The Most Beautiful and Ugliest Turntables

[Marco]

Nope, apparently it was a special in real gold!

That doesn't surprise me, as some of the 'old guard' Wammers [mainly the 'Kondo mafia'] were pretentious show-offs... Their thinking was that if it was good, it had to be expensive

Badge-fi city! The complete opposite of the approach we advocate here.

Marco.

[Marco]

I do like a bit of fun, but there are limits!
Even for me.

Why then does the decor in your house not reflect you penchant for bling? Last time I visited, it was more a symphony of '70s beige', than bling!

Marco.

[Spectral Morn]

I like the multiple arm bit as great for someone like me who likes to experiment with tonearms, as this thread about decks beautiful that does not count as its certainly not that. I had the black night at home some time back and its no doubt an amazing deck superb build etc,I overall found it a bit bright for my taste and a little dry I really wanted to buy it but overall not to my liking as the saying goes you pays your monies etc. The raven decks have never appealed to me but then I have a Sme all be it with a non Sme tonearm, and many have a love hate thing with Sme turntables. Interesting not a single sme pic on this thread

I have a Graham Phantom on my SME Model 20, massive improvement in sound quality over the SME5 on the same motor unit. My understanding is Bob Graham developed the Phantom with the SME Model 30 in mind and while the Model 20 is no 30 I think it sounds most excellent with the Phantom in place.

[Marco]

One of my all time fav's is the Orbe (sorry Marco - acrylic) - I admin the Gyro does look better but I always hankered for the Orbe.

Actually that works, and looks rather attractive... Probably because I like the look of the Orbe (and its beautifully engineered) fat, black platter, and also the partnering AudioNote arm. I also suspect it would be a rather fine-sounding combination.

Is it yours?

Marco.

[Macca]

Yeah, I seen that - it was utterly atrocious! What was the guy thinking of?

The King of Bling, however, *has* to be this:



Dangle that medallion baby, and shlip on ya dancin' shooz!



Xmas pressie for Jerry!!!

Marco.

I really like that one whereas I agree with you the shiny plinth one looks terrible. If you're going to bling it, go all out. No halfway-houses.

[Marco]

Hi Mike,

Did I? I'm not in the habit of commenting on other forums (except Wigwam where there was a specific thread), so no idea in which context I may have done, Marco. I actually like a bit of pedestrianism (is that a word ?) anyway, as it means I don't have to read through reams, as in some threads, esp. off-topic, on pfm. This thread reached a very fast walking pace; almost jogging. It also inspired me to investigate whether Photobucket still worked. Def. a result all round !

Lol... Only teasing! But yes, you made the "pedestrian" remark on pfm, on the thread discussing the 'new Wigwam'. Something about you found things a little slower here and preferred the simplicity of having the bulk of the hi-fi chat all in the one section, as indeed is the case on pfm. Don't worry, no offence was taken!

I agree that that can superficially make things appear slower here, because we have rather more sub-sections, within which activity is spread around, especially if you fail to explore outside of our main area for audio, 'Blank Canvas'. However, quite often, as you've seen here, Analogue Art (or the digital section) can motor along rather quickly, when 'hot topics' are being discussed, such as now!

The trick with AoS is to get used to the layout, and the reasons why things were designed that way

Marco.

[walpurgis]

The unassuming appearance of the Conintuo Opus 3 has always appealed to me. It is actually a very high performance deck and is constructed in a similar fashion to the Townshend Rock. I'd like one.

[Marco]

I really like that one whereas I agree with you the shiny plinth one looks terrible. If you're going to bling it, go all out. No halfway-houses.

Yes, that's true. It's a key rule of design, unless you're clever enough to know how to harmoniously combine bling and understated.

That's why, for example, when refurbishing and/or designing a house, if you want to make it look 'modern', then go all out and adopt the 'high-tech' minimalistic look [although that's not an excuse for creating an unimaginative 'white wonderland', or making rooms so empty, it looks like you've just been burgled!], not what's shown in your average DFS, and the same applies with 'traditional' or 'retro', which can easily stray into 'outdated and old-fashioned', if not done right.

I've seen some horrendous examples of both. You need to fundamentally understand the concepts concerned, before they can be successfully created and implemented!

Marco.

[Mike Reed]

I have a Graham Phantom on my SME Model 20, massive improvement in sound quality over the SME5 on the same motor unit. My understanding is Bob Graham developed the Phantom with the SME Model 30 in mind and while the Model 20 is no 30 I think it sounds most excellent with the Phantom in place.

My Ramsgate friend swapped his long-standing Orbe and Five out for a used 20/3 with Phantom installed two plus years ago. He stuck his (spare) Helikon on it and still hasn't installed his main cart., the Titan i. Chalk and cheese as far as he's concerned and a lovely combo (as it should be, logically).

[Mike Reed]

Hi Mike,



Lol... Only teasing! But yes, you made the remark on pfm, on the thread discussing the 'new Wigwam'. Something about you found things a little slower here and preferred the simplicity of having the bulk of the hi-fi chat all in the one section, as indeed is the case on pfm.



The trick with AoS is to get used to the layout, and the reasons why things were designed that way

Marco.

Ah, relieved that my comment was purely observational (and was on the Wam thread !).

As someone, despite having an O level art, can't tell the difference between Rembrandt and Monet (I exaggerate for effect), I must admit to having had some artistic routing problems with the otherwise clever concept of AoS. I'm essentially an analogue man, so now restrict myself so that I don't get lost.