Tardcore Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 I bought this one because, apparently, MusicDirect gets all my money now. I looked at some of the $20 gauges on amazon but was a bit concerned about accuracy. http://www.musicdirect.com/p-794-acoustech-deluxe-electronic-stylus-force-gauge.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 I have this too. It came with the 5g weight. Tested the 5g on multiple scales at my lab. Very accurate. And for $20!Good to know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Not to make you feel bad, but it's too bad that some of these things are sold with such inflated price tags. Digital scales and anti-static guns seem to be really egregious offenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 29, 2015 Author Share Posted January 29, 2015 oh I definitely agree. I actually bought a demo version of that scale for $65 because I really balked at spending $80 for it. I should have asked here about the cheaper scales on Amazon first. I ended up going with the more expensive model because I didn't want to have to second guess the accuracy. Funny you should mention anti-static guns...I have been looking at these two VPI 16.5 bundles. The more expensive bundle comes with an anti-static gun. are those things worthwhile for the price? http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5841-vpi-165-deluxe-bundle.aspx http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5840-vpi-165-basic-bundle.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Did you fellows find that setting the tracking force weight as directed in the instructions worked out correctly? I have a digital gauge on order, just wondering if either of you were able to verify the weight after setup. Mine came out to 2.3 using their method. To be fair I had scale so I wasn't to concerned with the accuracy of my 4.2 turns of the weight. Just used it to get close to fine tune with the scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kannibal Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 oh I definitely agree. I actually bought a demo version of that scale for $65 because I really balked at spending $80 for it. I should have asked here about the cheaper scales on Amazon first. I ended up going with the more expensive model because I didn't want to have to second guess the accuracy. Funny you should mention anti-static guns...I have been looking at these two VPI 16.5 bundles. The more expensive bundle comes with an anti-static gun. are those things worthwhile for the price? http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5841-vpi-165-deluxe-bundle.aspx http://www.musicdirect.com/p-5840-vpi-165-basic-bundle.aspx With a wet RCM, anti-static sleeves, and no felt mat on your plater, you should have little to no use for an anti-static gun. They are so cheaply made and are so expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I took a record off earlier and the mat stuck to it. Immediately removed table, reset VTA for no mat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 that's kind of impressive. The mat that came with my table is pretty beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's been cold. Heat's a blastin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I Haven'd had any static problems using the mat. The felt mat on my old table was a nightmare. This one is much higher quality and seems to work well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 It's been cold. Heat's a blastin. I live in Wisconsin. I don't want to hear about "cold". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I always understood that part of the upside of an acrylic platter is that you don't need or use a mat of any sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I completely agree. But a mat came with the table... so I wanted to try both! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 on the other hand... if you don't use a mat you'll eventually create some tiny scratches on that purrty acrylic platter and it won't be all purrty anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 That's why they're frosted so they don't show any Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Hmm didn't think about tiny scratches. We'll see. If it becomes noticeable... Maybe a cork. My friend and I were discussing the arm. Can anyone find a link stating it is the Satisfy arm? I've read mixed things. Could it be just a proprietary arm for this table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 This officialish looking review (PDF) refers to it as "a variant of the Satisfy tonearm with an aluminum arm tube". It seems like most of the Satisfy arms you see for sale have a carbon fiber tube, but I poked around and found reference to variations with aluminum and ebony wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It looks just like the Satisfy. Comes with either black or silver arm (mine's black, but it's metal, no wood). But it can't be a Satisfy. Must be a proprietary one. I'd be interested to know the differences. The price points just don't add up. $900 cart, $1600 arm, and then everything else? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 I verified. Using the method described I did not get 2.2g... I got 1.7g. Quoting myself here. I read just now on Audiogon someone else got 1.7g! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted January 30, 2015 Author Share Posted January 30, 2015 my digital scale should show up today. I put it on my shure scale yesterday and it came up light, but did not really monkey with it to get an accurate weight. regarding the value prop question...maybe the Marantz order gave them enough economies of scale to make it work? It is a bit odd that all the info out there seems to suggest that if you were after that particular arm/cart, that you would save a bundle just picking up the Marantz table and chucking all the other parts. Not that the retail prices have anything to do with how much it costs Clearaudio to actually manufacture this stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinch Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 It looks just like the Satisfy. Comes with either black or silver arm (mine's black, but it's metal, no wood). But it can't be a Satisfy. Must be a proprietary one. I'd be interested to know the differences. The price points just don't add up. $900 cart, $1600 arm, and then everything else? It's definitely the Satisfy arm, but the standard version. The one selling today for $1600 is the carbon one. You also have to take into consideration that back in 2008 prices on everything were different, and this Marantz package still retails for the same it did back when it came out. I only have a EU price list, but back then the standard Satisfy arm retailed for 625 eur (carbon was 870) and the Virtuoso Wood was 550 eur. By 2008 conversion rate that was roughly $1650, so you pretty much got a free table for buying the tonearm/cart package. Though it's possible that the US price list from that time would be completely different. Edti: just found some prices from 2007, apparently the Satisfy retailed for $1000 and the Virtuoso for $750. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 Ah. So the Satisfy has a standard version before... Probaly why I can't find info on it. Everything I've read is the CF version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted January 30, 2015 Share Posted January 30, 2015 http://clearaudio.de/en/_archive/tonearms-satisfy.php If you wait on the page the picture switched between the different versions. This is the aluminum, just black instead of silver. I have set up clear audio tables with the Satisfy arm. This is the same. Only difference is the headshell on the marantz have the posts on it so it bolts to the arm in the proper location for the virtuoso. No need to align the cartridge. The others dont have that and you have to align yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Just stopping to say I'm still in love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobNY Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 Just stopping to say I'm still in love. Feeling the same way. I'm listening to Pat Metheny on my TT15 at the moment and it sounds spectacular! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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