What Is Your Favourite Bit of Kit?

[Spectral Morn]

How stunning! I saw one on a Avid Volvere in a salon, and have pined for one ever since! Often copied, but never duplicated. What are those new arms out? Reid? Looks like a triplanar smoothed down with a wooden arm, very nice actually, And of course the VPI arms with the VTA tower are blatant copies, with a unipivot attached. I'll tell you I see very few Triplanar's used for sale. And if I do, they want top prices, and I do keep my eye out.


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I did a swap for it, Esoteric P3 SACD/CD transport. As wonderful as that was the ridiculously loud mechanism noise when playing SACDs meant I couldn't live with it. I did some asking about and found a swap option and took it. I just don't understand how Esoteric feel this level of whir during playback is acceptable, nor do I get the silence on the topic in mag reviews as most Esoterics have this issue. My P5 transport also has, though to a lesser extent, the same noise issue when spinning SACDs. Marantz SA7 also less than silent. In fact the only silent playback mechanism for SACD I have come across, so far, was the first two Sonys.

The P3 makes the P5 sound broke, its that much better, but the Triplannar was an itch I have long wanted to scratch so took the opportunity.

£2800 in the U.K seems the average used price on the mk7 version of the arm. Earlier versions can be got for less but I think the 7 is worth the extra.

[alphaGT]

I did a swap for it, Esoteric P3 SACD/CD transport. As wonderful as that was the ridiculously loud mechanism noise when playing SACDs meant I couldn't live with it. I did some asking about and found a swap option and took it. I just don't understand how Esoteric feel this level of whir during playback is acceptable, nor do I get the silence on the topic in mag reviews as most Esoterics have this issue. My P5 transport also has, though to a lesser extent, the same noise issue when spinning SACDs. Marantz SA7 also less than silent. In fact the only silent playback mechanism for SACD I have come across, so far, was the first two Sonys.

The P3 makes the P5 sound broke, its that much better, but the Triplannar was an itch I have long wanted to scratch so took the opportunity.

£2800 in the U.K seems the average used price on the mk7 version of the arm. Earlier versions can be got for less but I think the 7 is worth the extra.

Thanks, that's some useful information.

And I had no idea about the Esoteric's, I wanted one bad! But got a steal of a price on my Cary 306, so I gave up the search. As you say, I've never heard a word from a reviewer about noise from the VOSM (I think?) mechanism. The Cary is a CD only deck. I wanted an SACD deck, but own no media, so it was easy to live without.

Similarly I heard an air bearing tonearm at a salon, and the salesman made it seem so great! But after wowing me with it, he confessed driving it with a compressed CO2 tank. The included compressor was so loud, you'd have to keep it in a neighbor's garage.

I will have to put off the Triplanar for a while, but, once I've upgraded a few more immediate things, my preamp and phono cartridge, I'll have things fairly squared away. Then I can save up for such a purchase, and possibly find a good 'table to mount it on. It would probably fit on my Scout? But may prove overkill? Maybe a vacuum platter Sota? I've heard one of those make some magic too. If the pump isn't too loud?


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[Spectral Morn]

Thanks, that's some useful information.

And I had no idea about the Esoteric's, I wanted one bad! But got a steal of a price on my Cary 306, so I gave up the search. As you say, I've never heard a word from a reviewer about noise from the VOSM (I think?) mechanism. The Cary is a CD only deck. I wanted an SACD deck, but own no media, so it was easy to live without.

Similarly I heard an air bearing tonearm at a salon, and the salesman made it seem so great! But after wowing me with it, he confessed driving it with a compressed CO2 tank. The included compressor was so loud, you'd have to keep it in a neighbor's garage.

I will have to put off the Triplanar for a while, but, once I've upgraded a few more immediate things, my preamp and phono cartridge, I'll have things fairly squared away. Then I can save up for such a purchase, and possibly find a good 'table to mount it on. It would probably fit on my Scout? But may prove overkill? Maybe a vacuum platter Sota? I've heard one of those make some magic too. If the pump isn't too loud?


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It's to do with the speed SACDs are spun at, much higher than CD, you get this high frequency whirring that did my head in I could hear it even with music playing. Lack of honesty or folks who can't hear it anymore, systems far end of a room, in cupboards take your pick. And yet a Sony SCD1 you can put your ear on top of the mechanism lid and hear nothing. If Sony could do it, why not the others ? Go figure.

It was beautifully built, real heavy weight, sounded amazing but it would have had to go in another room with an ir repeater, not a practical solution.

Had an ET linear tracker once, the pump went in the roof space and pump noise wasn't an issue, but I agree air pumps make noise and if you value a silent listening room, as I do, it's really a non starter.

[struth]

It's to do with the speed SACDs are spun at, much higher than CD, you get this high frequency whirring that did my head in I could hear it even with music playing. Lack of honesty or folks who can't hear it anymore, systems far end of a room, in cupboards take your pick. And yet a Sony SCD1 you can put your ear on top of the mechanism lid and hear nothing. If Sony could do it, why not the others ? Go figure.

It was beautifully built, real heavy weight, sounded amazing but it would have had to go in another room with an ir repeater, not a practical solution.

Had an ET linear tracker once, the pump went in the roof space and pump noise wasn't an issue, but I agree air pumps make noise and if you value a silent listening room, as I do, it's really a non starter.

You must have good ears Neil. Ive not heard it, and im usually quick to pick up on annoyances like that. Must be above my hearing range

[Spectral Morn]

You must have good ears Neil. Ive not heard it, and im usually quick to pick up on annoyances like that. Must be above my hearing range

This is specific to a few makes of machine - Esoteric, Marantz - which based on their very high price, claims of the best disc mechanisms should play SACD discs silently, but they don't. A quick Google search reveals others who have had this experience, so its not just me.

[alphaGT]

I have wondered for years why a medium like the SD card has not come forward as the ultimate high res medium. No moving parts, their prices have dropped considerably, you'd think comparable to pressing multi-layer discs. There are SD playback decks out there, but they have never been looked at as a high end playback device more like a DJ storage device, or for storing tracks in a studio, but it seems that the powers that be are through with selling mediums, they just want to rent us the music online and no longer produce anything. Playback from a memory card solves so many of the problems with any disc playback system. And avoids many of the issues with internet downloads.

I remember being so excited reading about the new medium of SACD! All the promises of higher resolution, to finally fix the issues with the CD that has been falsely praised as perfect sound. But, as time wore on, I was not seeing the labels adding music in this medium, and to this day, I can't justify the price of a machine to play 10 SACD's that I may want to own. How does such a powerful and lucrative industry make such blunders? Have we never learned the lesson of Batamax? I know how, but it's still hard to believe.

But it would be nice to have a real high end playback system designed around a memory card, even if I had to download the music onto the cards myself. Storing music on a hard drive seems to be a better solution, but it's still a mechanical spinning disc. The very idea that the entire playback system could be completely solid state, no moving parts, stack your bits in a buffer,and let an atomic clock feed the D/A chip, and near perfect results on the other end! What a simple idea.


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[jazzy]

My Piano and my Tenor Sax.

Probably doesn't count though so i'll go for My Well Tempered Amadeus turntable. My system would be lost without it!

[Barry]

I have wondered for years why a medium like the SD card has not come forward as the ultimate high res medium. No moving parts, their prices have dropped considerably, you'd think comparable to pressing multi-layer discs. There are SD playback decks out there, but they have never been looked at as a high end playback device more like a DJ storage device, or for storing tracks in a studio, but it seems that the powers that be are through with selling mediums, they just want to rent us the music online and no longer produce anything. Playback from a memory card solves so many of the problems with any disc playback system. And avoids many of the issues with internet downloads.

I remember being so excited reading about the new medium of SACD! All the promises of higher resolution, to finally fix the issues with the CD that has been falsely praised as perfect sound. But, as time wore on, I was not seeing the labels adding music in this medium, and to this day, I can't justify the price of a machine to play 10 SACD's that I may want to own. How does such a powerful and lucrative industry make such blunders? Have we never learned the lesson of Batamax? I know how, but it's still hard to believe.

But it would be nice to have a real high end playback system designed around a memory card, even if I had to download the music onto the cards myself. Storing music on a hard drive seems to be a better solution, but it's still a mechanical spinning disc. The very idea that the entire playback system could be completely solid state, no moving parts, stack your bits in a buffer,and let an atomic clock feed the D/A chip, and near perfect results on the other end! What a simple idea.

Excellent post!

I too have wondered why 'software' is not available stored on SD. It would for me "kill two birds with one stone": physical ownership of the music, and complete absence of an electromechanical mechanism for replay. A "win, win" situation?

[alphaGT]

Excellent post!

I too have wondered why 'software' is not available stored on SD. It would for me "kill two birds with one stone": physical ownership of the music, and complete absence of an electromechanical mechanism for replay. A "win, win" situation?

I suppose a system could be set up easy enough. There are rack mounted decks from Denon and Tascam and others that will play and record to an SD, or other memory card. The nicer ones are set up for, "Pro", use, so they've got many strange features and cue buttons, etc. like you used to see 8 tracks set up to run commercials on the radio, in the DJ's booth. And the Tascam has diagrams on its website where they can be Daisy chained, 2 tracks each, to fill a rack and record from a 32 track mixing console, or as big as you want I guess? So, they do have digital in and out. SPDIF and Toslink in and out.

So I guess if you just wanted to buy one of these strictly for its transport functions, you could tie it in with external DAC's and use it as the center of a high end playback system? I don't know what limitations that would create on what bit rates and word lengths you can use? If that would be independent of the deck or not? Perhaps someone more familiar with computer audio could answer that? Quite often demand has driven a sector of the industry, if hobbyist are doing it enough, someone will sell a real high end deck.

But as far as the recording companies ever selling some pre-recorded SD cards at 24/196, I don't see that ever happening. It's too easy to sell the download and manufacture nothing.


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[Macca]

Solid state hard drives are becoming more common now so would this not make any potential advantage of an SD card moot?