Hi Audioquest,
Thanks for your insightful comments. I had a read of your review of your Apollon table which is very nice btw! I can understand why your platter might require a bit of a nudge to get going after the belts get older; the 80mm platter you're using comes in at 15kg! I was discussing another model with my Dealer; the Fat Bob Plus which has a 60mm (12kg) platter and asked if there would be any benefit in running two or three motors on that table & he said no, other than the ability to play 78's. I'm not sure if the lighter platter plays some part?
Cost and availability ultimately shaped my decision though. Once you added on all the desirable extras on the Bardo, it was actually quite a bit more expensive than the FB Reference, and despite it's slightly superior direct drive design, I couldn't see enough sonic benefit to justify the extra cost. A bit of news; my Dealer offered me an excellent deal on a Fat Bob Plus which I couldn't pass up, so I pulled the trigger and had it specified with a Konstant M-1 ps, SME-5009 tonearm & Miyajima Shilabe cartridge, which leaves extra money for a good phono stage. The 'Plus' is a new model which has a heavier, larger diameter base compared to the 'S' & updated sytling so i'm wrapped! I hope to get the table set up soon :)
Cheers,
Melbguy
Thanks for your insightful comments. I had a read of your review of your Apollon table which is very nice btw! I can understand why your platter might require a bit of a nudge to get going after the belts get older; the 80mm platter you're using comes in at 15kg! I was discussing another model with my Dealer; the Fat Bob Plus which has a 60mm (12kg) platter and asked if there would be any benefit in running two or three motors on that table & he said no, other than the ability to play 78's. I'm not sure if the lighter platter plays some part?
Cost and availability ultimately shaped my decision though. Once you added on all the desirable extras on the Bardo, it was actually quite a bit more expensive than the FB Reference, and despite it's slightly superior direct drive design, I couldn't see enough sonic benefit to justify the extra cost. A bit of news; my Dealer offered me an excellent deal on a Fat Bob Plus which I couldn't pass up, so I pulled the trigger and had it specified with a Konstant M-1 ps, SME-5009 tonearm & Miyajima Shilabe cartridge, which leaves extra money for a good phono stage. The 'Plus' is a new model which has a heavier, larger diameter base compared to the 'S' & updated sytling so i'm wrapped! I hope to get the table set up soon :)
Cheers,
Melbguy