Great story Magpie &, perhaps, a good reminder of why the Sondek features so often in Hi Fi stories.
My Sondek arrived in Febuary 1981 from a Norwich dealer (where I lived at the time).
Due to the cost, about 2 or 3 months salary at the time if I remember correctly, I did not tell my wife I was buying it as the answer would have been a definite NO.
I therefore sneaked it home on a days holiday whilst she was at work & hoped she wouldn’t notice the Rega 3 had changed a bit when she got home. She liked music but, other than ‘what did that cost?’, had no interest in Hi Fi &, very encouragingly, saying to me ‘it all sounds the same to me anyway’.
When she did arrive home the Hi Fi was playing in the lounge. As she took her coat off in the separate hall she said ‘what have you done to the Hi Fi?’. My heart sank. How could she have known what I had done & she obviously hated it. When she found out the cost as well divorce was a strong possibility.
‘Why?’, I asked as innocently as possible. ‘Because it sounds really good’ she answered. Even when I told her the price all she said was ‘I suppose it’s worth it’.
To this day it is still the only comment she has passed on the sound quality of my system despite the considerable sums of money spend on it on several occasions. When spending, by my standards, a small fortune upgrading last year to a Nova/Core based system from a 34 year old 32.5/HiCap/140, upgrading the LP12 & changing speakers, the only words she muttered were ‘well, it looks better than the old one’.
I think this story speaks volumes for the Sondek & explains why it was & is so successful over such a long period. Is it the best sounding turntable? I have no idea as, like many thousands of very satisfied owners, I have never had the slightest urge to seriously audition other turntables.
I remember my original Aro vs Ekos dem quite well … I had an Akito and of course the Ekos wiped the floor but then we moved onto the Aro and it took no more than a few seconds to realise that i was in the presence of greatness!
Appreciate that the Ekos has moved on a lot but was prob the most dramatic ‘i have to have one of those’ moments i’ve ever had in my (god) 44 year audiophile journey (started aged 12 with Garrard and Amstrad complete system for £91.95!)
Magpie,
Great story and so nice that you entrust your LP12 as do I to Dave at the Sound Organisation
My LP12 is waiting for the Karousel upgrade which Dave will be doing as soon as the current restrictions are lifted
Thanks, I have had the Krystal for almost four years now and have been pleased with it, though I must be honest and say I didn’t do much in the way of listening comparisons before purchase, it is certainly much better than my previous Klyde.
I know this thread is about pictures of the decks but LP12s are popular with Naim users so will it be a useful thread for general LP12 (and Axis) discussion?
If so, being a newcomer to LP12s and I don’t remember this issue with my Axis and definitely didn’t with my Rega but can anyone tell me why I can play a record that has zero static before first play on the deck then be riddled after only one play? I’m using the original Linn matt.
Cool. I think it’s a no-brainer for Klyde owners. A bit trickier coming from a worn Akiva but even so I’m happy with it. Sounds like you might be ready for a new one
Looking back it surprises me! but I was on a really tight budget of £500 to buy everything, and knew if the LP12 was as good as the critics were saying I was in trouble. At that time the rule of thumb was to spend roughly equally on each component.
Thanks for the kind words and I think your final paragraph is absolutely true.
You were brave hoping she wouldn’t notice the change in turntable, I think I might risk a black box or two if it was necessary!