I'm surprised no one caught this. That is one serious turntable and tonearm! I'm not sure the cartridge is in the same league though it's good. Which tonearm from SME did you get and what made you choose that one?
That the unit together sounds better than the well-regarded Linn LP12 isn't a big surprise, there's a lot of technological advances in the new one! When can I pick up the old obsolete stuff?
It's actually a Michelle Orbe SE, and after spending some time with the springs I think I'm getting there. It has a SME series 4, Vi magnesium tonearm. The tonearm came with the TT and the Tone arm mounting plate is designed for the SME. I sold this to an old customer 14 yrs ago and his wife contacted me to see if I was interested. I suggested the tonearm to him honestly because I always found the SME arms very easy to set up well. I could never afford it new. I think it was 2-3k.
I agree the cartridge could be upgraded, but at least it is the low output version of the glider.
I also aquired his Ayre K1x preamp. No surprise but the difference between a phonomena phono preamp hooked up to my Marantz AV preamp versus the K1x is pretty substantial, but I think it's about three times the cost of the Marantz and has only 2 channels. The Ayre has balanced inputs for the phono input and the tonearm cable has balanced outputs kinda funky but cool.
There is great value in older equipment especially separates. My Bryston amps have been hooked up to three different AV preamps through the years. The technology moves quickly through HDMI versions, Surround formats, but a great amp from 15 years is better than any receiver out there.
