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Kronos Sparta and TW Acoustic TT

I had convinced myself that my next TT would be one of the TW Acoustic TT's, beautifully made and machined. All the TW models look and sound fantastic. At this year's RMAF however I spent some time listening to and looking at the Kronos Sparta. The dual platter technology of the Kronos looks and sounds very intriguing. The opposite spinning platters really do seem to cancel out noise and vibration. The background of the Sparta was incredibly quiet.

Have you owned and/or compared these tables? The TW Acoustic are extremely well made, but more straight forward in design whereas the Sparta seems a bit more 'complex' with many more parts. Could the Sparta be more prone to glitches and technical issues due to its many moving parts? Thoughts?
stickman451
socfan12
28 posts
 
Hi Stickman,

I own the Sparta and was also at RMAF. What room did you see the Sparta? I only saw the Sparta 0.5 and that was in static mode. The bigger Kronos Pro Ltd was playing in the GTT Audio room and I thought it sounded FANTASTIC!

The Sparta is very modular, so easy to fix and replace parts if needed actually. I've owned mine for about 6-8 months, absolutely no issues thus far. Great table and I would love to move up to the Kronos Pro one day.

HTH.
stickman451 OP
529 posts
 
You are correct, only the Limited model of the Sparta was in play and the Sparta .5 was only on display. I am making the 'leap of faith' that all three models would sound very similar overall with each move up in the line just more of everything good.

Even their smallest model, the Sparta .5 looks a bit complex and I am just wondering if a more traditional, simpler design (very well executed) like the TW Acustic is the better route overall.

The big Limited Sparta did sound outstanding and I immediately noticed how quiet the backgrounds were with that table; no self noise at all that I could hear. It sounded great (as any $30k TT should).
socfan12
28 posts
 
That is exactly what I loved about my Sparta. I have a friend who is also a dealer and he has both the Sparta and Pro Limited with the new motors. He says the Pro absolutely is better than the Sparta, though it was difficult to put into words. I'm considering trading up if GTT can make a deal on that Pro they had at the show. ;-)

Actually, the design of the Kronos is very straight forward. It really makes it easy to repair components if ever necessary, perhaps easier than other TTs.

Where are you located?
stickman451 OP
529 posts
 
Atlanta
elinor's avatar
elinor
271 posts
 
Hi folks,
I own a TW Raven with BN Motor and Controller. Wonderful TT. Love the Kronos Flagship. Sorry, don't know the model. Yes, looks a bit more complex but I think it is solid and trouble free. Great sounding too. I know some owners. If you have the money, at a similar price, did you hear the new Dohmann TT at RMAF. $36K without the vacuum hold down. I think this table is a game changer. Possibly the best analog source component I have heard outside of Home Unity Audio Tape Play. If I had the money, would possibly by the Dohmann after more listening.
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