost interest in audio...
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There was this guy called selfdivider who used to post around here once, back when gas was under two bucks. Anyone else remember him? Great guy. I heard he got a job and lost interest in audio...
Strange, that's not what I heard. I heard he got a turntable and lost interest in work.
...then there was this other rumor I heard that he got some girl in trouble and ran off to join the Foreign Legion...
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...then there was this other rumor I heard that he got some girl in trouble and ran off to join the Foreign Legion...
Yeah, Sarah is really peeved about him and Bristol.
Yeah, my sympathy is with that hockey player dude who took the rap. He looked like a deer in the headlights at that convention. I trust he got paid off well!
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Yeah, my sympathy is with that hockey player dude who took the rap. He looked like a deer in the headlights at that convention. I trust he got paid off well!
At the rate the Republicans are going, I bet he's been guaranteed that he'll be our embassador to France.
Or, maybe, Attorney General.
What's the old saying?
"They're failing to clear the bar at a faster rate than they can lower it."
Hey guys,
Very exciting!! I just got the enclosed postcard from selfdivider...
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Hey dude,Hope this note finds you well. I am sure by now someone will have put two and two together about the me and Bristol thing (five bucks says it was Buddha that called it - am I right?). As you can imagine I had to skip the country in a hurry and just managed to grab a handful of things as I flew out the door: my LYS strobe and my latest haul from the street seller on Bleecker: Johnny Cash - Ring of Fire and Other Favorites, Christmas with Demis Roussos and Absolute Chroumata Volume 4.
I jumped a ship bound for India and ended up in Tibet. Getting across the border was tough but I bribed the guard with the Demis Roussos album. Hey, it was NM and there was only a tiny crease in the cover! I had to hide the LYS strobe, ahem, 'about my person' or he probably would have taken that too. It was worse than going thru customs at Newark!
I am hiding out in a monastery with some very cool monks. The beds are hard and the saffron robes are a bit itchy but at least I feel safe that the CIA won't find me here - Sarah is sooo pissed! The coolest thing is that when they saw the LYS strobe (I 'purified' it, okay?) the monks got very excited and made me their leader!! They have helped me make a turntable out of some parts from an old sewing machine. There is so much granite here - we're sitting on a mountain of it - that we have made the plinth and the platter out of the stuff! It's a bit Fred Flintstone but I swear it sounds almost as good as the Verdier - wish you could hear it man. Next project is some granite speakers.
Please pass on a namast
Struts, please tell Selfdivider to be sure to check out the Darjeeling Express while he's out east.
It's very analog.
LOL... you guys crack me up!... sorry I've been out of touch, but work's been pretty crazy, esp. with the Wall St. in this shape? Music-listening wise, I can barely squeeze it in during the work week so I do it mostly on weekends. But I've been buying records... mm... all the Radiohead reissues (so-so, except for the Hail to the Thief on 45 rpm... "The Bends," perhaps my ol' favorite, hasn't been done justice! Angry.) TV on the Radio's new LP just arrived in the mail today. Stay away from Daniel Johnston's double LP that came out; the records wouldn't even fit on the spindle! (Still love Daniel Johnston, both his music & his art.) Bunch of Music Matters & Analogue Productions 45s, etc. And my favorite purchase was Solti's Ring Cycle. I got the Decca (German Teldec) but DMM. Best of all? It was unopened. Sweetness. Sounds much better than the London ffrr. God, so much more!
Been buying more new records than the old, just b/c I don't have enough time to browse. I just know what I want to get, get it, either from shops or web. I miss rummaging through dollar bins, though...
On that special pre-amp that Schroeder's friend built, I just mailed it back. It sounded really special, but in the end, I kind of thought about how if it has mechanical issues, I'd be on my own, w/o dealer/manufacturer support. Kinda hairy.
Writing like a schizo now b/c I have to go eat dinner...
Welcome back SD. Now you know what happens if you go dark on us. Don't let it happen again! 
Glad to know you're alive.
I've thought the Radiohead reissues sounded fine (granted, not as great as they could have been). I'm enjoying the OK Computer reissue.
Maybe I got a wrong batch or something? Inconsistent. The Side 1 of The Bends is perhaps the noisiest I've heard from a new vinyl yet. 2nd side is better, but Jonny Greenwood's solo in "Just" lacks that bite. Dunno... maybe this is a case of my hyped up expectations ruining the actual experience... OK Computer sounds better, but I'd say, even compared to the cheaper productions by Sundazed or something like that, these Capitol reissues aren't too impressive. Thom Yorke's voice on these reissues, though, sounds better than any digital version, by FAR.
Welcome back!
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