Vinyl Asylum: REVIEW: Roksan Xerxes X Turntables by Andy

I traded my Rega Planar 3 for the Roksan Xerxes X a couple of months ago. I am using the same Dynavector cartridge as in the Planar 3, but I now have a Rega RB900 arm instead of the RB300 which came on the Planar 3. Bear in mind that after buying the Roksan 'table, you must buy and mount an arm for it. There are TWO off-board power supplies which run in series.
First some observations. Roksan philosophy is that the best sound comes from completely decoupling the record from the motor. In practice, this results in an unusual, removable spindle which can be removed after the record is centered, or simply left in place. Unfortunately it has a tendency to stick in the spindle hole and stay with the record, so practice is needed to get used to using it. There is a convenient spindle keeper device to store it when not in use. Cool. The dust cover is sturdy, but it balances precariously on three "feet" and I don't believe it is practical to use during replay. The table doesn't seem as isolated from the environment as my Planar 3 did. Footfalls caused it to skip, until I mounted it on a wall rack. This wasn't a problem with my Planar 3, due to the sorbothene feet. In practice, after familiarization it is easy to use and doesn't need any adjustment.
The sound is superb, much better than the already-good Planar 3. Even my wife, a casual listener at best, commented that the background sounded much quieter than with the other 'table. Indeed, the background is quite black with the Xerxes. Listening to familiar records, I hear new effects which just weren't there before. Also, the bass is much warmer, ballsy, and tighter than before. Altogether quite satisfying to listen to.
I figure that including my trade-in, I paid $3300US for the turntable and RB900 arm. Is it worth it? That depends on your level of perfectionism as well as your financial resources. It is clearly more fun to listen to than a Rega Planar 3. But if I were condemned to listen to a Planar 3 for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be a big issue. Turntables such as this are for the listener who wants to extract maximum performance, and in that sense I give this table my recommendation. But you needn't feel like you must spend this kind of money to just enjoy vinyl records. Whatever you do, MAKE SURE THAT YOU GET A DECENT RECORD CLEANING MACHINE. I cannot emphasize this enough. It is more important that a turntable or amp upgrade. Trust me on this!
Andy

REVIEW: Roksan Xerxes X Turntables Review by Andy at Audio Asylum