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RE: nice one...



My current trio.
The TD124 in bare metal is sn 13943. My most recent refurb. It has new coils in the motor, mkII (double grommet kit)and otherwise fresh on all drive train components. Tonearm is a black Zeta with Incognito tags to plugs re-wire in vdH silver litz. The cartridge is a Denon Dl-103R rebodied into a Uwe Ebony shell. This Denon retains its aluminum cantilever and conical diamond.

The black plinth is an experiment. BB birch multi-ply stacked into a light build. I just wanted to see how it would sound on a low mass plinth versus the slate plinth that I have used in the past with my TD124 players.

The little TD150 below is somewhat modified. Its suspension springs have been replaced with firm elastomers (rubber tubing) to reduce suspension action. The result is a more articulate delivery of musical details....but at the cost of less isolation. I prefer the firm. The green cabinetry is stacked baltic-birch multi-ply configured into a style I call R7. Its tonearm is an Infinity Black Widow. The cartridge is sometimes an ADC XLM-II except when I use a Sonus Blue. Both of those carts mate well with the very light BW.

To the left standing over the Minus-K is a Technics SP10 mkII. The Technics stands in another light weight plinth design that I call the mule. Long story on the name. I just wanted to see if a light plinth might lend a quicker sense of attack to this very good record spinner. It does. The tonearm is a Graham 2.2. The cartridge is a Shelter 501-II. The entire package works well together. I've never heard the Shelter sound better than when in this setup.

Comparisons briefly.

SP10 mkII. Highly detailed. Crisply articulate. Analytical, in a very good way. A great balance between high impact energy delivery and yet manages to allow delicate sense of flow and inner detail retrieval.

TD124 (mk1). Overall a great balance of all categories we use to describe turntable performance. Of course the arm and cartridge are determining factors. A large open sound field. Very low noise levels. Surprisingly so for an idler. Not as detailed as the SP10 mkII, but not far behind. Not quite as articulate sounding. Slightly more energy delivery than the Technics. it rocks. It plays sublime jazz. It gets every category. Not analytical. Organic. It hits its notes with just a slight softness at the very edge of attack.

TD150. Far better than its price point would have us expect. Punchy. smooth. It gets flow so very well. With the current arm and cartridge it reproduces an astounding amount of musical detail. In that department it really takes a back seat to no other in the room. Sharp attack. Very articulate. The front edge of attack transients are clean. Not at all soft like the Td124. Not quite as crisp as the SP10 mkII. Neither Analytical or Organic in its overall presentation. Less impact. Less energy delivery. Less midrange heft. Much of that lies with the cartridge, but there is a 2-watt AC synchronous motor driving a very elastic rubber belt.

Its strongest asset is its ability to extract that sense of flow within the innermost soft passages. Flow. It has flow. I like this player on Beethoven string quartets, among other records. If I did not have the other players, I'd take much pleasure in this one.

-Steve




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