SRM/Tech Arrezzo

[Sol]

So I'm off on Saturday to demo a Turntable ... chatted with the guys who happen to have their business only 25 miles away.

Will report back .. anyone have any experience!

I've had a converstaion with a chap who bought one having had many years with highly modded LP12, and couldn't speak highly enough of this deck. Added plus is he's using the Graham Slee Era Gold .. so I expect greatness.

Wish my reflex was here (still waiintg the build and shipment) .. I could have taken it also.

[Nigel]

I want your wages Sol!

Good luck, I've only seen the turntable on ebay. Looks a lot like the Origin Live / Michell decks.

You can't beat vinyl.

[Sol]

nigel said:

I want your wages Sol!

When you talk to my wife can you ask for them back, I'd like them to ;o)

Sold stuff [1] to buy stuff! hence the current spree!

[1] One of my motorbikes!

[leo]

The Reflex will be worth the wait Sol, obviously theres the burn in thing which you have to be patient with but this phono stage don't half kick some arse

[fanboi]

Hi Sol,
I would be interested to hear what you think of this T/T, I spotted it on ebay a little while ago and wondered about it.
I have been using one of his "silent base" mods under my P2 for some time now (along with other mods) and that seems to be pretty OK.
The Funk Vector is one that has caught my eye recently in the "pretty affordable" category - those guys have plenty of experience from the Pink Triangle days and their Achromat seems to do what is claimed - at least to my ears.
Do tell us more when you have had a listen (or more )

[bullpup]

Hi Sol

I think these guys also do a wide range of upgrades for Thorens decks particularly the 150/160.

They are amazingly tweekable and when well set up can give a lot of expensive kit a fright.

They can also be picked up for beer money!

Worth asking while you are there. Who knows you may end up with both!!

[Sol]

I'd been looking at a Torens TD160 Super .. and it was the tweaks the SRM guys offer that caught my attention on ebay ... then I saw the Arezzo... it's such a damn fine deck, and I followed up with a couple of chaps who'd bought it. One, who had the modded LP12 really rates the TT ... so definately worth a listen - especially at the price, which seems reasonable given the look, finish and apprent technical prowess of the deck..

[bullpup]

I have now had a good look on Ebay. I can certainly see why you are interested...

[Sol]

bullpup said:

I have now had a good look on Ebay. I can certainly see why you are interested...

Well I'm back from a very enjoyable 2.5 hours with Stuart.

What a lovely bloke. Obviously into his music, his passion has lead him to design a deck for himself really - but don't assume that means that there isn't some real engineering principals apparent in it's design. There's that in spades, mixed with some trial an error. Talking through his design journey left me thinking I was looking at and lsitening to something a little bit special.

We spun some vinyl, drank tea, chatted, smoked a few fags, and listened some more. His taste for good music is apparent, and he definitely has an ear for good production - our taste for well produced albums definitely coincided on a number of fronts, and while I do also delve in more eclectic stuff (Ambient and Electronic stuff), listening to Joan Armatradin, Pink Floyd, John Martyn, Christy Moore, Chris Rea etc. brought home a number of things that I've been missing in my digital based set up. I have all of those albums in CD format, and I'm very familiar with all and how they sound on my system. So it's with great pleasure I found something else today .. something that's been missing - something that a good vinyl source apparently can bring.

There's an added something to this vinyl lark you see .. something you can't immediately quite put your finger on ... but it came to me as that tingling feeling ran up my spine and back of my neck - emotion! It happens with my current digital source occasionally obviously .. but every time we put an LP I found myself immersed - conscious that a little of the recording environment comes across on vinyl more so that CD. It's just better .. plain and simple. Forget audiophile terms - music should portray emotion .. and if that comes across there's something right going on.

Obviously all that other stuff you want from a source is there. It resolves, it portrays texture, and provides depth, height and width. It times beautifully, it's capable of being dynamic, but it also gives that something else. I could wax lyrical endlessly, but here's a couple of moments from our lsitening session.

A sense of Christy Moore sitting in front of a mike is a small room for instance. The slight volume differences between each drum hit and bass kick on Chris Rea - Road to Hell, or an insight into the balance and mix on Pink Floyd the Wall. The richness and texture of the deep strings on "Fire and Rain" - John Martyn . Actually, that does stand out - gawd the timbre of those strings, and the detail in the bass, the realism of the drums timing perfectly with the bass, and then how the deck and system he had stayed with it all as the timing shifts at the end of the track.

Anyhow I'm hook line and sinker ... immediately impressed with the sound. His preamp, and active speakers are not high end ... but the sound coming from them, due to the source according to Stuart, certainly was special. I bought one, with an RB300 Incognito wired.

The decks are going to the hifi press shortly ... I guarantee you that once the word gets out there will be a number of people in line to buy one and no doubt the price will go up. If the HiFi press find anything to say that's even remotely negative, I'll be astonished.

Serial number 21 will be delivered next week. Now begins the ebay and boot sale search for vinyl to play on it ... oh and the other thing that starts next week .. the sense of impatience as I wait for the TT and Graham Slee Reflex to settle in - what joy!

[Nigel]

Good for you Sol. Nice to read a well written review from a happy guy.

[fanboi]

Damn, more competition for the worlds diminishing reserves of decent vinyl
Seriously though, good on you Sol, glad you like it, it certainly sounds like the gear and thanks for the excellent and informative write-up.
I am sure you will find the Incognito rewire to be a worthwhile upgrade and if I might suggest a look at the Michell Tecnoweight, IMO this is the best of the aftermarket counterweights available for the Rega arms, from both an engineering and a usability perspective.
Many hours of listening pleasure await you.
I know that for me, changing over to CDs after listening to a few records nearly always seems like a return to 2 dimensions no matter how good the recording.

[Sol]

fanboi said:

Many hours of listening pleasure await you.
I know that for me, changing over to CDs after listening to a few records nearly always seems like a return to 2 dimensions no matter how good the recording.

Damn that's it in a nutshell .. why didn't I notice that! CD has width and height, but this definately had depth! One element missing from my CD or streamed set up is depth! It will be interesting to hear if depth comes with the vinyl source!

[Sol]

Have to post a picture ... they look so nice )

[serverbaboon]

I have always felt vinyl was more three dimensional than CD, not sure if there is any scientific fact for that but quite frankly when that needle hits the groove I no longer care...


Sol keep an eye out for charity shops occasionally you come across gold.

[Sol]

So a quick update ...
I picked the TT up on Saturday .. and spent a very enjoyable 6 hours on Saturday night listening!

6 hours straight ....

... it's clear that while back to back with my digital set up it could be argued that there's a tad more detail and a presence and gloss in the digital, the vinyl stuff blows the CDs away for emotion. Remember though - things are not settled, so while something's obvioulsy right, there's a way to go to allow the TT and Reflex to bed in.

So I'll need the Reflex phono section to settle down before really having a critical listen, but regardless I'm enjoying rediscovering the vinyl ... friends, mine, and I'm in discussions with a friend in the north who has a blues collection to die for and nothing to play it on! Anyhow ... it can take a couple of weeks for the caps in the Reflex to form, to reveal a full balanced sound, so more then.

Right now it's sounding good .. and back to back there's not much between the digital through the x-dac v3 (with bursons) and a modded X-10V3, and the TT with 4 day old Reflex. I'd say that's a great testament so early in the day. The vinyl initially sounded thin and top-ended, but over the evening the bass formed followed by a reduction in congestion, and a definate stage and placement. Even with all the bed in changes still going on, the set up sounds good enough to want to listen to it endlessly, but there's definately more to come in the weight department to give that richness.

So I've a couple of weeks waiting while things settle down ... actually it can be an hourly process at the mo with LPs sounding top ended one sec then an hour later they sound muted etc.

Once the Reflex settles I can give you an honest opinion (of course it will be mixed with a Reflex review) ... full comparison so to speak ... but whatever happens I can tell already we are onto a winner. I love the way the TT is silent ... and I'd forgotten how fun the ritual of putting on vinyl is - then there's the vinyl covers ... oh and how good looking is the Arezzo creation. It looks special sitting there I have to say.

[leo]

Thats brilliant Sol! nice write up.
I've been trying to hold back getting into vinyl for ages now.

I'm glad you mentioned the emotion bit, its hard to get this with any digital and something I've been working on for ages with the dacs etc, its the hardest part to get right IMO