Turntables

Hi all, I have an oldish lp12, has been serviced and upgraded but I’ve heard a few decks that make me consider a change. The Well Tempered, the new Naim Soltice
, Banksmann etc. Anyone done a recent review? Thoughts on how to hear the best alternatives?
Thanks

Loads of Naim dealers with Solstice.
My 3 nearest all have one here in East Anglia.

Here’s my somewhat acerbic reply to your query.

  1. Your profile only indicates that you have a 500 system. How can anyone give you comparative comments when you haven’t given detailed information about your vinyl source - how upgraded is the LP12; what arm, cartridge, phono stage? How much more than the Klimax LP12 would you spend?

  2. If you have read much of the forum, you will know that in terms of comparative advice about 80% of the respondents will recommend what they have chosen and many of those will never have heard the alternatives. My case is probably typical - I changed my Rega 3 many years ago for an LP12 which has been upgraded in various respects, but I have not tried to compare it with other turntables. I can therefore offer you no useful advice about alternatives to your LP12.

  3. There is definitely some useful information on here but you have probably already read it. For example some of those who have bought the Solstice and who already have an LP 12 have compared the two. They have reported on some aspects of difference in sound but it has also been reported that upgrading the Solstice is desirable but quite tricky.

  4. It might help if you could describe what is unsatisfactory about the LP12 and what is ‘better/different’ with the alternatives that you have heard. There are threads on here where people who have heard alternative turntables - and you can find the alternatives listed - provide some information about their motivation. However, only you can answer the question at the beginning of this paragraph, and only you can test it out with extensive listening. So you really have no alternative but to start phoning the dealers who sell the turntables that might provide an alternative in the price range that suits you.

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The world truly is your oyster! My recommendations based on experience Vertere or Avid, but also Rega, Michell, Well Tempered, SME, Brink. But as advised get out and about.

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@CliveB - Well said. All your points are extremely valid.

Firm - but fair. IMO… :expressionless:

The Solstice is a limited edition. Have they all been snapped up, or do dealers still have unsold stock?

Does anyone know?

Still a few around. One at a dealer in Leicestershire.

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I might have tried being more generous than @CliveB - plenty of people are less nerdy and willing to fiddle than I am.

However, we do need to know more if we are to do more than just list a few turntables that we like. From the question, the 'right answer could be spending a few hundred on the LP12 to spending close to £30K on a Vertere RG-1.

  1. What is the whole system?
  2. What is under your LP12? If on a rack on the floor, how bouncy is the floor?
  3. What spec is the LP12? Sub-chassis, bearing, power supply, cartridge and arm would help.
  4. What do you like/ dislike about your LP12 versus which other sources?
  5. Do you want to lift your LP12 to compete with other man sources on an equal footing, or just improve it a bit as an occasional source?
  6. How much are you willing to spend to achieve that?
  7. Are you willing to travel to (say) 3 dealers to hear different turntables?
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You seem to have 500 series components, so should be expecting a top -level TT… and for this to be auditioned at home, in your system and in your listening room. Personally, I think that any other auditioning would be woefully inadequate.
So, this will probably limit the number of dealers who are willing to provide this sort of service…to probably only the one with whom you usually deal. As long as they have enough (?3 as a minimum) top- level TTs for you to audition, you should arrive at an excellent solution, but might never know what would have been your best choice.
Good luck with all of this,
J

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Suggests far from sold out.???

Thanks everyone, I didn’t give a lot of detail and recognise that you need more to comment more:
My LP12 has a Cirkus bearing, Kore subchassis, Naim ARO arm, Naim Armageddon power supply, Dynavector Te Kaitora cartridge. I also have the Naim Superline. It was serviced about a year ago.
My Naim system is 552&500 DR versions, single power supply to the 552 at the moment, Focal Scala Utopia speakers and the Naim expensive cables throughout!
On the large Well Tempered deck I listened to with the long arm and a DV t cartridge, musicality and extension of the bass was particularly noticeably better, surface noise was less.
I will almost certainly buy second hand or ex-demo if I can find a really reliable history! Not up to spend £30k at this time. I have the 500 series streamer.
Many thanks
Martin

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I would of course like to demo at home and will do after some initial research and listening but as you say, its difficult finding a dealer with the right range to demo who is willing to bring them for a listen and you can’t compare them all!! I also find it takes me quite a long time to become settled with a new piece of equipment, things that sound initially great often wear-off after a few weeks! Hence really looking for some experiences from anyone who’s made the change to a Brinksmann of Well Tempered to understand how the ownership experience has been. I do accept that I’m not going to be able to listen to many and possibly only 1 or 2 at home once I’ve got to a short list!
Thanks again

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And sorry, the LP12 is on a wall mounted shelf, not an expensive one and I will look to improve it, the floor is fairly solid - I can drill through the floor boards and insulation and connect to the slab below to avoid any floor bounce/vibration issues. The rest is on Naim Fraim.

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I suggest that addition of the Karousel bearing to your Linn is likely to provide a large part (if not all) of the performance benefits you’ve identified from listening to the WT deck. Further addition of either the Keel or Radikal might seal the deal for you. Your LP12 is already at a very good level, but it can be so much more. You owe it to yourself to hear these LP12 upgrades before ‘jumping ship’ altogether.

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“Sold out” means sold out from Naim (factory), i.e. you won’t be able to order one for build as they have all been sold to dealers, but should be some available from stock through some Naim dealers.

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At that level at least have a listen to a Vertere and an Avid.

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It would be far cheaper to upgrade , even to a Simplinth if you are fed up with the look of it.

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There are many :
VPI HW 40
Kuzma XL
Brinkman Balance
Clearaudio Jubilee
Kronos
SME 20/3
Thales
Dohmann Helix
Naim Solstice….

Some here have the Dohmann, Kronos, Brinkman balance and found a nice improvement vs the Lp12 Klimax karoussel.
My vote would go for the new Clearaudio Jubilee, if I had that money to spend.

image

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That’s a great system, and I’d agree that changes to the turntable should be rewarded with an audible improvement, given the rest.

  1. Step one would be the Karousel bearing, and replacing the Armageddon with either Lingo 4 or Radikal power supply. I went L4/ Karousel and am very happy with it.

  2. Step 2 may be more contentious. I use a Kore sub-chassis - it’s good and made a big difference. There are some very highly-regarded non-Linn sub-chassis options that should be a bit better than a Kore, but the Keel is rated as the top choice by many who have gone down that road - as it should be for that price!

  3. The Aro is regarded as good-to-irreplaceable by those who want easy musicality in the mod-range above all else. However, an Ekos might well more emphasis on deep bass and dynamic drama. As with a Kore, allow for the sale value of the old bits when looking at the cost of the new bits!

  4. You could take your turntable to a shop if they don’t have (say) an Aro and listen to what (say) a Klimax-level LP12 sounds like in comparison. That should show you what LP12 upgrades can do for you. It may sound a bit clearer but much the same (in which case a more radical change my be needed) or you may decide that it sounds fantastic - either way, you’ll know what LP12 changes can do for you.

  5. At the sort of price, there are lots of rival turntables. There is a reason that people here will keep mentioning the Vertere MG-1 or the very different presentation from Avid Volvere/ Sequel and/ or SME 12A or 20, but all of the turntables listed by @frenchrooster would be sensible choices. So would the Well Tempered Amadeus or Royale.

  6. To how many do you want to listen? A dealer who can do a useful LP12 comparison for you may well have 1 or 2 other makes, so give the a listen while you are there. Unless they have a huge range, you can try and visit a second dealer on the same day to hear 2-3 other options.

I’d also suggest not being ashamed of discarding any that will just annoy you every time you look at it.

Personally, I’d also avoid anything that weighs vastly more than an LP12 - a wall shelf (even a basic one) is in my experience really hard to beat as support for any turntable except for those where you fear the weight.

  1. All that should give you a short list, with upgrading your LP12 probably as the default choice. You can now ask a suitable dealer wether they will do a dem at your house of A against B.

If you like a few options, you could ask a second dealer to visit on the same day (one morning, one afternoon?) with either 1 or 2 other options. Doing home dems is great (if it can be done), but be beware of your ability to remember exactly what a TT sounded like if you do dems a week or two apart.

Good luck! Please do let us know what you pick and why.

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LP12 ownership can be a lifelong journey, the endless upgrade path will always ensure it’s performant and able to compete with newcomers. That’s the fundamental difference versus many of its competitors because once you’ve bought their deck, you’ve pretty much hit the end of the road because upgrades are limited. If you like how your LP12 looks and sounds then as others have said there’s so much you can do to take it even further.