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Goldmund Studio - still relevant today?

In today high-end world (very small, and shrinking every day), is Goldmund Studio still relevant? Is it's performance still on par with similarly priced tables, or is it a dinosaur? Is it's value still in performance, or is it mainly a collector's item? What do you guys think? I refer to late models with all-acrylic body, and JVC motor, and T3F arm, which actually work, not the early ones, which seemed to have a mind on their own :-)) They normally command at least $2500 on used market, up to $4000 for perfect examples.
markshvarts
mofimadness's avatar
mofimadness
4,152 posts
 
I have owned several Goldmund tables and arms. IMHO, they are still an excellent sounding rig!

I finally got rid of mine mainly because they were somewhat of a bitch to set up and maintain and just wanted to try something "different".

If I could find one today in excellent condition and at a reasonable price, I would sure try it again.
tonykay
856 posts
 
20+ years ago I found a dealer with two Goldmund tables for sale-a Studio and a Studietto. The dealer offered me either one for $1,000. The Studio had a modded power supply, and the Studietto was stock. I chose the Studietto, my mistake. I sold it years later for more than I paid for it. Eventually, the store went out of business, but I remember the Studio. If it was still there, I'd be happy to pay $1,000 for it. Yes, it's still relevant today!
lewm
6,770 posts
 
The Studio is "relevant", but I personally was never impressed with it. The Studietto was a real dog, IMO. These are just my private (now not so private) opinions. The T3F is a derivative of the Rabco tonearm, better quality construction, perhaps. It is thus to be judged. But lots of other people like this stuff.
harold-not-the-barrel
799 posts
 
Dear Mark,
Don´t waste your money and time. Life is short. Here´s my story.
Back in 1990 I owned brand new Studio but not with the linear arm. The DD motor by JVC is excellent BUT the problem is the flimsy floating suspension.
It just floats causing technical problems and just smears sound, unfortunately. It´s not near as sophisticated as ORACLE´s hanging suspension. That´s why I witched my Studio to used DELPHI MKII and got much better sounding turntable.
And T3F is a clumsy dinosaur from the stone age, certain modern linear arms are certainly worth trying if you prefer linear trackers (I personally do).

BUT if you do like it for some other reasons, maybe for aesthetics I would suggest to get rid of the suspension altogether because it´is the root of all evil. If you are a DIY man give it a try. Think of its 25 kg mass of lead-acrylics body with a superb vintage Japanese DD motor. That´s really something else, isn´t it.
I should had tried to remove the suspension but I had not skills and patience to do. Young and foolish I was and lost a minor fortune eventually. Those were the days.

If you don´t care for tweaking an ancient TT it doesn´t make sense going back to the 90´s... Anyway, good luck for your search.

Regards
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